Ben Warwick is the founder of Quantitative Equity Strategies (QES), a Denver-based quant shop that specializes in the construction of alternative indices for mutual funds and ETFs.
QES believes that the key to long-term success is to build indexes that solve problems for advisors. Its convertible bond strategy, for example, aims to deliver the return of the asset class by matching its equity and rate sensitivity using mainly exchange-traded futures contracts. This allows the strategy to be more liquid than a traditional convertible investment and with negligible capacity issues. The fund, which is sponsored by Direxion, is slated for launch in late January.
QES also developed a unique approach to delivering the returns of private equity buyout funds. By utilizing data from Preqin, the leading provider of information in the private equity space, they use a sector approach to map exposures from the buyout universe to liquid sector indices in the S&P 500 (for large-cap deals) and S&P 400 (mid- and small-cap deals) sector indexes. The Hatteras PE Intelligence Fund (HPEIX) and the London-based Source Nomura Modelled PERI ETF (PERI.LN) have been open to investors since late 2013.
