Products April 14, 2009

Absolute Return Manager Launches Investment Platform

ETF Portfolio Management (ETF PM) launched a new investment platform.

Reported by

The firm, which describes itself as a specialized absolute return manager, has launched an investment platform that the firm said “combines active absolute return strategies with strategic core portfolios in an effort to maximize return and client value.”

Absolute Return Strategies

ETF PM’s absolute return strategies seek to deliver positive returns in all market environments without using leverage, according to a news release. The firm’s investment focus is to provide dynamic risk control, efficient portfolio rotation, and global diversification in a comprehensive solution for active management. All of ETF PM’s strategies are offered in separately managed accounts that are held in custody at Schwab Institutional and invest in securities with daily liquidity and full transparency, the firm said. The benchmarks for the firm’s active strategies are the Credit Suisse—Tremont Hedge Fund Index and the S&P 500.

ETF PM said it offers three passive core growth portfolios online:

Unconventional Core—a portfolio modeled after the recommendation from David Swensen, CIO at Yale University, in his book, Unconventional Success.
Basic Core—a portfolio offering a larger allocation to foreign stocks and commodities, and a smaller allocation to real estate.
Advanced Core—ETF PM’s passive growth portfolio with the largest exposure to commodities and emerging markets, and lower exposure to U.S. equities.

ETF Portfolio Management (ETF PM), with offices in New York and California, said its quantitative rules-based strategy was first implemented in 2005 at a previous firm, and expanded in 2008 to include four investment models.

More information is available online at www.etfpm.com.