Mirae Asset eyes Canada’s BetaPro

Mirae Asset Global Investment, the largest mutual fund manager in the country, said it is in talks to take over Canada’s BetaPro Management Inc., an exchanged traded funds manager, the local brokerage said Monday.

The mutual fund arm of the financial group said price or timing of the acquisition is yet to be finalized. The deal is widely expected to be valued at well over $100 million.

“We’re considering a lot of factors for this deal and the talks have not reached a conclusion yet,” a spokesperson for Mirae Asset said. The parent Mirae Asset Financial Group may acquire up to 60 percent of BetaPro from Jovian Capital Corp, according to local news media.

Acquiring BetaPro is in line with the group’s plans to grow ETF funds, an investment product that essentially tracks performance of indexes. Mirae has been quick to tap the growing popularity of ETFs on lower management fees and taxes than traditional mutual funds. ETFs often track stock or bond indexes but unlike traditional funds, they can be traded on the market like individual stocks.

The mutual fund manager on June 15 settled a deal to take over 60 percent of Taiwan Life Asset Management for $10.8 million. It is rumored to take their acquisition drive to Australia and Indonesia within this year. The company declined to comment on the possibility.

“Mirae Asset is betting on emerging markets and fast growing ETF market for future growth. But such aggressive moves need to be carefully researched as access to market information could be limited abroad,” an industry official said.

By Cynthia J. Kim (cynthiak@heraldcorp.com)