Gabelli Funds, a division of Mario Gabelli’s GAMCO Asset Management, has made its ETF debut with the launch of an actively managed US equity strategy incorporating value and ESG factors.
Gabelli Funds is a division of famed Wall Street investor Mario Gabelli’s GAMCO Asset Management.
The Gabelli Love Our Planet & People ETF (LOPP US) has listed on NYSE Arca and utilizes the ActiveShares semi-transparent ETF model developed by Precidian Investments.
The fund invests in US-listed securities including common and preferred shares of domestic companies and American Depository Receipts.
The strategy combines a differentiated, value-oriented investment philosophy with a holistic ESG analysis to deliver returns in a socially responsive manner.
Fossil fuel (coal, oil, and gas) companies, defense and weapons contractors, and firms that derive more than 5% of their revenues from tobacco, alcohol, and gaming are not eligible for inclusion.
The fund combines proprietary ESG research with insights from MSCI to identify firms that have implemented internal policies with respect to social issues such as inequality in the workplace and the fair treatment of workers.
Following these screens, the fund selects constituents that Gabelli has determined to be trading at a material discount to fair value based on fundamental metrics.
The fund comes with an expense ratio of 0.90% which will be waived on the first $100 million invested for a period of at least one year.
ActiveShares
The ActiveShares structure is designed to avoid disclosing daily portfolio holdings while maintaining the tax efficiency, liquidity, and lower costs typically associated with ETFs.
The model masks an ETF’s holdings by inserting a blind trust, known as a ‘confidential account’, between the fund and its authorized participants. These trusted agents are privy to portfolio holdings and perform creations and redemptions on behalf of authorized participants.
ActiveShares ETFs provide a live verified intraday indicative value (VIIV) every second which is more regular than traditional ETFs which currently publish their NAVs every 15 seconds. Official portfolio holdings need only be disclosed on a quarterly basis.