Virtus Introduces Core Equity ETF: Portfolio Products
Also, Leatherback Asset Management launches its first ETF.
The new exchange-traded fund is listed on Nasdaq and tracks the Terranova U.S. Quality Momentum Index (VTUSQM), which was created and developed by Joseph M. Terranova, senior managing director and chief market strategist for Virtus, the Virtus Investment Partners affiliate said. The index’s methodology reflects the investment philosophy Terranova has used throughout his career on Wall Street as a professional investor, risk manager and trader.
JOET can serve as a core equity holding in a diversified portfolio because the ETF “strives to provide exposure to the best performing U.S. large-cap companies with the highest quality fundamental characteristics, resulting in a distinct portfolio built for long-term growth,” according to Virtus.
Separately, Virtus Investment Partners and affiliated manager Sustainable Growth Advisers have launched the Virtus SGA New Leaders Growth Fund (A Shares: VNLAX, 1.39%; C Shares: VNLCX, 2.14%; I Shares: VNLIX, 1.14%; and R6 Shares: VNLRX, 0.91%), offering investors exposure to companies across the globe, with a focus on mid-cap companies.
The fund’s objective of seeking long-term capital appreciation uses an investment approach also used by SGA’s Global Mid-Cap Growth institutional separate account strategy. SGA’s investment process identifies companies that the firm believes have a high degree of predictability, strong profitability and above-average earnings and cash flow growth. The fund is benchmarked to the MSCI ACWI Mid Cap Index.
First ETF Launched by Leatherback
Leatherback Asset Management teamed with Tidal ETF Services to introduce its first ETF: the Leatherback Long/Short Alternative Yield ETF (LBAY, 1.09%) on the NYSE Arca.
LBAY is an actively managed alternative yield strategy that offers a cost-effective, liquid and tax-efficient means for investors to add a high-quality allocation with targeted monthly distributions to their portfolios, the company says.
At the same time, the ETF will seek to identify “idiosyncratic opportunities where a security’s price may be poised to decline and will build ‘short’ positions as determined by the Fund’s management,” the firm says. The ETF “may write covered calls when Leatherback believes call premiums are attractive relative to the price of the underlying securities,” it also notes.
A second Leatherback ETF – the Long/Short Absolute Return ETF (LBAR) – is “coming soon,” according to its website.
John Hancock Widens Model Portfolio Reach
John Hancock Investment Management has more than doubled the number of platforms where its model portfolios are available in the past 12 months, the company says.
Its flagship and custom model portfolios have become available on multiple platforms to an estimated 50,000-plus advisors since launching on Envestnet’s Fund Strategist platform last year, John Hancock says.
Additional platforms include broker-dealers, turnkey asset management platforms, clearing platforms and model marketplaces, it notes. The portfolios are designed by Manulife Investment Management.
Invesco Closer to Active Non-Transparent ETF Launch
Invesco has reached the final regulatory stage its effort to build its own active non-transparent ETF model, it says.
The proposed Invesco active non-transparent ETF model will retain several of the characteristics that investors like about an ETF structure, including an effective arbitrage mechanism, tax efficiency and intraday tradability, the company says. Under the proposed model, on each trading day, Invesco will publish key data metrics to offer a clear view into an ETF’s portfolio value without fully disclosing the ETF holdings.
Invesco previously filed for an exemptive order to license Fidelity’s active equity ETF methodology in July, which was granted in October, Invesco says.
Once the proprietary Invesco application is approved, the firm plans to use both the Fidelity active non-transparent equity model and Invesco model to create Invesco active non-transparent ETFs, Invesco says.
— Check out last week’s portfolio product roundup here: Orion Adds More BlackRock Strategies: Portfolio Products