It’s been a quiet month for new registrants. There’s the usual collection of trendy ETFs (e.g., Pacer US Cash Cows 100 ETF) and Mr. Greenblatt is launching more Gorham-branded institutional funds (Gotham Neutral 500 at 1.4%, Defensive Long at 2.15%, and Defensive Long 500 at 1.65%). Other than that, we found just four new no-load, retail funds. Folks interested in social impact investing might want to put Gerstein Fisher Municipal CRA Qualified Investment Fund on their radar. Low minimum, relatively low expense, it provides individual investors a tool to support affordable housing and community development. Otherwise, the new options peaked out at “meh.”
American Beacon Numeric Integrated Alpha Fund
American Beacon Numeric Integrated Alpha Fund will pursue long-term capital appreciation.. The plan is to invest, long and short, in a global equity portfolio. In addition to looking at valuations, they seek to exploit “price trends and patterns, such as momentum, valuation and seasonality.” Happily, Numeric’s approach is “highly-detailed and systematic.” The fund will be managed by Paul Pflugfelder and Bingcheng Yan of Numeric Investors. Messrs. Pflugfelder and Yan are Co-Heads of Hedge Fund Strategies at Numeric and formerly ran a market-neutral strategy for Barclays Global Investors. The initial expense ratio is 6.46%, after waivers, on Investor shares. The minimum initial investment is $2,500.
Gerstein Fisher Municipal CRA Qualified Investment Fund
Gerstein Fisher Municipal CRA Qualified Investment will seek to provide “current income consistent with preservation of capital with investments that will be deemed qualified under the Community Reinvestment Act.” The plan is to invest in CRA-qualified securities; at base, bonds and other instruments which help fund supporting affordable housing and community development. The fund will be managed by Gregg S. Fisher, founder of Gerstein Fisher. The initial expense ratio is capped at 0.99%. The minimum initial investment is $250.
HCM Income Plus Fund (HCMGX/HCMDX)
HCM Income Plus Fund (HCMGX/HCMDX) will pursue total return by investing in equity and fixed-income ETFs. The plan is to use a quant model to find the hottest sector(s) and position the fund there. The prospectus implies that the portfolio might shift weekly. The fund will be managed by Vance Howard, the firm’s president, CEO and the fund’s manager since 2014. Uhhh … that’s a curious statement for a fund that doesn’t yet exist. The initial expense ratio is not yet set. The minimum initial investment is $2,500, reduced to $1,000 for IRAs.
Rareview Longevity Income Generation Fund
Rareview Longevity Income Generation Fund will pursue long-term capital appreciation and income. The plan is to invest in closed-end funds whose portfolios mostly reflect single, broad asset classes (“an MLP fund,” for instance). Generally, the plan would be to invest in CEFs selling at a discount to their net asset value and short CEFs selling at a premium. The fund will be managed by Neil Azous, Chief Investment Officer of Rareview Capital LLC. The initial expense ratio is not yet set. The minimum initial investment is $2,500.
