Category Archives: Launch Alert

Launch Alert: CrossingBridge Nordic High Income Bond Fund

By David Snowball

On October 1, 2024, CrossingBridge Advisors launched CrossingBridge Nordic High Income Bond Fund (NRDCX). The fund will invest in high-income bonds issued, originated, or underwritten out of Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden. Those might be fixed or floating rate bonds, zero-coupon bonds and convertible bonds, and bonds issued by corporations and governments. It will be solely managed by CrossingBridge Advisors.

The managers will seek high current income, and the prospect of some capital growth, within the Nordic bond universe. Within that space, they operate with few externally imposed constraints beyond Continue reading →

Launch Alert: Research Affiliates Deletions ETF (NIXT)

By David Snowball

On September 10, 2024, Research Affiliates will launch its first ETF. Research Affiliates was founded in 2002 by Rob Arnott to provide professional and institutional investors with innovative research and product development. Mr. Arnott is iconic, having published 150 or so research articles that received both attention and rewards. His most extensive work is The Fundamental Index: A Better Way to Invest (2008). Most traditional indexes are capitalization-weighted, so they lock in a large/growth/momentum bias. Arnott notes that the bias may Continue reading →

Launch Alert: Otter Creek Focus Strategy ETF

By David Snowball

On May 17, 2024, Otter Creek Advisors launched the Otter Creek Focus Strategy ETF (OCFS). In doing so, they are providing an existing separately managed account strategy which launched on May 29, 2020, as an ETF. Otter Creek was founded in 1991 to manage a long/short hedge fund and, in 2013, launched a long/short mutual fund. That four-star fund Continue reading →

Launch Alert: WPG Partners Select Hedged Fund

By David Snowball

I love a good mystery. WPG Partners Select Hedged is one. It is live, tracked by Morningstar, and available through Schwab, but appears on neither the Boston Partners nor WPG websites. Here’s what to know.

On May 31, 2024, Boston Partners launched WPG Partners Select Hedged, a long/short small-cap fund from its WPG Partners subsidiary. Boston Partners manages Continue reading →

Launch Alert: T. Rowe Price Intermediate Municipal Income ETF

By David Snowball

On July 10, 2024 – T. Rowe Price launched T. Rowe Price Intermediate Municipal Income ETF (TAXE), an actively managed ETF. Price has 16 other ETFs, including semi-transparent and transparent equity and income funds but this is the first that does not directly mirror an existing fund.

The fund is co-managed by James Lynch and Charlie Hill, who collectively have 53 years of investment experience, and have served Continue reading →

Launch Alert: T. Rowe Price Capital Appreciation & Income

By David Snowball

On November 29, 2023, T. Rowe Price launched the T. Rowe Price Capital Appreciation and Income Fund (PRCFX) after the longest gestation period in fund history. Normally, there’s a lag of 70 days between a fund’s initial SEC filing and its clearance to launch. In this case, the lag is 2,590 days. The fund was organized in October 2016, filed a full prospectus in September 2017, at which point T Rowe Price bought 10,000 shares, and appeared in all of the subsequent Statements of Additional Information filed annually with the SEC.

It’s clear this has been on the adviser’s mind and Continue reading →

Launch Alert: GMO US Quality Equity ETF

By David Snowball

On November 13, 2023, the Boston-based institutional investment firm GMO, founded in 1977 as Grantham, Mayo, and Van Otterloo, launched their first retail product: GMO US Quality Equity ETF (QLTY). The actively managed fund will invest in a focused portfolio of “companies with established track records of historical profitability and strong fundamentals – high quality companies – are able to outgrow the average company over time and are therefore worth a premium price.” Expect a portfolio of about 40 names, with a 75% weighting in large-cap stocks and 25% in mid-caps. At 0.5%, the ETF charges the same expenses as the Continue reading →

Launch Alert: RiverPark Next Century Growth Fund

By David Snowball

On June 30, 2023, RiverPark Funds launched the RiverPark/Next Century Growth Fund (RPNCX/RPNIX) in collaboration with Next Century Growth Investors, LLC. The Fund’s stated objective is to seek long-term capital appreciation by investing primarily in small-capitalization U.S. equity securities. NCG was founded in 1998, is headquartered a bit northwest of the Twin Cities in Plymouth, Minnesota, and manages $1 billion in assets. About 40% of those assets are Continue reading →

Launch Alert: Matthews Emerging Markets ex-China Active ETF

By David Snowball

On January 11, 2023, Matthews Asia launched Matthews Emerging Markets ex China Active ETF (MEMX). It is an actively managed ETF that might invest in every country in the world except China, the United States, Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Israel, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, and most of the countries in Western Europe.

Our January issue originally, and mistakenly, suggested that the fund had launched on 12/31/2022. That was corrected as soon as Matthew’s representatives let us know of the error. Our regrets!

The fund will be Continue reading →

Launch Alert: Fidelity Hedged Equity (FEQHX)

By David Snowball

On September 1, 2022, Fidelity launched Fidelity Hedged Equity (FEQHX) which is also available in five Fidelity Advisor share classes.

The goal is Fidelity Hedged is to provide capital appreciation. Presumably, it’s also to provide capital appreciation with less volatility than the stock market, hence the “hedged” piece. The strategy is to invest in an S&P 500-like stock portfolio. That means some growth and small value but mostly large cap. The managers then apply “a disciplined options-based strategy designed to provide downside protection” mostly by buying put options, which appreciate when the relevant underlying asset depreciates. Generally, the hope is Continue reading →