Hurdles to Active ETFs (Morningstar)

iShare's Noel Archard on active ETF management, plus using ETFs for "decumulation."  He talks about the trends in ETFs and about active management and disclosure of positions.  He mentions that there is alot of work to do be done to improve the structure of ETF's; including items such as more frequent position disclosure, bringing costs down, bring tax efficiency up, and increase pricing transparency. 

Noel provides advice on how to approach an ETF from a newbie's perspective.  Firstly, understand what you own; ETF's can mirror a variety of benchmarks and be composed of a variety of assets.  Secondly, look at total costs.  Be sure to locate ETF's that have low expense ratios and lower bid/ask spreads.  Also, evaluate the ETF's liquidty and make sure that there is enough volume traded daily.