Deep Value Quantitative Value ETF

LLJB

I just saw a piece on CNBC with Wes Gray, who runs this fund and thought it worth some discussion. Here's more detail about the fund based on an interview Sam Lee did with the guy last November

news.morningstar.com/articlenet/article.aspx?id=674561

morningstar.com/etfs/BATS/QVAL/quote.html

The symbol is QVAL. Does anyone have any experience with this fund in it's short history? Any thoughts about the approach? I was thinking about whether this is a good defensive play, so buy it before there's a correction or before the Fed raises rates, or because it's the "trash that everyone hates" (Gray's term from the CNBC interview) it's better to wait and see how it does during a correction or increasing rates and maybe think about buying the trash when someone starts to burn it? (When I was young we had an incinerator in the house and burned all our paper trash. Do those exist anymore?)

Thanks for your thoughts!

00BY

I like his methodology. I have been watching IVAL. It is definitely more on the aggressive side, and not so much defensive minded.

jlev

I've been watching it. Debating it versus MOAT - not that they do the same thing, but...

Here is the MFO Writeup

LLJB

@jlev, thanks for the MFO writeup, I know I must have read it because I read every word of every commentary but I just didn't remember it.

I've been watching MOAT for years and while I'm impressed with the "idea" behind it I'm less convinced about M*'s fair value process. It seems to me they make big changes too often (for instance I think they were very far behind the eight ball on energy) and then they seem to be all over the place with their moat definitions. I'll give them credit for having a decent record but I'm just worried they'll find a way to screw it up over time.

@00BY, thanks also for the mention of IVAL. The MFO writeup provided the full context of their overall strategy. I agree with you that it appears more aggressive. In fact, with a portfolio focused far more on Japan than Europe it actually seems a bit more like the momentum version that's supposed to come later this year. My general impression from the CAPE information I look at every once in a while is that Japan is overvalued in general terms, but apparently they're finding a lot of value there.

BenWP

I recently sold MOAT after holding it for more than two years. Made decent money, but didn't like it piling into energy at the last reconfiguration. I already had an energy play, so MOAT became redundant. For most of the fund's history it has outperformed the S&P 500, but not so in the last few months.