NEW YORK, June 16, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- LifeSci Index Partners, LLC, an affiliate company of LifeSci Advisors, and a New York City-based investment advisor and index provider, today announced the completion of its semi-annual rebalancing and recomposition for its BioShares Biotechnology exchange-traded funds (ETFs), which trade under the symbols (Nasdaq:BBC) (Nasdaq:BBP). These passively-managed funds are designed to track their respective, rules-based indexes.
The BioShares Biotechnology Funds are the only ETFs to separate Clinical Trials stage companies and Products stage companies into two distinct funds. The BioShares Biotechnology Clinical Trial Fund (BBC) and BioShares Biotechnology Product Fund (BBP) offer investors exposure to these two distinct segments of the biotechnology sector while diversifying some of the risks associated with any single company.
In addition, BBC and BBP are the only ETFs to offer pure biotechnology exposure without allocations to specialty pharmaceutical, medical device and diagnostics, and generic drug companies.
“The LifeSci Biotechnology indexes performed strongly in the first half of 2017 with our Biotechnology Clinical Trials Index up 20% year-to-date through June 15th and our Biotechnology Products Index up 13%,” stated Andrew McDonald, PhD, CEO of LifeSci Advisors. “Across our affiliated investor relations, public relations and capital markets advisory business units at LifeSci Partners which serve more than 90 corporate clients across the life sciences industry, we are seeing strong business and scientific trends that should continue to drive innovations in the healthcare sector.”
“Our rules-driven BioShares portfolios continue to evolve in response to the dynamic biotechnology market environment," added Paul Yook, Founder of LifeSci Index Partners. “During the past six months, our funds had 4 companies receive FDA approvals on their lead drugs and as a result are moving out of the BBC clinical trials fund and into the BBP products fund. And although the biotechnology IPO market was quiet in 2016, it has picked up this year and we have added two recent IPO stocks to our BBC fund – Jounce Therapeutics (JNCE) and AnaptysBio (ANAB).”
The BBC fund has increased its number of holdings to 74 stocks (previously 69), with a weighted average market capitalization of $1.1 billion. 14 stocks have been added by meeting the inclusion criteria. 5 stocks have been removed as they no longer meet the fund’s market cap and trading volume criteria, and 4 stocks are moving to the BBP fund upon receiving FDA approval and entering the Product stage for their lead drugs – Clovis Oncology (CLVS), Neurocrine Biosciences (NBIX), Radius Health (RDUS) and Synergy Pharmaceuticals (SGYP).
The BBP fund has increased its holdings to 36 stocks (previously 34), with a weighted average market cap of $16 billion. In addition to the 4 previously mentioned stocks which are moving in from BBC fund, 2 stocks have been deleted for no longer meeting the BBP fund’s inclusion criteria.
Summary of Portfolio Changes
BBC Additions: AKBA, ANAB, ARNA, CALA, CTMX, DVAX, GLYC, IMGN, JNCE, RGNX, RXDX, SGMO, TTPH, VSAR
BBC Deletions: CEMP, CLVS, NBIX, NLNK, OMED, PTI, RDUS, SGYP, TRVN
BBP Additions: CLVS, NBIX, RDUS, SGYP
BBP Deletions: ARNA, MACK
LifeSci Index Partners, LLC (www.lifesciindex.com) is an index provider of biotechnology-focused stock market indices and also serves as the investment sub-advisor for the BioShares exchange traded funds. The principals of our firm are also founders of and/or affiliated with LifeSci Advisors, LLC, a unique investor relations consultancy founded to provide companies in the life sciences a comprehensive solution to investor communications and outreach. For more information, please visit www.bioshares.com.
LifeSci Advisors, LLC (www.lifesciadvisors.com) is a unique investor relations consultancy founded to provide companies in the life sciences a comprehensive solution to investor communications and outreach. With a local presence in New York, Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia, London, Geneva and Tel Aviv, the firm provides the highest quality service for its clients through its deep sector specialization. Our roster of PhDs enables us to better understand our clients' R&D, regulatory, and commercial strategy, and our team of financial services, investor relations, and public relations specialists help our clients effectively communicate to the marketplace. This combination of life sciences, financial services, and investor relations competencies allows us to provide a valuable and unique service offering to our clients.
DISCLOSURE
Carefully consider the respective investment objectives, risk factors and charges and expenses of the BioShares™ Biotechnology Clinical Trials Fund and the BioShares™ Biotechnology Products Fund (the “Funds”) before investing. This and additional information can be found in the Funds’ prospectuses, available at www.bioshares.com or by calling 1-(888) 383-4184. Read the prospectuses carefully before investing.
Shares of any ETF are bought and sold at market price (not NAV) and may trade at a premium or discount to their NAV in the secondary market. Shares are not individually redeemed from the Fund and Brokerage commissions will reduce returns.
Exchange Traded Funds: The value of an ETF may be more volatile than the underlying portfolio of securities the ETF is designed to track. The costs of owning the ETF may exceed the cost of investing directly in the underlying securities.
Industry/Sector Concentration: A fund that focuses its investments in a particular industry or sector will be more sensitive to conditions that affect that industry or sector than a non-concentrated fund.
Market Price/NAV: At the time of purchase and/or sale, an investor's shares may have a market price that is above or below the fund's NAV, which may increase the investor's risk of loss.
Correlation to Index: The performance of the fund and its index may vary somewhat due to factors such as fund flows, transaction costs, and timing differences associated with additions to and deletions from its index.
Non-Diversified: The fund is non-diversified and may be more susceptible to factors negatively impacting its holdings to the extent that each security represents a larger portion of the fund's assets.
No Guarantee: There is no guarantee that the portfolio will meet its objective.
Prospectus: For additional information on risks, please see the fund's prospectus.
BioShares™ Biotechnology Clinical Trials Fund may be subject to greater sector risk than a more broad-based biotechnology fund because it focuses on a narrower category of the biotechnology sector consisting of issuers with a primary product offering or product candidate that is in a Phase 1, Phase 2 or Phase 3 clinical trial stage of development.
BioShares™ Biotechnology Products Fund may be subject to greater sector risk than a more broad-based biotechnology fund because it focuses on a narrower category of the biotechnology sector consisting of issuers with a primary product offering or product candidate that has received U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval.
The information presented here is for informational purposes only. It was prepared on information and sources that we believe to be reliable, but we make no representations or guarantees as to the accuracy or the completeness of the information contained herein. This information is not intended to be individual or personalized investment or tax advice. Please consult a financial advisor or tax professional for more information regarding your tax situation.
Virtus ETF Advisers LLC serves as the investment adviser and LifeSci Index Partners, LLC serves as the sub-adviser to the Funds. The Funds are distributed by ETF Distributors LLC, an affiliate of Virtus ETF Advisers LLC. LifeSci Index Partners, LLC also serves as the index provider for the related indexes.