Virtus ETF Solutions partnered with Infrastructure Capital Advisors, LLC to introduce the Virtus InfraCap U.S. Preferred Stock ETF, which begins trading today under the ticker "PFFA" on NYSE Arca.
The fund seeks current income and capital appreciation in a sector that may be less understood by investors, according to Jay Hatfield, founder and chief executive officer of InfraCap and co-portfolio manager.
It will invest in a portfolio of more than 100 preferred securities issued by U.S. companies with market capitalizations of more than $100 million. With a focus on income, the fund offers the potential for attractive yields, while pursuing compelling total return results.
Portfolio managers rely on a variety of quantitative, qualitative and relative valuation factors to select securities and weightings for the fund. As part of their investment process, they evaluate companies for their competitive position, potential to earn high returns on capital, stability and reliability of profits, potential to generate cash in excess of growth needs, and access to capital. Modest leverage is used to seek enhanced portfolio beta and options strategies are used to seek enhanced current income.
"We are excited to offer PFFA because the nuances of preferred stock investing demands active management, which we can provide in an ETF form," Hatfield said. "Investors can benefit from active management in this sector, as the call features of preferred stock often require portfolio managers to avoid capital losses on mandatory calls."
J.P. Morgan Expands Access to Alternative Investment Strategies to Individuals with iCapital Network
J.P. Morgan Asset Management announced an agreement with iCapital Network to provide a white label offering exclusively for Registered Investment Advisors and their clients to access a select group of J.P. Morgan Global Alternative strategies.
As a part of this agreement, iCapital, which has created a technology platform that simplifies access to alternative investments for eligible investors, will partner with J.P. Morgan Asset Management to provide high net worth investors with platform access to certain J.P. Morgan Global Alternative strategies.
EventShares to Roll Strategies from GOP, DEMS, TAXR into the EventShares U.S. Policy Alpha ETF
EventShares combined the strategies from its three initial ETFs into a new, broad-based policy actively managed fund called the U.S. Policy Alpha ETF (PLCY).
The new ETF includes the best ideas of what were previously included in the U.S. Tax Reform Fund (TAXR), Republican Policies Fund (GOP) and the EventShares Democratic Policies Fund (DEMS) ETFs. The change involved two successive moves: TAXRwas initially renamed the U.S. POlicy Alpha ETF, effective April 19; then GOP and DEMS were liquidated and their portfolios incorporated into PLCY, effective April 27, 2018.
The ETF aims to provide exposure to companies and sectors impacted by a wider range of U.S. government policies and regulations. While tax reform and related policies will continue to play a significant role in the fund, other drivers as well, including trade, defense, healthcare, education, border security, and environmental concerns. Its expense ratio is 85 basis points.
TIAA Launches Market-Leading Mobile App for Plan Sponsors
TIAA launched a new mobile app tailored to the unique needs of plan sponsors for both iOS and Android platforms.
This mobile version of PlanFocus, TIAA's website for plan sponsors, simplifies the digital experience for plan sponsors by providing access and administrative functions to expand the sponsors' ability to support their institutions and employees more efficiently and empower them to work the way they need to across multiple devices and away from their desks.
The mobile experience enables plan sponsors to communicate and collaborate directly with their TIAA relationship and support teams via email and phone from the app. It also allows them to provide valuable interactions with plan participants "on-the-go" including the ability to answer questions about allocations, contributions, loan balances, YTD activity and total and vested balances.
This application has been made available to all clients via Apple or the Google App stores.
TCA by E*TRADE Adds Four New Money Managers to MMX Program
