Updates
Effective June 3, 2024, David Baron and Michael Baron became Co-Presidents of Baron WealthBuilder Funds and of Baron Asset Management. Ron Baron remains Chairman, CEO, and Portfolio Manager.
On or about August 28, 2024, IQ Winslow Large Cap Growth ETF and IQ Winslow Focused Large Cap Growth ETF will change from semi-transparent active ETFs to fully transparent active ETFs which will publicly disclose all of its actual portfolio holdings on a daily basis.
Briefly Noted . . .
Devesh’s warnings about overreliance on options-based strategies as a magic bullet notwithstanding, the following options-based strategies posted prospectuses with the SEC in the first two weeks of June 2024:
- AllianzIM U.S. Large Cap Buffer10 Jun ETF
- Calamos Russell 2000 Structured Alt Protection ETF – April
- Calamos Russell 2000 Structured Alt Protection ETF – January,
- Calamos Russell 2000 Structured Alt Protection ETF – July,
- Calamos Russell 2000 Structured Alt Protection ETF – October,
- Calamos S&P500® Structured Alt Protection ETF – October
- FT Vest U.S. Equity Equal Weight Buffer ETF – December
- FT Vest U.S. Equity Equal Weight Buffer ETF – June
- FT Vest U.S. Equity Equal Weight Buffer ETF – March
- FT Vest U.S. Equity Equal Weight Buffer ETF – September
- FT Vest U.S. Equity Uncapped Accelerator ETF – December
- FT Vest U.S. Equity Uncapped Accelerator ETF – March
- FT Vest U.S. Equity Uncapped Accelerator ETF – September
- Innovator Equity Defined Protection ETF – 1 Yr July
- Innovator Equity Defined Protection ETF – 2 Yr to July 2026
- Innovator International Developed 10 Buffer ETF™ – Quarterly
- Innovator Nasdaq-100 10 Buffer ETF™ – Quarterly
- Innovator Premium Income 9 Buffer ETF™ — July
- Innovator U.S. Small Cap 10 Buffer ETF™ – Quarterly
- NEOS Nasdaq-100® High Income ETF (QQQI)
- PGIM Laddered Fund of Buffer 12 ETF
- PGIM Laddered Fund of Buffer 20 ETF.
- SGI Enhanced Nasdaq-100 ETF
Folks jonesin’ for more chances to profit from dictatorship will soon have access to the Tema Saudi Arabia Vision 2030 ETF which will invest in Saudi Arabian companies that align with the Vision 2030 Manifesto.
T. Rowe Price has entered into a sponsorship campaign with its hometown Baltimore Orioles for the rest of this season and the postseason games. A patch will adorn the sleeves of the Orioles players which began June 11.
Seafarer Capital Partners, one of the industry’s most shareholder-centered firms, has filed a registration filing to offer a third share class of its Seafarer Overseas Growth and Income and Seafarer Overseas Value Funds. They will be adding a “Retail” class which is intended for distribution through NTF platforms, in response to investor and advisor requests. The Retail share class will include a 12b-1 fee (0.20%). The Seafarer Funds’ existing share classes (Investor and Institutional) do not include a 12b-1 fee. The changes should be effective around the beginning of September. The move might benefit, in particular, shareholders in the eight-year-old, five-star Overseas Value Fund which hovers at $100 million despite Morningstar’s affirmation of its “high” returns and “low” risk over the past three years.
Seafarer Overseas Value, eight-year record (07/2016-06/2024)
| Annual return | Maximum drawdown | Downside deviation | Sharpe ratio | Ulcer Index | |
| Seafarer | 6.7% | -27.1 | 10.1 | 0.34 | 7.5 |
| Lipper EM equity group | 5.5 | -39.0 | 12.5 | 0.20 | 17.0 |
Seafarer’s Ulcer Index is particularly striking. The Ulcer Index captures how far a fund falls and how long it stays down; the higher the number, the worse the ulcer an investor might anticipate. Seafarer has the lowest Ulcer Index of any of the 234 funds meeting the eight-year performance screen.
Small Wins for Investors
Vanguard reopened Vanguard Primecap and Vanguard Primecap Core Funds on June 18 to existing and new investors. Both funds have been closed since 2004 and 2009, respectively. Both funds have experienced outflows over the last several years which may have led to their reopening. Both funds are rated four stars by Morningstar.
Old Wine, New Bottles
Alger Global Focus Fund becomes Alger Global Equity Fund and Alger International Focus Fund will be rechristened Alger International Opportunities Fund effective on or about August 6, 2024.
Effective June 28, 2024, FMC Excelsior Focus Equity ETF’s name will change to FMC Focus Equity ETF.
On or about August 28, 2024, the IndexIQ ETF Trust becomes the New York Life Investments ETF Trust. In consequence, a bunch of ETFs formerly designed “IQ” will now be designated “NYLI.” As an example, the IQ Merger Arbitrage ETF will become the NYLI Merger Arbitrage ETF. About 25 ETFs are implicated. At the same time, the MainStay Funds are all renamed NYLI Funds. So the MainStay S&P 500 Index Fund transmutes into the NYLI S&P 500 Index Fund. That will be 40-50 fund name changes on top of the ETF changes.
Bad news for our Robot Overlords: they’re getting booted from the portfolio. On or around August 12, 2024, iShares Robotics and Artificial Intelligence Multisector ETF becomes iShares Future AI & Tech ETF.
Effective on or about May 31, 2024, Marketfield Asset Management no longer serves as a manager of Cromwell Marketfield L/S Fund, in consequence of which the Cromwell Marketfield L/S Fund changed its name to the Cromwell Long Short Fund. This could be read as one of the “oh, how the mighty have fallen” stories since Marketfield was the 800-pound gorilla among long-short funds for years, despite surprisingly tepid performance.
Effective August 19, 2024, the name of TCW Total Return Bond Fund will be changed to TCW Securitized Bond Fund.
WCM Developing World Equity and WCM International Equity Funds will be reorganized into ETFs. WCM Developing World Equity will be reorganized into the First Trust WCM Developing World Equity ETF and WCM International Equity Fund will be reorganized into the First Trust WCM International Equity ETF. Shareholders will vote on the proposal, which if approved, will occur September 9, 2024.
Off to the Dustbin of History
AMG GW&K High Income, AMG GW&K Enhanced Core Bond ESG, and AMG Beutel Goodman International Equity Funds will be liquidated on or about September 11.
The liquidation of the Ashmore Emerging Markets Corporate Income ESG took place on June 14, 2024.
BNY Mellon Government Money Market Fund will disappear on or about August 27, 2024.
BlackRock Future Tech ETF’s liquidation is scheduled to be sent to shareholders on or about August 15, 2024.
Boston Partners Emerging Markets Fund will be closed and liquidated as a series of the Company effective as of the close of business on or about August 29, 2024.
Direxion Hydrogen ETF, Direxion Moonshot Innovators ETF, and Direxion Daily Global Clean Energy Bull 2X Shares will be closed to purchase by investors as of the close of regular trading on the NYSE on July 19 and liquidated on July 30, 2024.
Empower Ariel Mid Cap Value Fund will be merged into Empower Mid Cap Value Fund. “It is anticipated the Merger will be consummated on or about October 25, 2024.”
The Frontier HyperiUS Global Equity Fund was liquidated on June 10, 2024.
Frost Municipal Bond Fund will be liquidated on or about September 5.
On or about August 1, 2024, the Glenmede Core Fixed Income Portfolio, Short Term Tax Aware Fixed Income Portfolio, and High Yield Municipal Portfolio will experience liquidation and termination.
Goldman Sachs Defensive Equity ETF will be liquidated on or about July 19, 2024.
The liquidation of Guggenheim Long Short Equity, Guggenheim RBP Large-Cap Market Fund, and Guggenheim Small Cap Value is now expected to occur on or about August 16, 2024.
Invesco Liquid Assets Portfolio and Invesco STIC Prime Portfolio will be liquidated on August 28, 2024.
After market close on August 12, 2024, iShares Currency Hedged MSCI Germany ETF, iShares Gold Strategy ETF, iShares International Developed Property ETF, iShares MSCI Intl Size Factor ETF, iShares USD Systematic Bond ETF, and iShares Virtual Work and Life Multisector ETF will cease the creation and redemption of Creation Units. Trading in the Funds will be halted prior to the market opening on August 13, 2024. Proceeds of the liquidation are scheduled to be sent to fund shareholders on or around August 15, 2024.
Lazard Managed Equity Volatility Portfolio will be liquidated on or about August 5.
The Liquidation of MetWest Opportunistic High Income Credit Fund will occur on or about July 19, 2024.
Natixis Vaughan Nelson Mid Cap ETF will be liquidated on or about July 30, 2024.
Steward Small Cap Growth Fund will be liquidated on or about August 23.
Voya U.S. High Dividend Low Volatility Fund will be liquidated on or about July 26, 2024.
On July 12, 2024, Voya Balanced, Moderately Conservative, Strategic Allocation Conservative, and Strategic Allocation Growth Portfolios get merged away. Balanced into Balanced Income, Moderately Conservative and Strategic Allocation Conservative into Solution Conservative, and Allocation Growth into Solution Aggressive. (As if anyone really cares.)
Westwood Capital Appreciation and Income Fund will be liquidated on or about July 16.