Courtesy of Brendan Conway

Once upon a time, exchange-traded funds were simple index trackers. Nowadays you see the launch of products like the AdvisorShares Global Alpha & Beta ETF (RRGR).

This actively managed exchange-traded fund, which launched on NYSE Arca today, is built to reflect manager Roger Nusbaum’s ”tactical” and “global asset-allocation strategy (and his stock picks), with the aim of beating major indexes such as the S&P 500 and the Barclays Capital Aggregate Bond Index. It also has the unusual feature of buying and selling other ETFs. The “Random Roger” thing will be familiar if you’ve visited Nusbaum’s popular blog.

RRGR, which launched today on NYSE Arca, has a weighting of nearly 15% in the iShares Dow Jones U.S. Technology Sector Index Fund (IYW), 12% in cash, and 4% in the Vanguard Telecom Service ETF (VOX). HJ Heinz (HNZ), Kinder Morgan Emerging Partners (KMP) and Diageo PLC (DEO) are three of 11 stocks and ETFs that carry a 3% weighting, according to AdvisorShares. The yield will be around 3%, also according to AdvisorShares.

There have been predictions that actively managed ETFs are the next big thing. So far, though, the deepest inroads have been made in actively managed bond funds. Bill Gross’ Pimco Total Return ETF (BOND), just a few months old, is already the biggest actively managed ETF by assets. But the biggest equity ETF by assets isn’t a conventional equity ETF at all — it’s the $325 million AdvisorShares Active Bear ETF (HDGE), a short-selling strategy.

The new ETF has a net expense ratio of 1.40%, according to AdvisorShares’ website. Nor is it the first ETF to buy and sell other ETFs — AdvisorShares already has some of those.