iM Global Partner launches managed futures ETF

May 31st, 2019 | By | Category: Alternatives / Multi-Asset

French investment and development platform iM Global Partner has unveiled its debut ETF – the iM DBi Managed Futures Strategy ETF (DBMF US) – on NYSE Arca.

Andrew D. Beer, Managing Partner of Dynamic Beta Investments

Andrew Beer, Managing Partner of Dynamic Beta Investments.

The actively managed fund, subadvised by alternative investment specialist Dynamic Beta Investments, provides exposure to a managed futures strategy based on the asset allocations of leading hedge funds.

The ETF seeks to outperform the pre-fee performance of commodity trading advisor (CTA) hedge funds by using futures and forwards contracts to invest in equities, fixed income, currencies, and commodities.

The strategy uses a proprietary quantitative model to identify and replicate key market exposures of a select pool of leading CTA (managed futures) hedge funds. In this way, the fund provides exposure to a diversified portfolio of managed futures strategies within a single ETF wrapper.

The fund may take both long and short positions in implementing its strategy but will only invest in the most liquid contracts, according to the fund’s prospectus. It will generally hold around ten contracts at any time with a maximum 10% exposure to commodities. Portfolio positions will be updated on a weekly basis.

The ETF comes with an expense ratio of 0.85%.

Jeffrey Seeley, COO and Head of US Distribution of iM Global Partner, said, “Dynamic Beta investments is one of the most innovative managers in the liquid alternatives space with a ten year plus track record. We are thrilled to offer DBi the extended reach of our iM Global Partner’s multi-asset distribution platform for our new ETF and we look forward to working with DBi and our other US partners to bring further investment vehicles to market.”

Andrew Beer, Managing Partner of DBi, added, “The iM DBi Managed Futures Strategy ETF is an innovative investment vehicle. The fund has the potential to deliver the valuable diversification benefits of a portfolio of leading CTA hedge funds to a broader universe of investors, with reasonable fees, liquidity and transparency investors expect from an ETF.”

Managed futures funds have historically displayed low correlations to stocks and bonds, as well as other alternative asset classes, highlighting their portfolio diversification benefits.

These funds also have the potential to generate profit in almost all market conditions. They possess the ability to go long futures in order to profit from rising markets, go short in anticipation of falling prices, or take a more conservative approach with a spread that combines long and short positions.

There are a number of managed futures ETFs available in the US. The largest is the $230m WisdomTree Managed Futures Strategy Fund (WTMF US) which tracks a proprietary index that includes futures contracts for commodities, currencies and interest rates. The fund comes with an expense ratio of 0.65%.

The cheapest, however, is the JPMorgan Managed Futures Strategy ETF (JPMF US) which is actively managed and provides exposure to carry and momentum factors across fixed income, currency, commodity, and equity markets. It has AUM of $50m and comes with an expense ratio of 0.59%.

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