The Securities and Exchange Commission, by law, gets between 60 and 75 days to review proposed new funds before they can be offered for sale to the public. Fund companies anxious to have a new fund up and running by December 31st need to have it in the hopper by the third week in October at the latest. This month brings a far more sedate pace of launches with 20 new products in the pipeline, most of which will launch in April or May.
It’s a distinctly mixed-bag this month. Expense ratios range from 0.10% to 2.93%. Mandates range from crystal clear to “trust us! You’ll love it!” And the public record of the managers ranges from nil to “long-tenured team.” And, naturally, another “disruptive” ETF from Cathie Wood whose funds have made a gajillion dollars (ARK Innovation has averaged 54.5% returns for the past five years, which adds up) for her investors.
Acruence Active Hedge U.S. Equity ETF
Acruence Active Hedge U.S. Equity ETF, an actively-managed ETF, seeks capital appreciation with reduced volatility. The plan is to invest in the S&P 500, while seeking to reduce volatility by purchasing options contracts on the CBOE Volatility Index. The fund will be managed by a team led by Rob Emrich. Its opening expense ratio has not been disclosed.
Applied Finance Valuation Stewardship Large Cap US ETF
Applied Finance Valuation Stewardship Large Cap US ETF, an actively-managed ETF, seeks long-term capital appreciation. The plan is not terribly clear: 200 or more large cap stocks, multiple strategies, sub-adviser not yet disclosed. The fund will be managed by a yet-unnamed individual (or individuals) from a yet-unnamed sub-adviser. Its opening expense ratio is 0.49%.
ARK Space Exploration ETF
ARK Space Exploration ETF, an actively-managed ETF, seeks long-term growth of capital. The plan is to invest in domestic and foreign companies engaged in space exploration and innovation. While the universe of, say, pure-play asteroid miners might seem thin, one of the sub-themes focuses on companies that enable space exploration which covers AI, robotics, 3D printing, materials and energy storage. Another theme, beneficiaries of space exploration, includes agriculture. The fund will be managed by Catherine D. Wood. Its opening expense ratio has not been disclosed.
BCM Decathlon Conservative Fund
BCM Decathlon Conservative Fund will seek income and capital appreciation. The plan is to invest roughly 20% of the portfolio in global stocks and 80% in bonds with the goal of limiting volatility to the 4-7% range. The fund and its siblings rely, in part, on “pattern recognition technology to identify repeating patterns within the return and volatility data that suggest a desirable distribution of potential returns over the next 25 trading days.” The fund will be managed by David M. Haviland, Denis Rezendes, CFA, and Brendan Ryan, CFA, all of Beaumont Capital Management. Its opening expense ratio is 1.84%, and the minimum initial investment will be $1,000. The same prospectus covers “Moderate” and “Growth” versions of the strategy as well.
BlackRock U.S. Carbon Transition Readiness ETF
BlackRock U.S. Carbon Transition Readiness ETF, an actively-managed ETF, seeks long-term capital appreciation by investing in large- and mid-capitalization U.S. equity securities that may be better positioned to benefit from the transition to a low-carbon economy. The plan is to invest in mid- and large-cap stocks based, in part, on their Low Carbon Economy Transition Readiness score. They overweight high-scoring companies and underweight otherwise attractive low-scoring ones. The fund will be managed by Eric van Nostrand and Jonathan Adams. Its opening expense ratio is 0.30%. The same prospectus covers a global version of the strategy as well.
First Trust TCW ESG Premier Equity ETF
First Trust TCW ESG Premier Equity ETF, an actively-managed ETF, seeks long-term capital appreciation. The plan is to buy “enduring, cash generating businesses whose leaders prudently manage their environmental, social, and financial resources and whose shares are attractively valued relative to [their] free cash flow.” The fund will be managed by Joseph R. Shaposhnik. Its opening expense ratio has not been disclosed.
Gavekal Asia Pacific Government Bond ETF
Gavekal Asia Pacific Government Bond ETF, an actively-managed ETF, seeks to provide absolute positive returns. The plan is to invest in local currency bonds issued by national governments and organizations such as the World Bank, Asia Development Bank, and Asian Infrastructure Bank. The portfolio will average a five-year duration and the managers may invest in junk bonds. The fund will be managed by Andrew Serowik and Chung Hui Lor. Its opening expense ratio has not been disclosed.
Goldman Sachs Future Tech Leaders Equity ETF
Goldman Sachs Future Tech Leaders Equity ETF, an actively-managed ETF, seeks long-term growth of capital. The plan is to create a global portfolio of tech companies at various growth stages that are able to grow over many years by using or deploying differentiated technology. The fund will be managed by a team led by Sung Cho. Its opening expense ratio has not been disclosed.
Polen U.S. SMID Company Growth Fund
Polen U.S. SMID Company Growth Fund will seek long-term growth of capital. The plan is to invest in small- and mid-cap stocks whose underlying businesses have (i) consistent and sustainable high return on capital, (ii) strong earnings growth and free cash flow generation, (iii) strong balance sheets typically with low or no net debt to total capital and (iv) competent and shareholder-oriented management teams. The fund will be managed by Rayna Lesser Hannaway. Its opening expense ratio is 1.30%, and the minimum initial investment will be $3,000.
Spectrum Unconstrained Fund
Spectrum Unconstrained Fund will seek total return. The plan is to apply “trend-following, momentum, relative strength and many other technical strategies applied to domestic and international stock and bond markets.” They’ll execute through some combination of ETFs and funds, leveraged ETFs, inverse ETFs and derivatives. The fund will be managed by a team led by Ralph Doudera. Its opening expense ratio is 2.93% (uhh … yikes), and the minimum initial investment will be $1,000.
TFA Multi-Strategy Growth Fund
TFA Multi-Strategy Growth Fund will seek capital appreciation. The plan is to combine four active strategies, such as “daily long-short directional” and “leaders-based equity.” If they anticipate a favorable equity climate, they invite in equity ETFs, funds, and stocks. Otherwise, they switch to fixed income. They’ll maintain an equity exposure somewhere between -25% and 150% of assets. The fund will be managed by five sets of sub-advisers. Its opening expense ratio has not been disclosed, and the minimum initial investment will be $250. There’s a whole series of Tactical Fund Adviser funds in the same prospectus, several of which have been running as Anchor Capital funds.
Uncommon Portfolio Design Core Equity ETF
Uncommon Portfolio Design Core Equity ETF (UGCE), an actively-managed ETF, seeks capital appreciation. The plan is to invest 40-60% of the portfolio in dividend-paying value stocks and the remaining in reasonably priced industry-leading growth stocks. The fund will be managed by Wes Strode, CFA, and Paul Knipping. Its opening expense ratio is 0.65%.
Vanguard Ultra-Short Bond ETF
Vanguard Ultra-Short Bond ETF, an actively-managed ETF, seeks to provide current income while maintaining limited price volatility. The plan is to invest primarily in high-quality bonds with a duration of 0-2 years; just to spice things up, the managers can also dabble in medium-quality bonds. The fund will be managed by Samuel C. Martinez, Arvind Narayanan, and Daniel Shaykevich. Its opening expense ratio is 0.10%.
