Aspiriant, a Los Angeles-based independent wealth management firm that oversees $7 billion in client assets, is preparing to launch its first mutual fund—the Aspiriant Risk-Managed Global Equity (RGE) Fund.
The RGE Fund, ticker RMEAX, is designed to smooth out the swings in the market and keep people invested during times of large market downturns.
The global equity mutual fund will attempt to outperform global equity benchmarks while limiting losses during times of intense market volatility, Aspiriant says. The RGE Fund will only be available to Aspiriant investment advisory clients at first; the firm plans to open it to the public later this year. Aspiriant manages assets for about 800 individuals and families.
The fund will be diversified with allocations to domestic, developed international and emerging equity markets, although it will be over weighted on the emerging markets at first, Aspiriant says. It will be designed to outperform the broad equity market through active stock selection while offering two options-based strategies: one designed to generate additional income and the other to limit losses during a bear market.
In addition, techniques will be used to limit taxes paid by investors.
Aspiriant created the fund, which will be available within the next week or two, because it could not find an existing fund that provided growth potential while protecting against large downside losses, says Jason Thomas, Aspiriant chief investment officer and portfolio manager of the new fund.
Aspiriant is able to do this using a complicated formula of call and put options usually only available to institutional investors. Aspiriant’s size allows it to act like an institutional investor on behalf of its individual clients, Thomas says.
“The RGE Fund represents a significant step forward for individual investors,” Thomas says. “Aspiriant expects to provide our clients growth, income and protection, all within a single fund.”
This will be done through investments in equities that will provide long-term capital appreciation, increase revenue through call writing and provide protection by buying put options that provide a form of insurance against catastrophic losses, Thomas says.
“Aspiriant has the scale, investment sophistication and innovative thinking to bridge the divide between institutional and high-net-worth investors,” he adds. Aspiriant deals with mostly, but not exclusively, high-net-worth individuals and families. For Aspiriant clients, there will be no additional fee for investing in the RGE Fund. When it is opened to the public, there will be fees that are competitive to other mutual funds, according to the firm. A $100,000 minimum investment will be required.