According to ProShares’ Leks Gerlak, CSM’s strategy seeks to consistently outperform the S&P 500 with similar levels of volatility. Since launching in July 2009, CSM has beaten the S&P 500 in 3-year, 5-year, and since-inception trailing periods. Additionally, CSM has outpaced the S&P 500 in 100% of rolling 5-year periods, and its record of besting the S&P 500 on a month-over-month basis surpasses 97% of all large-cap mutual funds and ETFs.
Gerlak explained what’s unique about CSM’s methodology and investment approach. CSM’s index is built on a disciplined investing approach that combines multiple well-established factors, offering less reliance on any one factor to achieve performance. The end result is a portfolio designed to turn incremental returns over time into consistent outperformance. The methodology was created in 2007 by recognized experts in quantitative finance – MIT professor Andrew Lo, PhD, and Pankaj Patel, CFA, now head of quantitative research at Cirrus Research.
CSM has achieved a rare feat of Morningstar 5-star ratings on a 3-year, 5-year and overall basis, placing it in the top decile of Large Blend mutual funds and ETFs for risk-adjusted performance. Gerlak says, “this fund has clearly demonstrated, from a number of different angles, that it can be the iron horse as a core large cap holding.”
For more information on CSM, visit ProShares.com.