Against a backdrop of record-setting inflows and a growing number of innovative entries to the Exchange Traded Fund universe, the first index and ETF to target the ETF industry, Toroso ETF Industry Index (TETF.Index), has turned in a strong first year of returns.
The Toroso ETF Industry Index (TETF.Index), which underpins the ETF Industry Exposure & Financial Services ETF (NYSE Arca: TETF), recently marked its first anniversary, marking a year of providing investors with a benchmark for gauging the performance of the companies driving and participating in the past growth and potential future growth of the Exchange Traded Funds industry.
Investors are just now catching on to an ETF that tracks the ETF industry itself, a compelling investment idea.
“New ETF issuers face many challenges; volume, track record and platform access. We chose to make our ETF a way to promote the entire ETF industry which has helped us partner with larger firms that are index constituents. Our success is dependent on the continued success of the ETF industry,” said Mike Venuto, CIO of Toroso Investments and co-founder of TETF.Index
This innovative ETF has changed the way portfolios are constructed. The key facets of the structure are transparency, liquidity, and lower costs. In 2017, the U.S. ETF industry alone saw record-setting inflows of more than $476 billion to end the year north of $3.4 trillion in total industry assets.
Take a look at its performance.
“By including the liquidity providers and exchanges we have seen great downside performance,” said Venuto. “Companies like Virtu and Flow Traders preformed spectacularly when volatility spiked. The one year up capture versus the ACWI 145 and downside capture was -25%, meaning TETF actually went up when the ACWI went down.”
Against this record-setting asset gathering pace, TETF.Index was up 36.0% from inception through April 30, 2018. This compared to a return of 14.4% for the S&P 500 Index over that same time frame, while the Financial Select Sector Index returned 17.6% over that period. For purposes of clarity, the Financial Select Sector Index seeks to provide an effective representation of the financial sector of the S&P 500 Index.
“Over the last year we have found many of the issuers have had performance that has a high correlation to asset flows. Having Burton Malkiel join the index committee added a fresh perspective rooted in the nexus of passive investing,” said Venuto.
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With the first year of TETF.Index and TETF live performance over, TEFT is eager to continue to tell the story of the ETF industry and to encourage the message that the industry itself is worth a closer look as an investment, said Venuto.