Leatherback Asset Management Launches First ETF, 'LBAY' | ETF Trends

On Tuesday, Leatherback Asset Management, in partnership with Tidal ETF Services, launched its first ETF: the Leatherback Long/Short Alternative Yield ETF (LBAY).

LBAY is an actively managed alternative yield strategy that provides a cost-effective, liquid, and tax-efficient means for investors to add a high-quality allocation with targeted monthly distributions to their respective portfolios.

Managed by Leatherback, founder and 20-year veteran of the mutual fund and alternative asset management industry, Michael Winter, LBAY holds long positions in equity securities and other publicly traded instruments that appear well-positioned to seek attractive yields to shareholders.

At the same time, the Fund will seek to identify idiosyncratic opportunities where a security’s price may be poised to decline and will build “short” positions as determined by the Fund’s management. Additionally, the Fund may write covered calls when Leatherback believes call premiums are attractive relative to the price of the underlying securities.

The Long And The Short Of It

Over the course of Winter’s more than two decades in investment management, he has overseen both hedge fund and mutual fund vehicles, with a particular focus on building effective long/short strategies.

“I am thrilled to be bringing our first ETF to market. LBAY represents the type of dynamic, innovative, active approach that investors of all types should have available to them, but which for too long have been reserved for institutions and accredited investors,” said Mr. Winter.

He continues, “With bond yields at historic lows, investors are looking elsewhere for the income they need. Passive strategies too often come with misunderstood or misattributed risks, and active strategies in a mutual fund or hedge fund wrapper burden investors with onerous lockups and high fees. With LBAY, investors now have a powerful tool for adding alternative yield to their portfolios, guided by experienced active management.”

LBAY trades on the NYSE and has a management fee of 0.95 percent and a total annual fund operating expense of 1.09 percent.

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