BROOMALL, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Alpha Architect today announced that it has launched its fourth active exchange-traded fund, the MomentumShares International Quantitative Momentum ETF (Ticker: IMOM). IMOM complements the successful December 2, 2015 launch of the MomentumShares U.S. Quantitative Momentum ETF (Ticker:QMOM). QMOM is focused on domestic securities; IMOM is focused on developed international markets (primarily developed markets).
QMOM and IMOM pursue their investment objectives by investing in equity securities the Advisor believes to be the stocks in the market with the highest quality momentum. The Advisor currently manages three funds, QVAL, IVAL, and QMOM which have collective assets of approximately $66 million as of November 30, 2015. Alpha Architect anticipates transferring assets from its separately managed accounts into IMOM. The managed account capital’s sources are high-net-worth clients of the Fund’s Advisor, Alpha Architect.
Dr. Gray and Dr. Jack Vogel, co-CIOs of Alpha Architect, started developing their momentum algorithm soon after they completed development of their Quantitative Value algorithm in 2012. The philosophy underlying the Quantitative Momentum algorithm will be published by John Wiley & Sons in late 2016, QUANTITATIVE MOMENTUM: A Practitioner’s Guide to Building a Momentum-Based Stock Selection System.
IMOM joins a small number of concentrated, active, and momentum-based ETFs currently in the marketplace. IMOM may invest in securities and depository receipts of companies in any industry and with any market capitalization. The Fund will invest in approximately 50 of the top international equity securities as determined by its Quantitative Momentum system.
Dr. Gray commented, “We seek to deliver a high-conviction momentum approach backed by extensive academic and market research and a substantive knowledge of the manner in which irrational investor behavior creates mispricing. With IMOM, we can now give our investors access to this strategy with an international lens. IMOM is a concentrated portfolio and will not track benchmark indices on a tick-by-tick basis in the short run. Investors need at least a longer-term horizon to have a chance at success.”
IMOM may be best suited for investors and advisors that want a concentrated exposure to what the Advisor believes are the stocks with the highest quality momentum. The Fund’s Advisor adheres to a momentum investment philosophy and utilizes computer technology to minimize human biases, interpret past trends, and assess future prospects.
ABOUT MOMENTUMSHARES
MomentumShares is advised by Alpha Architect, an SEC-registered investment firm that seeks to design affordable, tax-efficient, active-management strategies for Exchange-Traded Funds and Separately Managed Accounts. Alpha Architect’s strategies are rooted in the science of behavioral finance with a goal of beating behavioral bias. For further information, visit www.MomentumShares.com.
DISCLOSURE
Investments involve risk. Principal loss is possible. Redemptions are limited and often commissions are charged on each trade. Because the Fund is non-diversified, it may be more sensitive to economic, business, political or other changes affecting individual issuers or investments than a diversified fund, which may result in greater fluctuation in the value of the Fund’s Shares and greater risk of loss. Unlike mutual funds, ETFs may trade at a premium or discount to their net asset value.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) does not approve or disapprove of any investment. This material has been distributed for informational purposes only and should not be considered as investment advice or a recommendation of any particular security, strategy or investment product. Information contained herein has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but not guaranteed. No part of this material may be reproduced in any form, or referred to in any other publication, without express written permission. The Fund is distributed by Quasar Distributors, LLC. Fund's investment advisor is Empowered Funds, LLC which is doing business as Alpha Architect.
Momentum investing is subject to the risk that past performance does not predict the future performance of investments. Investments utilizing quantitative methods may perform differently than the market as a result of characteristics and data used and changes in trends.
Investments in smaller companies involve limited liquidity and greater volatility than larger companies. Investments in foreign securities involve political, economic and currency risks, greater volatility and differences in accounting methods.
The fund’s investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses must be considered carefully before investing. The statutory and summary prospectus contains this and other important information about the investment company, and it may be obtained by calling 215-882-9983 or visiting www.MomentumShares.com. Read it carefully before investing.
