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The iMGP DBi Managed Futures Strategy ETF (DBMF) celebrates its three-year anniversary this week and to celebrate the occasion, issuer iMGP alongside partner Dynamic Beta Investments highlighted three major milestones that the fund has reached since its inception in a press release.
The fund is designed to attempt to capture performance no matter how equity markets are moving. The fund seeks long-term capital appreciation by investing in some of the most liquid U.S.-based futures contracts in a strategy utilized by hedge funds.
“DBMF was our first ETF launched at iMGPFM in the US and is an integrated solution for our $2.5 billion US ETF/fund platform. DBMF directly addresses what our US advisors and clients wanted in an actively managed, low-cost ETF strategy: an ETF that can protect portfolios during periods of inflation and market volatility while adding value to allocations long term,” said Jeff Seeley, Deputy CEO of iMGP and CEO of iMGPFM said in a press release.
Since its launch, the fund has returned 15.45% NAV as well as a 15.56% per annum (market price), has an annualized alpha of 15.23%, a beta of -0.02, and a correlation to the S&P 500 of -.03. At a time when investors are seeking non-correlated options for their portfolios as equities continue to fall, DBMF offers an attractive solution; year-to-date, DBMF has a 23.97% NAV and 22.58% (market price).
Of note, the fund has outperformed the SocGen CTA Hedge Fund index, a major benchmark for the most popular managed futures hedge funds at a rate of 5.05% a year at NAV (15.45% v 10.40%).
“Managed futures, as a strategy, has the potential for great diversification bang-for-the-buck, especially in an inflationary environment. In 2015, we set out to solve the twin hurdles of investing in the space: high fees and expenses and single manager risk. DBMF is the culmination of that effort,” said Andrew Beer, co-portfolio manager.
DBMF allows for the diversification of portfolios across asset classes that are uncorrelated to traditional equities or bonds. It is an actively managed fund that uses long and short positions within derivatives, mostly futures contracts, and forward contracts. These contracts span domestic equities, fixed income, currencies, and commodities (via its Cayman Islands subsidiary).
As of May 5, the fund has $150 million in AUM, reflecting a $90 million increase since 12/31/21 as investors and advisors seek alternative sources of income as well as to diversify their portfolios. The fund is one that invests in around 15 highly liquid futures contracts and rebalances on a weekly basis.
“We believe that DBMF can be transformative in the years to come for both model portfolios, institutional clients, and the ETF space: a one-stop solution that can enable all clients in the US in traditional portfolios to access institutional-quality managed futures in an actively managed, low-cost ETF,” said Seeley.
For more news, information, and strategy, visit the Managed Futures Channel.
