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Source: Innovator Capital Management, LLC

ETF Visionaries Bruce Bond and John Southard Make Industry Return at Helm of Innovator Capital Management

PowerShares founders purchase Innovator ETFs, build team, set sights on bringing revolution back to the ETF marketplace

CHICAGO, Dec. 07, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Bruce Bond and John Southard, exchange-traded fund (ETF) pioneers and founders of one of the world’s largest ETF providers, today announced their return to the ETF industry as leaders of Innovator Capital Management, LLC, a Wheaton, Illinois-based SEC registered investment advisor and the operator of the Innovator ETF Trust.

Now under the management and ownership of Bond, as Chief Executive Officer, and Southard, as Chief Investment Officer, the elite team at Innovator will focus on bringing to market ETFs that provide investors with new exposures and innovative strategies that can help investors better control their financial outcomes.

“There has been a tremendous proliferation of ETFs in recent years. And while the ETF market seems content slicing the same factors and exposures ever thinner, today, John and I see an industry ripe for innovation. The ETF is such a capable, benefit-rich vehicle, there is so much more that can be done. There are many investor challenges that have gone unsolved for too long,” said Bruce Bond, Innovator Chief Executive Officer.

“Our return to the ETF industry is not a decision we took lightly,” added Bond. “It was the result of many months of strategizing, planning, and building. The vision, purpose, and product ideas all needed to resonate. It had to be well-orchestrated, or nobody would listen. The result is an ETF company we’re excited to share with everyone. With Innovator ETFs, we are kick-starting the engine of invention that gave the ETF industry its reputation for disruption.”

In 2002, Bond and Southard founded PowerShares Capital Management. Selling the ETF manager to Invesco in 2006, they built PowerShares into the fourth-largest ETF provider globally by assets. Named the “Greatest Contributor to the ETF Industry” at the Global ETF Awards three consecutive years, Bond and Southard are credited with introducing the first smart or strategic beta ETF, the first actively-managed ETF, the first ETF of ETFs and the first broad commodities exchange-traded notes (ETNs), amongst many other firsts and industry accomplishments. 

John Southard, Innovator Chief Investment Officer, said, “I am thrilled to be part of this new wave of growth in the ETF space. Innovator ETFs is the perfect platform to continue the tradition of innovation we started at PowerShares, and personally, I think we are setup better than ever to deliver exciting products to the investing community, in ways that have never been seen.”

Bond and Southard purchased Innovator and the Innovator ETF Trust to more rapidly bring to market inventive products that challenge industry convention. Additionally, they saw significant value in the existing relationship Innovator had cultivated with Investor’s Business Daily (IBD). Launched in 2015, the Innovator IBD 50 ETF (NYSE:FFTY) is the first ETF under the Innovator ETF Trust. Based on legendary investor William J. O’Neil’s CAN SLIM methodology, FFTY is the only investable product that tracks the high conviction list of top-ranked growth companies comprising the IBD 50 Index, which marries fundamental and technical analysis in seeking to select a list of constituents that can regularly outpace the broader stock market. “Amongst our near-term plans is an expansion of our relationship with IBD that further leverages their powerful rules-based growth- and momentum-oriented investing methodology, which we feel can benefit investor portfolios in novel ways,” Bond added.

The terms of the sale were not disclosed.

For more information on Innovator, visit www.innovatoretfs.com

About Innovator Capital Management, LLC
Innovator Capital Management, LLC is an SEC registered investment advisor (RIA) based in Wheaton, IL. Formed in 2014, the firm is currently headed by ETF visionaries Bruce Bond and John Southard, founders of one of the largest ETF providers in the world. Innovator is committed to helping investors better control their financial outcomes by providing investment opportunities they never considered or thought possible. Innovation is the company’s hallmark and acts as a guide to its principles.

Media Contacts
Bill Conboy
+1 (303) 415-2290
bill@bccapitalpartners.com  

The Fund's investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses should be considered before investing. The prospectus contains this and other important information, and it may be obtained at innovatoretfs.com. Read it carefully before investing.

Innovator ETFs are distributed by Foreside Fund Services, LLC.

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