Morgan Stanley's 0.14% ETF Fee: Small Change, Big Crypto Stakes 🪙

Morgan Stanley has filed an amended S-1 registration statement disclosing fee and staking details for its proposed spot Ethereum and spot Solana exchange-traded funds. The filings represent another step toward launching the products following the firm's spot Bitcoin ETF debut in April, and they outline a sponsor fee of 0.14% annually on each fund's net asset value, charged daily and paid monthly. The proposed Ethereum fund would trade under the ticker MSSE, while the Solana fund would carry the ticker MSOL, according to the documents.

Both filings introduce a staking mechanism under which the trusts may stake their underlying Ether and Solana holdings to generate additional income. Custodians and staking service providers would collectively receive 5% of all staking rewards as compensation, with the remaining 95% retained within the trusts. The sponsor stated it will not be entitled to any portion of staking rewards beyond the 0.14% management fee, a structure the filing indicates is intended to keep the majority of staking yield inside the funds.

For the Ethereum product, the filing specifies that custodians would place ETH holdings into Ethereum staking smart contracts managed by staking service providers, integrating the staking process into the trust's custody framework. The arrangement is designed so that staking proceeds, net of the 5% allocation to service providers, accrue to the trust and therefore to its shareholders.

The disclosures provide the first detailed look at how Morgan Stanley intends to price and operate the two funds as they move through the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission review process. The 0.14% sponsor fee places the firm in the same competitive range as other recently launched spot crypto ETFs, and the inclusion of staking sets the proposed products apart from funds that hold non-yielding spot assets. Further amendments and a potential effective order from the SEC remain outstanding as the filings progress through review.