“I think we see all the advantages to a conversion,” Pershkow said, speaking at the virtual ETFGI Global ETFs Insights Summit this week. “There’s tax efficiency. ETFs have the ability to send securities out of their portfolio in kind, so you don’t unlock the capital gains problem. There’s cost efficiencies; 12b-1 fees aren’t present in any ETFs I know, except the SPDRs. Then there’s transaction costs. People want to convert their mutual funds seemingly to ETFs, but then the question is, well why hasn’t it happened?” He points to a few reasons why many fund managers are holding out, including the need for a brokerage account to hold ETF shares, the fact the tax-efficiency benefits aren’t present in defined contribution plans, such as 401(k)s, and the ability to close down a mutual fund to new purchases.