LOS ANGELES, Jan. 11, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Evoke Advisors (Evoke), the Los Angeles-based wealth management and consulting firm with over $20 billion in assets under advisement and the architect of the $1.6 billion RPAR Risk Parity ETF (RPAR), recently announced the launch of the UPAR Ultra Risk Parity ETF (UPAR). UPAR is a 1.4 times levered version of RPAR that similarly seeks to provide investors with low-cost and tax-efficient exposure to a risk parity investing strategy in an exchange-traded fund. The two strategies differ in expected return and risk – UPAR targets to outperform equities over the long run with comparable risk while RPAR seeks to earn returns competitive with equities with less risk.
Under increasingly uncertain market conditions across the globe, investors continue to consider their portfolio allocations. By diversifying across market segments that have historically gone up and down in varying economic environments, risk parity strategies aim to provide investors a more consistent return over time. This approach differs from traditional portfolio allocation strategies, which tend to be overly dependent on environments that favor strong equity performance.
With UPAR and RPAR, Evoke has taken the powerful risk parity concepts and wrapped them into low cost, liquid, tax-efficient ETFs for the first time in the United States. This provides all investors access to an innovative strategy in a simple to understand package.
“We feel it is important for investors to maintain a well-balanced portfolio that is built to withstand the wide range of potential economic outcomes looking ahead,” Alex Shahidi, Co-CIO of Evoke said. “Today, the main concern amongst investors is inflation, but two years ago deflation was dominating headlines. The economy is doing well right now but may experience a downturn if the tailwinds of monetary and fiscal stimulus turn. Owning assets that are biased to outperform in each of these environments is critical in order to mitigate against adverse outcomes,” Shahidi said.
“Alex and I decided to launch the risk parity ETFs in an effort to provide our clients with a more forward-thinking and educated approach to investing in a low cost, tax-efficient, liquid investment structure,” said Damien Bisserier, Co-CIO of Evoke. “The current political and economic environment is unprecedented in many ways, exposing more traditional equity-concentrated portfolios to significant risk of loss. It has always been our aim to help clients achieve their investment goals while substantially minimizing any losses they may experience in a downturn, and we see UPAR and RPAR as a core part of pursuing these objectives.”
UPAR will seek to track the Advanced Research Ultra Risk Parity Index and will invest across multiple asset classes and sectors. The fund has a gross expense ratio of 0.68%. Additional information may be found at rparetf.com/upar.
About Evoke Advisors
Alex Shahidi and Damien Bisserier are Co-CIOs of Evoke Advisors (Evoke) and the architects of the UPAR Ultra Risk Parity ETF and RPAR Risk Parity ETF. Evoke was built upon the foundational idea that a deep-rooted understanding of markets and economies is at the core of successful investing. In 2020, Evoke merged with Advanced Research Investment Solutions (ARIS), a firm founded by Alex and Damien in 2014. Alex led one of the largest institutional consulting teams at Merrill Lynch prior to starting ARIS. Damien was a Senior Investment Associate at Bridgewater Associates, known for being one of the world’s largest hedge fund managers, and leaders in risk parity. Evoke manages over $23 billion in client assets and believes that combining diverse sources of return can help clients achieve greater consistency of performance. The firm focuses on developing innovative investment solutions to enable more efficient portfolio management. Additional information may be found at evokeadvisors.com.
About Tidal ETF Services
Formed by ETF industry pioneers and thought leaders, Tidal sets out to disrupt the way ETFs have historically been developed, launched, marketed and sold. With a transparent, partnership approach, Tidal offers a comprehensive suite of services, proprietary tools, and methodologies designed to bring lasting ideas to market. As advocates for ETF innovation, Tidal helps institutions and organizations launch the most interesting and viable ETFs available today. For more information, visit tidaletfservices.com.
Before investing you should carefully consider the Fund’s investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses. This and other information is in the prospectus. A prospectus may be obtained by visiting rparetf.com or calling 833-540-0039. Please read the prospectus carefully before you invest.
As with all ETFs, Fund shares may be bought and sold in the secondary market at market prices. The market price normally should approximate the Fund’s net asset value per share (NAV), but the market price sometimes may be higher or lower than the NAV. The Fund is new with a limited operating history. There are a limited number of financial institutions authorized to buy and sell shares directly with the Fund; and there may be a limited number of other liquidity providers in the marketplace. There is no assurance that Fund shares will trade at any volume, or at all, on any stock exchange. Low trading activity may result in shares trading at a material discount to NAV.
The UPAR Ultra Risk Parity ETF seeks to enhance returns through the use of leverage. Leverage is investment exposure that exceeds the initial amount invested. Derivatives and other transactions, such as reverse repurchase agreements, that give rise to leverage may cause the Fund’s performance to be more volatile than if the Fund had not been leveraged.
The Fund’s exposure to investments in physical commodities may fluctuate rapidly and subjects the Fund to greater volatility than investments in traditional securities, such as stocks and bonds. Interest payments on TIPS are unpredictable and will fluctuate as the principal and corresponding interest payments are adjusted for inflation. Equity securities, such as common stocks, are subject to market, economic and business risks that may cause their prices to fluctuate. The Fund invests in foreign and emerging market securities which involves certain risks such as currency volatility, political and social instability and reduced market liquidity. The Fund may invest in securities issued by the U.S. government or its agencies or instrumentalities. There can be no guarantee that the United States will be able to meet its payment obligations with respect to such securities.
In general, ETFs can be tax efficient. ETFs are subject to capital gains tax and taxation of dividend income. However, ETFs are structured in such a manner that taxes are generally minimized for the holder of the ETF. An ETF manager accommodates investment inflows and outflows by creating or redeeming “creation units,” which are baskets of assets. As a result, the investor usually is not exposed to capital gains on any individual security in the underlying portfolio. However, capital gains tax may be incurred by the investor after the ETF is sold.
Brokerage commissions may apply and would reduce returns.
Diversification does not ensure a profit or protect against loss in declining markets.
Shares of the Fund are distributed by Foreside Fund Services, LLC.
