NEW YORK, May 23, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Unlimited, a new investment firm that gives all investors exposure to the alpha-generating potential of alternative investment strategies without the high fees and adverse tax implications of typical fund structures, announced today that it has raised $8 million in Series A financing led by FirstMark and Citi Ventures, including previously unannounced convertible notes led by Material.
The Series A round will allow Unlimited to continue developing and launching new low-cost alternative strategy-tracking ETFs that use proprietary return replication technology to track global macro, long-short equity, and lower beta strategies. Unlimited will also build out its sales and distribution teams as part of its next phase of growth. The new products that Unlimited plans to introduce will all work in service of the firm’s central mission: to offer individual investors access to the returns of sophisticated investment strategies at a lower cost than traditional limited partnerships, with greater transparency and liquidity.
Bob Elliott, the CEO and Chief Investment Officer of Unlimited and a former member of the Investment Committee at Bridgewater Associates, Bruce McNevin and Matt Salzberg co-founded New York-based Unlimited. The firm launched its first investment product, the Unlimited HFND Multi-Strategy Return Tracker ETF (NYSE: “HFND”), in the fall of 2022. HFND uses Unlimited’s proprietary technology to seek to replicate the risk/return profile of the gross-of- fees returns of the hedge fund industry. HFND was the most successful independent, actively managed ETF launch of 2022 based on total asset inflows since launch.
Mr. Elliott and Unlimited also plan to expand their growing presence on social media (including Twitter and LinkedIn) as well as their weekly newsletter, which offer unique perspectives on macroeconomic trends, capital markets commentary and data-driven investing topics. This work deepens the partnership and value that Unlimited can provide for financial advisors beyond its investment products. Unlimited also plans to further enhance its content offerings given the overwhelming demand for these insights and the lack of strong alternatives for many advisors.
As part of the Series A financing round, FirstMark Managing Director Adam Nelson and Citi Ventures Managing Director Luis Valdich will join Unlimited’s current Board of Directors, which includes Mr. Elliott and Mr. Salzberg.
Mr. Elliott has built innovative hedge fund strategies for more than two decades. At Bridgewater Associates, the world’s largest hedge fund, Mr. Elliott was a member of the Investment Committee and developed strategies across asset classes, including many for the firm’s flagship Pure Alpha fund. He also was the author of hundreds of Bridgewater’s widely read Daily Observations and directly counseled some of the world’s foremost policymakers and institutional investors on economic and investing issues, including the Federal Reserve, Treasury and White House during the 2008 financial crisis.
“Since the successful launch of HFND, we have heard from investors and financial advisors who want access to more alternative strategies in tax-efficient, low-cost and highly liquid products,” said Mr. Elliott. “This Series A financing will help bring those products to market for the benefit of all investors as well as allow us to expand our already significant thought leadership platform.”
“We are delighted to serve as lead investors in this round of funding,” said FirstMark’s Mr. Nelson. “Bob and his team have clearly identified the challenges that financial advisors have with many of the current alternative investment products in the market today. Unlimited’s solution leverages cutting-edge technology that seeks to provide that same return profile at a significantly lower cost through a much more flexible product. We’ve seen the disruptive effects of technology across other multi-trillion dollar markets and look forward to helping this firm transform the market for alternative investments.”
“Having met Bob prior to the launch of HFND, we were intrigued about the founder-product fit and the team’s vision of democratizing access to gross-of-fees hedge fund index returns,” said Mr. Valdich of Citi Ventures. “We stayed close to Unlimited, and seeing how quickly HFND has been gaining traction, we are excited to co-lead this Series A round to help accelerate its journey.”
About Unlimited
Founded in 2022 by Bob Elliott, Bruce McNevin and Matt Salzberg, Unlimited is an investment firm that uses proprietary technology to create broadly accessible, low-cost index tracking ETFs for 2 & 20-style alternative investments like hedge funds. The firm currently manages the Unlimited HFND Multi-Strategy Return Tracker ETF (NYSE: “HFND”), which aims to track the gross-of-fees returns of the hedge fund industry. Mr. Elliott has built innovative hedge fund strategies for more than two decades, including at Bridgewater Associates, the world’s largest hedge fund. Mr. McNevin is a Professor of Economics at New York University and has held various data science positions at hedge funds Clinton Group and Midway Group, along with positions at Bank of America and BlackRock. Mr. Salzberg serves as a Managing Partner at Material and is a Co-Founder and Chairman of various companies, including Unlimited. Learn more at unlimitedfunds.com.
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Before investing you should carefully consider the Fund’s investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses. This and other information is in the prospectus. A prospectus may be obtained by clicking here. Please read the prospectus carefully before you invest.
As with all ETFs, Fund shares may be bought and sold in the secondary market at market prices. The market price normally should approximate the Fund’s net asset value per share (NAV), but the market price sometimes may be higher or lower than the NAV. There are a limited number of financial institutions authorized to buy and sell shares directly with the Fund; and there may be a limited number of other liquidity providers in the marketplace. There is no assurance that Fund shares will trade at any volume, or at all, on any stock exchange. Low trading activity may result in shares trading at a material discount to NAV.
Investments involve risk. Principal loss is possible
Underlying ETFs Risks. The Fund will incur higher and duplicative expenses because it invests in Underlying ETFs. There is also the risk that the Fund may suffer losses due to the investment practices of the Underlying ETFs. The Fund will be subject to substantially the same risks as those associated with the direct ownership of securities held by the Underlying ETFs. Additionally, Underlying ETFs are also subject to the “ETF Risks” described above.
Derivatives Risk. The Fund’s or an Underlying ETF’s derivative investments have risks, including the imperfect correlation between the value of such instruments and the underlying assets or index; the loss of principal, including the potential loss of amounts greater than the initial amount invested in the derivative instrument; the possible default of the other party to the transaction; and illiquidity of the derivative investments.
Fixed Income Securities Risk. The Fund may invest in Underlying ETFs that invest in fixed income securities. The prices of fixed income securities may be affected by changes in interest rates, the creditworthiness and financial strength of the issuer and other factors. An increase in prevailing interest rates typically causes the value of existing fixed income securities to fall and often has a greater impact on longer-duration and/or higher quality fixed income securities.
Foreign Securities Risk. Foreign securities held by Underlying ETFs in which the Fund invests involve certain risks not involved in domestic investments and may experience more rapid and extreme changes in value than investments in securities of U.S. companies. Financial markets in foreign countries often are not as developed, efficient or liquid as financial markets in the United States, and therefore, the prices of non-U.S. securities can be more volatile.
Short Selling Risk. The Fund may make short sales of securities of Underlying ETFs, which involves selling a security it does not own in anticipation that the price of the security will decline. Short sales may involve substantial risk and leverage. Short sales expose the Fund to the risk that it will be required to buy (“cover”) the security sold short when the security has appreciated in value or is unavailable, thus resulting in a loss to the Fund. Short sales also involve the risk that losses may exceed the amount invested and may be unlimited.
Futures Contracts Risk. The Fund or Underlying ETFs may invest in futures contracts. Risks of futures contracts include: (i) an imperfect correlation between the value of the futures contract and the underlying asset; (ii) possible lack of a liquid secondary market; (iii) the inability to close a futures contract when desired; (iv) losses caused by unanticipated market movements, which may be unlimited; (v) an obligation for the Fund or an Underlying ETF, as applicable, to make daily cash payments to maintain its required margin, particularly at times when the Fund or Underlying ETF may have insufficient cash; and (vi) unfavorable execution prices from rapid selling.
Swap Agreement Risk. The Fund or an Underlying ETF may invest in swap agreements. Swap agreements are entered into primarily with major global financial institutions for a specified period, which may range from one day to more than six months. The swap agreements in which the Fund or an Underlying ETF, as applicable, invests are generally traded in the over-the-counter market, which generally has less transparency than exchange-traded derivatives instruments.
New Fund Risk. The Fund is a recently organized management investment company with no operating history. As a result, prospective investors do not have a track record or history on which to base their investment decisions.
Definitions:
Alpha: A term used in investing to describe an investment strategy’s ability to beat the market.
Beta: A concept that measures the expected move in a stock relative to movements in the overall market.
The fund is distributed by Foreside Fund Services, LLC
Launch & Structure Partner: Tidal ETF Services
