JPMorgan plans to launch exchange-traded funds

NEW YORK, March 11 (Reuters) - JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N) plans to jump into the burgeoning exchange-traded fund (ETF) business, according to two Securities and Exchange Commission filings.

The filings, made on Wednesday, sought approval for both index-based and actively managed ETFs. One index-based fund will track an index of investment-grade municipal bonds with maturities between one and 12 years, while the other will track investment-grade corporate debt with an issuance of at least $300 million.

For actively managed funds, the filing sought approval for funds that could hold stocks, bonds, open-end funds, closed-end funds and unit investment trusts. The strategy for J.P. Morgan's first actively managed ETF would be to invest in about 300 large-cap stocks across many sectors.

Lawrence Carrel, author of 'ETFs for the Long Run,' said the bank runs the J.P. Morgan Alerian MLP Index ETN (AMJ), but "this exchange-traded note isn't a true ETF." He said it is an unsecured debt sold to investors. (Reporting by Jennifer Ablan; Editing by James Dalgleish)