April 4 (Reuters) - Cboe Global Markets filed a request

with the SEC for regulatory approval to change its rules and

allow issuers to add an exchange-traded fund (ETF) share class

to existing mutual funds, the exchange said on Thursday.

If approved, this would allow established asset management

firms to more easily expand strategies that currently exist only

as mutual funds by simply adding an ETF share class, throwing

open the doors to thousands of new funds.

"Both the number of ETFs and ETF assets could soar" if the

SEC approves Cboe's request, said Todd Sohn, ETF analyst at

Strategas LLC.

Vanguard group's patent on the share class concept expired

in May 2023, and a slow but steady stream of other asset

managers have sought SEC approval to replicate the model,

including Dimensional Fund Advisors, Morgan Stanley ( MS ) and

Fidelity.

Others, including T. Rowe Price and JP Morgan, have

expressed interest in this approach to launching new ETFs, a

less costly alternative to either converting or replicating

existing mutual fund strategies.

Cboe's own filing is the first by an exchange and will

create a regulatory deadline. That would push the SEC to

actively consider a question that it has left on the sidelines

for the last 11 months.

"We aim to support issuers in pursuing exemptive relief,"

said Rob Marrocco, global head of ETP listings at Cboe. If

approved, he said in a statement that this would create most

cost and portfolio management efficiencies for investors and

boost liquidity.