With the high minimum investments and pesky fees, not all investors can or want to become hedge fund clients. However, there are certainly times when plenty of investors would love to have access to a list of stocks in which hedge fund managers are accumulating positions. Some ETFs make that possible.
One of those funds is the Global X Top Guru Holdings Index ETF (NYSEArca: GURU), which celebrated its first birthday Tuesday. The aptly named GURU tracks the Top Guru Holdings Index, which is based on the holdings of hedge fund managers as reported in their 13F SEC filings. [Hedge Fund ETF Uses Market Neutral Strategy]
That strategy is not without its flaws and naysayers let their feelings be known when GURU and its rival, the AlphaClone Alternative Alpha ETF (NYSEArca: ALFA) debuted last year. Both ETFs were criticized as niche plays. Critics were also quick to point out that hedge fund managers and other noteworthy investors do not file 13Fs with the Securities and Exchange Commission until well after, usually 45 days, they initiate positions in stocks. [ETF Spotlight: Hedge Fund Clone]
Additionally, GURU, though not as pricey as a direct hedge fund investment, is not cheap by the standards of most ETFs with an annual expense ratio of 0.75%.
Those critiques made it difficult for these hedge fund replication ETFs to gain traction when they first debuted, but GURU is showing signs of life. The ETF now has just over $44 million in assets under management and while that may not sound like much, consider that almost $38.2 million of that total has flowed into the ETF in just the second quarter, according to flows data from Index Universe.
Investors are being rewarded for their new found faith in GURU. The ETF has surged 10.3% in the past 90 days and is up 16.4% year-to-date, a performance that is nearly 400 basis points better than the S&P 500. Part of the secret to GURU’s success is the ETF’s almost equal-weight methodology. [A Different Spin on Equal-Weight ETFs]