VanEck resurrects Social Media Buzz ETF

VanEck Vectors Social Sentiment ETF

Ticker: BUZZ

Effective date: February 23, 2021

Listing date: March 4, 2021

Expense ratio: 0.75%

The underlying index for this fund was originally named the "BUZZ Social Media Insights Index". It was eventually renamed the "BUZZ NextGen AI US Sentiment Leaders Index™".

An ETF tracking the index was launched in April 2016 under the name 

"Sprott BUZZ Social Media Insights ETF (NYSE: BUZ)", but BUZ was shuttered in 2019.

Last week VanEck filed for an ETF that tracks this same index and named the fund the "VanEck Vectors Social Sentiment ETF". The index contains 75 stocks of US companies picked based on their Insight Score, a measure arrived at with proprietary dark sorcery black box Artificial Intelligence and which indicates which stocks have social media "buzz".

The idea behind "buzz" is to harness the wisdom of the crowds and to anticipate stock price trends by observing the information/interest around stocks being generated in social media, and the individuals mentioning them.

Both the classification of social media mention (positive, negative, neutral) and the weight of the individual mentioning the stock are vulnerable to subjective settings in developing the AI used to score stocks.

However, over the 717 trading sessions over which BUZ was alive, it outperformed SPY by about 5%. Let's see how it fares now as "BUZZ" and under the management of VanEck.

Finally, BUZ charged a 0.75% expense ratio, so will be interesting to watch where VanEck prices BUZZ.

Index: BUZZ NextGen AI US Sentiment Leaders Index

Index provider: BUZZ Indexes

Constituents: 75

Strategy/Index Methodology

The BUZZ NextGen AI US Sentiment Leaders Index™ identifies the 75 large cap US stocks which exhibit the highest degree of positive investor sentiment and bullish perception. 

The insights are statistically derived using machine learning and artificial intelligence analysis techniques applied to millions of unique stock-specific data points. 

Content is aggregated from online sources including social media, news articles, blog posts and other alternative datasets.

The data is filtered through an analytics model which utilizes Natural Language Processing Algorithms and Artificial Intelligence Applications.

The BUZZ Process

1. From universe of US stocks BUZZ targets most mentioned across online sources including social media, news, and blogs

2. BUZZ classifies mentions as positive, negative, or neutral

3. BUZZ measures influence and historical accuracy of individuals mentioned aforementioned stocks

4. Stocks are assigned an "Insights Score"

5. 75 stocks with highest "Insight Score" are selected for index

6. Rebalanced monthly

Index Constituents as of November 23, 2020 in descending order of weight:

1. Plug Power Inc.
2. Snap Inc.
3. Peloton Interactive Inc.
4. Tesla Inc.
5. Fastly Inc.
6. Zoom Video Communications Inc.
7. Twitter Inc.
8. Boeing Co.
9. Advanced Micro Devices Inc.
10. Amazon.com Inc.
11. Facebook Inc.
12. Apple Inc.
13. Netflix Inc.
14. Microsoft Corp.
15. Pfizer Inc.
16. Pinterest Inc.
17. General Electric Co.
18. American Airlines Group Inc.
19. Walt Disney Co.
20. Gilead Sciences Inc.
21. Roku Inc.
22. Square Inc.
23. Beyond Meat Inc.
24. Alphabet Inc.
25. Novavax Inc.
26. Intel Corp.
27. PayPal Holdings Inc.
28. Carnival Corp.
29. Ford Motor Co.
30. AT&T Inc.
31. NVIDIA Corp.
32. Moderna Inc.
33. Canopy Growth Corp.
34. JPMorgan Chase & Co.
35. Cloudflare Inc.
36. Uber Technologies Inc.
37. Teladoc Health Inc.
38. The Goldman Sachs Group Inc.
39. Exxon Mobil Corp.
40. General Motors Co.
41. Biogen Inc.
42. Shopify Inc.
43. Wells Fargo & Co.
44. Hyatt Hotels Corp.
45. Barrick Gold Corp.
46. Wal-Mart Stores Inc.
47. Twilio Inc.
48. Enphase Energy Inc.
49. Bank of America Corp.
50. Etsy Inc.
51. Datadog Inc.
52. Slack Technologies Inc.
53. Trade Desk Inc.
54. International Business Machine
55. Penn National Gaming Inc.
56. Simon Property Group Inc.
57. Johnson & Johnson
58. Chewy Inc.
59. Occidental Petroleum Corp.
60. Citigroup Inc.
61. Morgan Stanley
62. QUALCOMM Inc.
63. DocuSign Inc.
64. United Parcel Service Inc.
65. Crowdstrike Holdings Inc.
66. United Airlines Holdings Inc.
67. Lyft Inc.
68. Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc.
69. Zendesk Inc.
70. Activision Blizzard Inc.
71. CVS Health Corp.
72. Eli Lilly and Co.
73. McDonald’s Corp.
74. Starbucks Corp.
75. Delta Air Lines Inc.

BUZZ fund holdings can be found here.

Prospectus is here.

Index being calculated by Solactive:

Index guidelines (doesn't contain any information on the AI methodology: how do they expect anyone to replicate/track/verify the index?)

Bonus: The original Sprott BUZZ Social Media Insights ETF.

HEARSAY on Social Media

S000071092

JP Morgan files active short duration ETF - LISTED!

UPDATES IN RED

JPMorgan Short Duration Core Plus ETF

Ticker: JSCP

CUSIP: 46641Q274

Exchange: NYSE arca

Effective date: February 23, 2021

Listing date: March 2, 2021

Expense ratio: 0.33%

Holdings: 226

OBJECTIVE

Total return and preservation of capital. 

INVESTMENT STRATEGY

Benchmark: Bloomberg Barclays 1-5 Year Government/Credit Index

Eligible Securities / Investments

• Investment grade bonds
• Junk bonds
• Foreign and emerging markets debt
• Corporate bonds
• US Treasury obligations
• Other US Government and agency securities
• Asset-backed
• Mortgage-related and mortgage-backed securities
• Mortgage TBAs
• Private placements
• Restricted securities and other unregistered securities
• Variable and floating rate instruments

Securities Characteristics

• At least 70% of fund's net assets in investment grade as rated by nationally recognized statistical rating organization
• Max 30% of net assets in below investment grade
• 25% of fund's assets may be invested in foreign securities
• Duration of three years or less

Market Sector Exposure Ranges

Fund Investment Characteristics

• At least 85% in USD or hedged back to USD
• Max 25% in "sub-prime" mortgage-related securities
• Fund may enter in "dollar rolls" (selling MBS and at the same time contracts to buy back very similar securities on a future date)
• May use derivatives such as futures, options, swaps, and forward contracts for risk management and leverage.

Investment Process

The adviser uses both a top down and bottom up research process as well as a combination of fundamental and quantitative inputs to allocate the Fund’s assets among a range of sectors. 

Prospectus is here.

Final Prospectus is here.

Final Statement of Additional Information is here.

MORE ETF HEARSAY

 

S000071090

What are the Fund’s main investment strategies?

Consistent with the Fund’s dual objective of seeking total return and preservation of capital, the Fund uses a multi-sector strategy in order to create a diversified portfolio that generates total return while managing risk. The Fund principally invests in traditional fixed income sectors (for example, investment grade corporate bonds), while also having the flexibility to allocate its assets to extended sectors such as below investment grade securities (also known as high yield or junk bonds) and foreign and emerging markets debt. The Fund may invest in corporate bonds, U.S. treasury obligations and other U.S. government and agency securities, asset-backed, mortgage-related and mortgage-backed securities, mortgage TBAs, private placements, credit risk transfer securities, credit-linked notes, restricted securities and other unregistered securities, and variable and floating rate instruments. Under normal conditions, at least 70% of the Fund’s net assets must be invested in securities that, at the time of purchase, are rated investment grade by a nationally recognized statistical rating organization (NRSRO) or in securities that are unrated but are deemed by the adviser to be of comparable quality. The Fund will not invest more than 30% of its net assets in below investment grade securities (or the unrated equivalent) under normal conditions. Up to 25% of the Fund’s net assets may be invested in foreign securities including sovereign and agency debt.

The Fund seeks to maintain a duration of three years or less, although under certain market conditions such as in periods of significant volatility in interest rates and spreads, the Fund’s duration may be longer than three years. Duration is a measure of price sensitivity of a debt security or a portfolio of debt securities to relative changes in interest rates. For instance, a duration of “three years” means that a security’s or portfolio’s price would be expected to decrease by approximately 3% with a 1% increase in interest rates (assuming a parallel shift in yield curve).

The Fund may invest across the full range of market sectors. As of the date of this prospectus, ranges for certain broad market sectors are as follows. The Fund may change these ranges if J.P. Morgan Investment Inc. (JPMIM or the adviser) determines in its discretion that the market environment has significantly changed.

Market Sector	Min	Max
U.S. Treasury & Agency	10%	50%
U.S. Agency Residential Mortgage-Backed Securities	10%	30%
Asset-Backed Securities	0%	20%
Commercial Mortgage-Backed Securities	0%	20%
Investment Grade Corporate Debt Securities	20%	50%
High Yield Corporate Debt	0%	20%
Emerging Markets Debt	0%	15%

The adviser will invest across the credit spectrum to provide the Fund exposure to various credit rating categories. Under normal conditions, at least 70% of the Fund’s net assets must be invested in securities that, at the time of purchase, are rated investment grade by a NRSRO or in securities that are unrated but are deemed by the adviser to be of comparable quality. The balance of the Fund’s assets are not required to meet any minimum quality rating although the Fund will not, under normal conditions, invest more than 30% of its net assets in below investment grade securities (or the unrated equivalent). Such securities may include so called “distressed debt.” Distressed debt includes securities of issuers experiencing financial or operating difficulties, securities where the issuer has defaulted in the payment of interest or principal or in the performance of its covenants or agreements, securities of issuers that may be involved in bankruptcy proceedings, reorganizations or financial restructurings or securities of issuers operating in troubled industries.

Up to 25% of the Fund’s net assets may be invested in foreign securities. Foreign securities include securities issued by foreign governments and their agencies and instrumentalities and companies that are incorporated outside the United States, including securities from issuers in countries whose economies are less developed (emerging markets). Such investments may include below investment grade securities or the unrated equivalent subject to the limitations on below investment grade securities described above. The Fund’s investments may include securities denominated in foreign currencies. Currently, the Fund anticipates at least 85% of the Fund’s net assets will be denominated in U.S. dollars or hedged back to U.S. dollars. However, from time to time, the Fund may have greater exposure to non-U.S. dollar investments to take advantage of market conditions.

The Fund may invest a significant portion of its assets in mortgage-related and mortgage-backed securities at the adviser’s discretion. Mortgage-related and mortgage-backed securities may be structured as collateralized mortgage obligations (agency and non-agency), stripped mortgage backed securities (interest-only or principal-only), commercial mortgage-backed securities, and mortgage pass-through securities. The Fund expects to invest no more than 25% of its assets in “sub-prime” mortgage-related securities at the time of purchase. The Fund may also enter into “dollar rolls” in which the Fund sells mortgage-backed securities and at the same time contracts to buy back very similar securities on a future date.

In addition to direct investments in securities, derivatives, which are instruments that have a value based on another instrument, exchange rate or index, may be used as substitutes for securities in which the Fund can invest. The Fund may use futures contracts, options, swaps and forward contracts as tools in the management of portfolio assets. The Fund may use derivatives to hedge various investments, for risk management and/or to increase income or gain to the Fund. In addition to the mortgage dollar rolls as described above, the Fund may utilize other relative value strategies involving credit-oriented trades (such as credit default swaps or credit default swap indices), combinations of derivatives, and combinations of derivatives and fixed income securities. The Fund may also utilize foreign currency derivatives such as currency forwards to hedge its non- dollar investments back to the U.S. dollar or use such derivatives to gain or adjust exposure to particular foreign securities, markets or currencies.

Investment Process: The adviser uses both a top down and bottom up research process as well as a combination of fundamental and quantitative inputs to allocate the Fund’s assets among a range of sectors. In buying and selling investments for the Fund, the adviser looks for market sectors and individual securities that it believes will perform well over time. The adviser selects individual securities after performing a risk/reward analysis to address the Fund’s dual objective of seeking total return and preservation of capital. Such analysis includes an evaluation of interest rate risk, credit risk, duration, liquidity, currency risk, legal provisions and the structure of the transaction. Generally, the adviser will sell a security when, based on fundamental credit analysis and the considerations described above, the adviser believes the issuer’s credit quality or the investment’s valuation will materially deteriorate or when the adviser believes that there is better relative value available in the market in other investments. As part of its investment process, the adviser also considers certain environmental, social and governance factors that it believes could have a material negative or positive impact on the risk profiles of certain securities or countries in which the Fund may invest. These determinations may not be conclusive and securities or countries that may be negatively impacted by such factors may be purchased and retained by the Fund while the Fund may divest or not invest in securities of issuers that may be positively impacted by such factors.

As part of its principal investment strategy and for temporary defensive purposes, any portion of the Fund’s total assets may be invested in cash and cash equivalents.

New ETF to launch next week

Distillate International Fundamental Stability & Value ETF

Ticker: DSTX
Exchange: NYSE Arca


Expense ratio: 0.55%
CUSIP: 26922B501

Index: Distillate International Fundamental Stability & Value Index
Constituents: 100

Universe: companies screened for cash flow, liquidity, market cap, and low minimum lots.

Methodology: Companies evaluated on:

• Financial Indebtedness
• Fundamental Stability
• Valuation

Prospectus is here.

More ETF HEARSAY:

Distillate International Fundamental Stability & Value Index

To be eligible for inclusion in the Index, a company must meet the following requirements: 

(1) have a minimum of five years of cash flow per share data available,

(2) have sufficient liquidity (e.g., a minimum average daily trading volume of US$20 million over the most recent 30-day period), 

(3) have a minimum market capitalization of US$5 billion, and 

(4) sufficiently low minimum-lot requirements (the “Equity Universe”). 

The Equity Universe is determined annually as of each December 15 and constitutes the Equity Universe for each quarterly reconstitution of the Index until the next December 15. 

The companies in the Equity Universe are then evaluated based on the following three proprietary fundamental measures (collectively, the “FSV Measures”) to identify the companies that will be included in the Index:

Financial Indebtedness

Companies with significant leverage (based on a proprietary debt-to-income calculation) are excluded from the Index.

Fundamental Stability
Each company is scored based on a proprietary measure of the volatility of its historical and projected cash flows as an indicator of fundamental stability. The bottom two-thirds (i.e., the least stable) of the companies in the Equity Universe based on this measure are excluded from the Index.

Valuation
Each company is scored based on a proprietary measure of the company’s free cash flow yield (a measure comparing a company’s normalized free cash flow to its enterprise value). 

The top 100 companies (i.e., the most undervalued) based on such scoring that also meet the Index’s other criteria are included in the Index.  

 

The Index is typically reconstituted quarterly from the companies in the Equity Universe after the close of trading on the 10th business day of each January, April, July, and October, based on FSV Measures as of the 5th business day of that month (the “Data Date”). The Index Provider may adjust the specific timing of reconstitutions to account for holidays and market closures in foreign markets.

At the time of each reconstitution of the Index, a company will not be removed from the Index solely for falling out of the top 100 most undervalued companies as determined by the Index methodology if it remains within the top 130 most undervalued companies. Similarly, a company will not be removed from the Index solely for having a market capitalization less than US$5 billion or average daily trading volume of less than US$20 million if the company’s market capitalization and average daily trading volume are at least 70% of such thresholds (i.e., US$3.5 billion and US$14 million, respectively).

The Index consists of companies in the following geographic regions: 

• the Americas (North America ex-United States & South America)
• Europe
• the Middle East & Africa
• Japan
• China/Hong Kong
• Asia & Australia ex-Japan/China/Hong Kong

The Index excludes U.S. companies (i.e., those with their headquarters in the United States). At the time of each reconstitution of the Index, the Index limits the weighting of each foregoing region to a maximum of 150% of the weight of the total market capitalization of large- and mid-capitalization stocks in such region relative to the total global ex-U.S. market capitalization of large- and mid-capitalization stocks.

The Index Provider determines each country’s eligibility for inclusion in the Index based on factors including the liquidity of the country’s stock markets, accessibility to foreign investors, operational complexity, price transparency, and capital controls, as well as the effect a country’s inclusion in the Index would have on the Index’s investibility and the cost of trying to replicate the Index’s constituents. The Index Provider may include a depositary receipt in lieu of a foreign ordinary share, if such depositary receipt meets the Index eligibility requirements described above. In addition, the Index may include companies organized in emerging market nations or whose shares trade primarily in emerging market nations.

Companies in the real estate development and real estate investment trust industries, as defined by the FactSet Revere Business Industry Classification Systems (“RBICS”), are excluded from the Index.

At the time of each reconstitution of the Index, each Index constituent is initially weighted based on the sum of two-thirds of its equal weighting weight (i.e., 2/3 of 1%) and one-third of its proportion of the Index’s total normalized cash flow, using data as of the Data Date. For example, for an Index constituent with 4% of the total normalized free cash flow of all 100 Index constituents, its weighting would be two-thirds of 1% plus one-third of 4%, which equals 2%. The new weight of each company may be adjusted upward or downward by the Index methodology to minimize the turnover rate of positions that would remain in the Index with weights that would otherwise change by less than 0.25%.

Although the Index methodology seeks to select companies that demonstrate fundamental stability, the value of such companies (and consequently the value of the Index and of the Fund) may still be subject to volatility over short or long periods of time.

As of December 7, 2020, the Index had significant exposure to companies in China/Hong Kong and Europe. The Index’s exposure may change significantly with each reconstitution or based on market movements in between reconstitutions.

KraneShares listing China Consumer Index Fund this Friday NYSE: KBUY

KraneShares CICC China Consumer Leaders Index ETF

Ticker: KBUY

Exchange: NYSE Arca

Listing Date: December 11, 2020

Expense ratio: 0.69%

CUSIP: 500767595

Index: CICC China Consumer Leaders Index

Constituents: 30

Strategy

Index tracks the equity market performance of Chinese companies engaged in Consumer-Related Industries (as defined below)

Eligible securities can be:

1. A-Shares
2. B-Shares
3. H-Shares
4. N-Shares
5. P-Chips
6. Red Chips

Eligible securities are as per Global Industry Classification Standard: “Consumer-Related Industries”:

• Consumer Electronics
• Home decorations
• Household appliances
• Household appliances and special consumer goods
• Leisure Products
• Clothing, apparel and luxury
• Footwear
• Textile
• Hotels, resorts and luxury cruises
• restaurant
• Computer and Electronics Retail
• Beer
• Liquor and wine
• Soft drink
• Food processing and meat
• Household items
• Personal items
• Food retail
• Leisure facilities

The eligible companies are then ranked by

• long term operating income
• long term operating cash flow
• market capitalization
• long term return on equity
• long-term gross profit. 

Top 30 stocks 

with the highest ranking are then included in the Underlying Index, weighted according to free-float market capitalizations with a cap to limit stocks of individual companies to no more than 15% of the Underlying Index. 

Prospectus is here.

Product page is here.

Twitter : @ETFhearsay

Additional Information on Eligible Securities

The following China-related securities may be included in the Underlying Index and/or represent investments of the Fund:

• China A-Shares, which are shares of companies incorporated in mainland China that are traded on the Chinese exchanges and denominated in domestic renminbi. China A-Shares are primarily purchased and sold in the domestic Chinese market. To the extent the Fund invests in China A-Shares, it expects to do so through the trading and clearing facilities of a participating exchange located outside of mainland China (“Stock Connect Programs”). A Renminbi Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor (“RQFII”) or Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor (“QFII”) license may also be acquired to invest directly in China A-Shares.

• China B Shares, which are shares of companies listed on the Shanghai or Shenzhen Stock Exchange but quoted and traded in foreign currencies (such as Hong Kong Dollars or U.S. Dollars), which were primarily created for trading by foreign investors.

• China H Shares, which are shares of companies incorporated in mainland China and listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (“H-Shares”), where they are traded in Hong Kong dollars and may be traded by foreign investors.

• China N Shares, which are shares of companies with business operations in mainland China and listed on an American stock exchange, such as NYSE or NASDAQ (“N-Shares”).

• P-Chips, which are shares of private sector companies with a majority of their business operations in mainland China and controlling private Chinese shareholders, which are incorporated outside of mainland China and traded on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in Hong Kong dollars.

• Red Chips, which are shares of companies with a majority of their business operations in mainland China and controlled by the central, provincial or municipal governments of the PRC, whose shares are traded on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in Hong Kong dollars.

• S-Chips, which are shares of companies with business operations in mainland China and listed on the Singapore Exchange. S-Chip shares are issued by companies incorporated anywhere, but many are registered in Singapore, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, or Bermuda.

The Underlying Index is provided by Fuzzy Logix, Inc. (doing business as “FastINDX”) (“Index Provider”).

Social Justice ETF to list next Tuesday

Adasina Social Justice All Cap Global ETF

Investment value proposition: Companies that are not nice will not perform well. Investment strategy is focused on excluding companies that do social harm.

This ETF is "actively-managed" but states that it will closely mimic an index. 

Ticker: JSTC

Exchange: NYSE arca

Listing date: December 15, 2020

Expense ratio: 0.89%

CUSIP: 886364876

Index: N/A

Benchmark: Adasina Social Justice Index

Constituents: 891 as of November 30, 2020

Strategy

Closely mimic the composition of the Adasina Social Justice Index*

Benchmark Index methodology

Universe: 9,000 US-traded and non-US-traded stocks excluding REITs. Use ADRs where possible.

Exclude companies based on screens on five criteria:

• Racial
• Gender
• Economic
• Climate
• Movement Aligned

Companies that remain are included in the index, subject to global risk model constraints.

Will invest in at least three different countries.

At least 40% of fund assets will be invested in non-US companies.

Investment advisor is Robasciotti & Philipson, acting as Adasina Social Capital. More info and links here:

Adasina Social Capital

Robasciotti & Philipson

Portfolio managers

• Rachel J. Robasciotti
• Maya Philipson
• Michael Venuto
• Charles A. Ragauss

Prospectus is here.

Twitter : @ETFhearsay

*Adasina Social Justice Index

The Index is composed of equity securities of companies that possess characteristics that Adasina believes meet the investment criteria for investors concerned with social justice. The Index universe begins with approximately 9,000 publicly-traded U.S. and non-U.S. securities, excluding real estate investment trust (“REIT”) securities. Non-U.S. companies will be U.S. exchange-traded American Depositary Receipts (“ADRs”), if available, provided their liquidity is comparable to locally traded shares. Companies are screened for exclusion from the Index based on Adasina’s social justice investment criteria. To determine these criteria, Adasina works closely with social justice organizations to build data sets that represent the issues most directly affecting their communities and uses this community-sourced data to establish the standards regarding social justice characteristics considered in the Index. The characteristics that the Index considers fall into the following criteria:

Racial
The Racial Justice criteria aim to uproot systems that reinforce, perpetuate, and exacerbate racial inequities. The Index seeks to exclude companies that Adasina determines participate in, or benefit from, those unjust systems. This includes companies that Adasina has determined: are involved in the ownership, operation, management, and service of prisons and immigrant detention centers; provide or facilitate money bail services; participate in citizen and immigrant surveillance; operate for-profit colleges; are involved in state violence and human rights violations as a result of military occupations; fail to support indigenous peoples’ rights; or do not implement diversity policies or programs to increase workforce diversity.

Gender
The Gender Justice criteria aim to ensure safe and fair opportunities for all people, regardless of their gender identity. The Index seeks to exclude companies with policies and practices that Adasina determines do not support gender equity or LGBTQ+ equality. This includes companies that support restricting reproductive rights, maintain policies that enable serial sexual harassment, fail to offer equal and fair employment opportunities to women and members of the LGBTQ+ community, or lack sufficient gender representation in leadership.

Economic
The Economic Justice criteria aim to create a fair and equitable financial future for all people and communities. The Index seeks to exclude companies that Adasina determines fail to deal fairly with the public or their employees. This includes companies that pay sub-minimum wages to employees or excessive executive wages, fail to ensure the elimination of forced labor and child labor in their supply chains, maintain poor working conditions, or provide predatory financial products and services.

Climate
The Climate Justice criteria aim to advance the goals of environmental sustainability in partnership with social justice movements. The Index seeks to exclude companies that Adasina determines significantly contribute to climate change, lack environmentally sustainable practices, or negatively impact air and water quality. This includes companies that: are involved in fossil fuel production, refining, and extraction; fund the fossil fuel industry; engage in the most harmful aspects of extractive agriculture; engage in excessive energy usage; significantly contribute to deforestation; fail to effectively manage carbon emissions; engage in mining; fail to effectively manage waste; or generate significant air pollution or other environmental hazards, which Adasina has determined disproportionately impact poor communities and people of color.

Movement Aligned
The Movement Aligned criteria take direction from a variety of causes that advance social equity and the welfare of people and the planet. The Index seeks to exclude companies that Adasina has determined negatively impact animal welfare and human safety, as well as companies that lack adequate corporate accountability. This includes companies that Adasina has determined: have poor animal welfare practices; produce or sell fur and leather products; engage in non-medical animal testing; produce, distribute, or derive substantial revenue from tobacco products; provide significant financial support to socially conservative institutions; fail to maintain adequate protections for customer data and security; have poor accounting, management, or other corporate governance practices; or produce products with a substantially negative social impact, including the manufacture or sale of weapons or firearms.
 

New Active Muni Bond ETF to list this Friday

Avantis Core Municipal Fixed Income ETF

Ticker: AVMU

Exchange: NYSE arca

Listing Date: December 11, 2020

CUSIP: 25072695

Expense ratio: 0.15%

Index: N/A

Benchmark: S&P National AMT-Free Municipal Bond index

Constituents: N/A

Expected weighted average duration: within 2 years of the weighted average duration of its benchmark.

Investment Advisor: American Century Investment Management, Inc. based in Kansas City, Missouri 64111

Portfolio Managers

• Eduardo Repetto
• Hozef Arif
• Mitchell Handa
• Daniel Ong

Prospectus is here.

Twitter: @ETFhearsay

Principal Investment Strategies

The fund’s investment process uses an analytical framework, which includes an assessment of securities’ expected income and capital appreciation, to seek securities with high expected returns. The portfolio managers categorize securities within the fund’s investment universe into component groups based on factors such as industry sector, credit rating, duration, country, and currency. The portfolio managers then calculate the expected return implied by the yield curve of each component group, while considering valuation metrics such as yield, duration, and option adjusted spreads. Finally, the portfolio managers adjust the portfolio to arrive at position weightings for each component group with the goal of building a portfolio with enhanced expected return.

Under normal market conditions, the fund will invest at least 80% of its net assets, plus any borrowings for investment purposes, in municipal fixed income securities with interest payments exempt from federal income tax. A municipal fixed income security is a debt obligation issued by or on behalf of a state, its political subdivisions, agencies or instrumentalities, the District of Columbia or a U.S. territory or possession. Municipal securities include revenue bonds, general obligation bonds, municipal lease obligations, and industrial development bonds. The fund may use derivatives, such as futures contracts or swap agreements, to gain or limit exposures. The fund may purchase or sell when-issued, forward-settling, delayed delivery or forward commitment basis.

The fund expects to maintain a weighted average duration within 2 years of the weighted average duration of its benchmark, the S&P National AMT-Free Municipal Bond index, as calculated by the manager. The fund will invest primarily in investment grade securities as rated by an independent rating agency or determined by the advisor to be of comparable credit quality if a rating is unavailable.

The fund may also engage in securities lending. Collateral received by the fund in connection with loaning its securities may consist of cash and U.S. government securities. Cash collateral may be invested in eligible securities, such as a government money market fund.

The fund is an actively managed exchange-traded fund (ETF) that does not seek to replicate the performance of a specified index. The portfolio managers continually analyze market and financial data to make buy, sell, and hold decisions. When buying or selling a security, the portfolio managers may consider the trade-off between expected returns of the security and implementation or tax costs of the trade in an attempt to gain trading efficiencies, avoid unnecessary risk, and enhance fund performance.

Direxion files 5 new ETFs

Direxion FANG-20 ETF

Direxion Daily FANG-20 Bear 1X Shares

Direxion Daily FANG-20 Bull 2X Shares

Direxion Daily FANG-20 Bear 2X Shares

Direxion Daily Cloud Computing Bear 2X Shares

Effective date: February 22, 2021

NYSE® FANG 20 Index

equal weighted index designed to include Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix, and (Alphabet’s) Google and similar highly-traded growth stocks of technology and tech-enabled companies from the technology and consumer discretionary sectors. 

The Index consists of 20 stocks that are listed on a U.S. Exchange that have a minimum of a $5 billion market capitalization and a 6-month average daily trading value of at least $50 million. 

The Index selects companies that are exposed to new technologies based on themes such as social networking, electric vehicles, smartphones, mobile payments, online games or streaming media, digital advertising, artificial intelligence and machine learning and e-commence. 

The Index is rebalanced quarterly.

Investment Advisor: Rafferty Asset Management, LLC

Prospectus is here.

Twitter: @ETFhearsay

New JP Morgan ETF to list Thursday

JPMorgan Carbon Transition U.S. Equity ETF

Ticker: JCTR

Exchange: NYSE Arca

Listing Date: December 10, 2020

CUSIP: 46641Q282

Expense ratio: 0.15%

Index: JPMorgan Asset Management Carbon Transition U.S. Equity Index

Constituents: 320 as of September 30, 2020

Index Methodology

Universe: Russell 1000 Index

Rules-based evaluation of companies to identify which ones would benefit from a transition to a lower carbon economy based on three characteristics:

•Emissions – How effectively the company is managing emissions, including through its own reduction in the burning of fossil fuels and in providing products and services reflecting a shift in consumer demands for lower emissions

•Resource Management – How effectively the company is managing the resources which it consumes, such as electricity, water and waste

•Risk Management – How effectively the company is managing physical and reputational risks

After the securities are ranked, stock weightings are subject to market capitalization, trading and liquidity constraints.

Prospectus is here.

@JPMorganAM

Twitter: @ETFhearsay

New Energy Economy ETF to list Wednesday

Blue Horizon BNE ETF

Ticker: BNE

Exchange: NYSE arca

Listing Date: December 9, 2020

CUSIP: 26922B303

Expense ratio: 0.87%

Index provider: Blue Horizon Capital LLC

Index: Blue Horizon New Energy Economy 100 Index

Constituents: 100

The Index consists of a portfolio of approximately 100 U.S. and foreign companies from the following New Energy Economy Sectors

Electric Vehicles & Other New Energy Consuming Applications

Companies whose core products, services, technologies, or intellectual property are being transformed by advances in the way energy is used or consumed (e.g., electric vehicles, portable consumer devices and electronics, devices that improve mobility, and tools).

Energy Distribution

Companies driving advancements in the distribution of energy (e.g., micro grids, distributed energy systems, smart grids, charging infrastructure and services, and related infrastructure).

Energy Storage

Companies developing new technologies, products, or services for the storage of energy (e.g., batteries, thermal units, mechanical units, chemical units, and related battery sub-components).

Energy Materials

Companies engaged in activities related to the mining and production or refinement of critical elements, critical intermediates, specialty materials, performance materials, advanced material systems, and sub-systems used across the New Energy Economy.

Energy Generation

Companies engaged in making clean or alternative energy generation more cost effective, safe, and sustainable (e.g., energy generation from solar, wind, hydrogen, fusion, fission, geothermal, biofuels, and clean fuels).

Methodology

• Companies eligible for inclusion in the Index are those included in the Blue Horizon New Energy Economy Universe, a proprietary database of companies in the New Energy Economy Sectors listed above. 
• Companies in the BH Universe are then screened for investibility requirements including a market capitalization in excess of $200 million and a minimum average daily value traded of $1 million. 
• Companies in the BH Universe are then further screened for relevance to their applicable New Energy Economy Sectors, and assigned a score based on revenue, market share, growth, and technology leadership relative to their New Energy Economy Sectors. 
• Companies with stronger ties to the New Energy Economy Sectors receive higher scores, and the companies with the highest scores are included in the Index, subject to a maximum of 30 companies in any one New Energy Economy Sector.

Prospectus is here.

Twitter: @ETFhearsay

USCF files for Active Midstream Energy ETF

USCF Midstream Energy Income Fund

Ticker: UMI

Expense ratio: 0.85%

Effective date: February 17, 2021 - DELAYED

Investment objective:

The USCF Midstream Energy Income Fund seeks to provide high level of income and capital appreciation.

Investment Strategy

The Fund’s investment sub-adviser, Miller/Howard Investments, Inc. utilizes a bottom-up fundamental research process to evaluate midstream energy companies on a number of key metrics, including income, growth of income, distribution coverage, leverage, direct-commodity price exposure, and contract quality. To be considered as potential investments, such companies will typically meet the Sub-Adviser’s criteria of persistent cash flow generation and have management teams with a consistent track record of efficient capital allocation.

What the heck is midstream energy? 

The Sub-Adviser considers midstream energy services to be transportation, storage, and gathering & processing infrastructure that primarily collect fees for transporting customers’ oil, natural gas, and other products (collectively, “midstream energy sector”).

From Wikipedia:

"The oil and gas industry is usually divided into three major components: upstream, midstream and downstream. The midstream sector involves the transportation (by pipeline, rail, barge, oil tanker or truck), storage, and wholesale marketing of crude or refined petroleum products."

Sub-adviser: Miller/Howard Investments, Inc. based in Woodstock, NY

"Specializing in Income-Producing Equities since 1991"

Prospectus is here.

@USCFInvestments

@MH_Investment

MORE ETF HEARSAY

 

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Twitter: @ETFhearsay