FFCM LLC, the investment advisor to the QuantShares family of alternative ETFs, has reached a preliminary agreement to be purchased by Mosaic Investment Partners, according to a letter to investors.
The firm manages four ETFs: U.S. Market Neutral Momentum Fund (NYSEArca: MOM), U.S. Market Neutral Value Fund (NYSEArca: CHEP), U.S. Market Neutral Size Fund (NYSEArca: SIZ) and U.S. Market Neutral Anti-Beta Fund (NYSEArca: BTAL).
The ETFs are relatively small – BTAL has about $14 million in assets and the other three funds each have less than $5 million.
The deal with financial-services firm Mosaic, which manages nearly $6 billion, will allow FFCM to tap the firm’s distribution capabilities, and the QuantShares ETF lineup will remain intact, according to the letter. The company said it will continue to create liquid alternative ETFs and managed ETF solutions as investors search for uncorrelated investment returns.
Earlier this year, FFCM said it had hired Berkshire Capital to help it look for a strategic partner, the Ignites reported in April.
“Alternatives may be a hot area for product development, but exchange traded fund issuers appear to be struggling to get products off the ground,” according to the Ignites report. “The difficulty of gathering assets is shared by many firms offering funds that seek to replicate alternative strategies in an index ETF format.”
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