The ETF should do well when markets are trending higher or sideways, but could underperform in strong rallies and sell-offs.
“It’s definitely an income strategy,” Rich explained.
He said many investors are stretching for yield and taking on risk in a low-interest-rate environment.
“This is a nice alternative strategy,” said Rich, adding that the ETF is fully transparent and provides daily liquidity.
“No other ETFs do this, and the closed-end and mutual funds that do are more expensive,” he said. “We didn’t invent put writing. We’re just wrapping the strategy into an effective ETF vehicle.”
According to a fact sheet on the fund, investors assume the risk that the selected stocks may close below their strike price. They also “give up the upside on the underlying equities above the income the fund receives from selling the options.”
There are existing exchange products that use a different options strategy known as put-write. These include PowerShares S&P 500 BuyWrite (NYSEArca: PBP), AdvisorShares STAR Global Buy-Write (NYSEArca: VEGA) and iPath CBOE S&P 500 BuyWrite ETN (NYSEArca: BWV). The buy-write, or covered call, strategy utilizes call options on a position to generate high income from option premiums. [Buy-Write ETFs]
For more information on new product launches, visit our new ETFs category.
Max Chen contributed to this article.