The Securities and Exchange Commission granted exemptive relief for Precidian Investments LLC's ActiveShares exchange-traded fund structure, paving the way for non-transparent ETFs.

The ActiveShares structure only discloses the investments in an ETF's portfolio to a broker acting as an "authorized participant representative" that either buys or liquidates a basket of stocks in exchange for cash, Pensions & Investments reported. The actively managed, non-transparent ETF will also publish its market value every second throughout the trading day.

ETFs from Legg Mason Inc.'s Royce & Associates and ClearBridge Investments LLC, which were listed as initial funds in Precidian Funds' application, can now file to be listed in an exchange, according to the report. Legg Mason owns a minority stake in Precidian, which has already signed contracts for ActiveShares with 10 asset managers comprising approximately 25% of the active U.S. equity mutual fund market. Dicussions with other firms interested in licensing ActiveShares are underway, according to a release.

In April, it was reported that the SEC intended to approve Precidian's non-transparent ETF structure.