Direct-to-investor start-up Upholdings has introduced its first ETF, the actively managed Upholdings Compound Kings ETF (KNGS).

Robert Cantwell, founder of Upholdings.

The fund has listed on Cboe BZX Exchange and comes with an expense ratio of 0.60%.

The fund seeks to identify so-called ‘cashflow compounders’, which Upholdings defines as companies generating cash and reinvesting at a higher rate of return than the overall market. Its reference for the overall market is the S&P 500.

The fund will invest in those cashflow compounders that are trading at at least fair level compared to Upholdings’ estimate of the company’s intrinsic value.

To calculate intrinsic value, Upholdings uses an array of publicly available data to construct long-term financial models to estimate cashflow generation and the resulting shareholder value. The firm will also perform intensive research by combining customer interviews, alternative metrics, and public disclosures to evaluate target investments.

The fund is managed by Robert Cantwell, founder of Upholdings, and Brandon Koepke. Cantwell is a former CFO of online fashion brand Everlane.

The managers anticipate holding approximately thirty securities and may concentrate a significant proportion of the fund’s assets in a single issuer or a smaller number of issuers to differentiate the fund’s exposure from that of the S&P 500.

At least 60% of fund assets will be invested in equity securities of companies of medium and large market capitalizations located in both the United States and China, primarily via Hong Kong-listed securities. It may also invest in other international markets, including emerging markets.

As of January 8, 2021, the five largest holdings were Airbnb, Alibaba, Facebook, Berkshire Hathaway, and Tencent.

“I created something I couldn’t find for myself. The retail investor market is one of the biggest in the world, but innovation is way behind. Funds today are either too diversified, too trendy, or too expensive. With KNGS, we’re giving more investors the chance to earn long-term compounding investment performance,” said Cantwell.

Upholdings is based in Nashville, and operates a distributed team with an analyst in New Jersey, designers in Brooklyn and Los Angeles, and advisors in New York and San Francisco.