NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Water Island Capital is pleased to announce the launch of AltShares Merger Arbitrage ETF (NYSE:ARB), the first ETF offered in AltShares Trust. ARB seeks to provide passive exposure to the Water Island Merger Arbitrage USD Hedged Index (WIMARBH). The ETF aims to profit from the successful completion of definitive, publicly announced mergers and acquisitions.
The Water Island Merger Arbitrage USD Hedged Index employs a proprietary rules-based framework that was derived using research from Water Island Capital over its 20-year investment history. The index, and by extension ARB, offer exposure to select definitive, publicly announced mergers and acquisitions across developed markets globally. The deals that are selected for inclusion in the index and the ETF are weighted according to a risk-constrained, liquidity-based methodology and are rebalanced twice per month.
“We are pleased to bring Water Island’s time-tested approach to merger arbitrage investing to those interested in accessing this strategy through a passively managed ETF,” said John S. Orrico, Founder and CIO of Water Island Capital. “We have leveraged the insights we derived over the course of our firm’s 20-year history to build a passive ETF for investors looking to merger arbitrage investing as a way to enhance portfolio diversification.”
ARB will complement Water Island Capital’s existing actively managed event-driven product suite and seeks to satisfy investor demand for specialized ETF solutions within the alternative investment universe. ARB has a total expense ratio of 0.75% and is listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
About Water Island Capital, LLC
Water Island Capital, LLC is a privately owned asset management firm managing approximately $2.2 billion (as of March 31, 2020) in event-driven strategies across public and private investment vehicles, including four series of mutual funds offered in The Arbitrage Funds: Arbitrage Fund, Water Island Diversified Event-Driven Fund, Water Island Credit Opportunities Fund, and Water Island Long/Short Fund. AltShares Merger Arbitrage ETF is the first ETF to be launched in AltShares Trust.
About AltShares Trust
AltShares Trust is a Delaware statutory trust, which was organized on June 6, 2019, and is registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”) as an open-end management investment company. AltShares Trust is currently comprised of one series: AltShares Merger Arbitrage ETF, a non-diversified, passively managed ETF. For more information, please visit http://altsharesetfs.com.
Before investing, carefully consider the fund’s investment objectives, risks, and charges and expenses. The fund’s prospectus, which may be obtained at http://altsharesetfs.com, contains this and other important information. Read the prospectus carefully before you invest.
RISKS: Investments are subject to risk, including possible loss of principal. There can be no assurance that the fund will achieve its investment objectives. The fund uses investment techniques with risks that are different from those ordinarily associated with equity investments. Such risks include merger arbitrage risk (in that the proposed reorganizations in which the fund invests maybe renegotiated or terminated, in which case the fund may realize losses); passive investment risk; short sale risk (in that the fund will suffer a loss if it sells a security short and the value of the security rises rather than falls); concentration risk; high portfolio turnover risk (which may increase the fund’s brokerage costs, which would reduce performance); equity risk; foreign securities risk (in that the securities of foreign issuers may be less liquid and more volatile than securities of comparable US issuers); market risk; derivatives risk; hedging risk; counterparty risk; swap risk; ETF risk (including premium-discount risk, secondary market trading risk, cash transactions risk, international closed market trading risk, flash crash risk, authorized participants concentration risk, and large shareholder risk); investment company risk, small and medium capitalization securities risk, currency risk, new fund risk, non-diversified fund risk, and tracking error risk. Risks may increase volatility and may increase costs and lower performance.
Distributed by Foreside Fund Services, LLC, which is not affiliated with the adviser or any of its affiliates.
About The Arbitrage Funds
The Arbitrage Funds is a Delaware statutory trust, which was organized on December 22, 1999, and is registered the 1940 Act as an open-end management investment company. The Trust currently offers four series of shares to investors: Arbitrage Fund, Water Island Diversified Event-Driven Fund, Water Island Long/Short Fund, and Water Island Credit Opportunities Fund. For more information, please visit http://arbitragefunds.com.
An investor should consider the funds’ investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses carefully before investing. The funds’ prospectus contains this and other important information. You may obtain a copy of the funds’ prospectus at http://arbitragefunds.com or by calling (800) 295-4485. Please read the prospectus carefully before investing.
RISKS: The funds use investment techniques that are different from the risks ordinarily associated with equity investments. Such techniques and strategies include merger arbitrage risks (in that the proposed reorganizations in which the funds invests may be renegotiated or terminated, in which case the Funds may realize losses), high portfolio turnover risks (which may increase the funds’ brokerage costs, which would reduce performance), options risks, borrowing risks, short sale risks (the funds will suffer a loss if it sells a security short and the value of the security rises rather than falls), foreign investment risks (the securities of foreign issuers may be less liquid and more volatile than securities of comparable U.S. issuers), market risks, credit risks, interest rate risks, interest rate swap risks, credit default swap risks, and convertible security risks, which may increase volatility and may increase costs and lower performance. Bonds and bond funds will decrease in value as interest rates increase. Additional risks are described in the funds’ prospectus. Past performance is not a guarantee of future results.
The Arbitrage Funds are distributed by ALPS Distributors, Inc., which is not affiliated with the adviser or any of its affiliates.
