F/m Investments has filed for the first mutual-fund share classes of ETFs, aiming to access retirement plans. The SEC recently approved an exemption for Dimensional Fund Advisors. F/m anticipates soon receiving approval for its product-specific dual-share-class filings, a move that could benefit 401(k) plan fiduciaries looking for investment options with established track records.

CEO Alex Morris believes the approval of dual share classes is an elegant way for fund boards and issuers to introduce new products. By porting existing ETF strategies to mutual funds, F/m avoids having to launch separate products, making it easier for 401(k) plan fiduciaries to add the new funds to their menus.

F/m Investments plans to add two mutual fund share classes of existing ETFs and one ETF share class of a current mutual fund. The company, with over $18 billion in assets under management, expects to offer strategies of its US Treasury 3 Month Bill ETF (TBIL) and Ultrashort Treasury Inflation-Protected Security ETF (RBIL) as mutual fund shares.

In addition to the dual share class issue, F/m Investments is expanding its product set by launching passive fixed-income funds to avoid taxes on dividends. The company has also filed for a line of investment-grade corporate bond ETFs and is preparing an “opportunistic income” ETF.

Despite the trend of extending mutual fund strategies to ETFs, F/m Investments is among those moving the other way, launching mutual-fund share classes of ETFs. CEO Alex Morris believes that the ETF might save the mutual fund, contrary to expectations that ETFs would replace mutual funds.

Read more at Yahoo Finance: F/m Investments Preps First Mutual Fund Shares of ETFs