Phillips says the idea for these funds originated in August 2016 with the prospect for a polarizing presidential election on the horizon (which, of course, it was) and the realization that policies can impact asset prices. He adds that the folks at Active Weighting Advisors determined any funds looking to capitalize on policy-driven events couldn’t be done in a passive vehicle and needed to be actively managed to have the flexbility to meet the evolving nature of policy making.
"We want to provide unique exposures to policy outcomes and there are no other funds out there doing that," Phillips says, adding that he sees GOP and DEMS being core holdings in investor porfolios. That said, he also envisions some investors using the EventShares funds as tactical holdings, as a hedge or as vehicles to go long GOP and short DEMS (or vice versa).
Phillips says the next EventShare ETF in the queue—the European Union Breakup Fund (EXIT)—is expected to launch in the first half of 2018.