MutualFundWire.com: Simplify Brings an ETF Closer to TSLA

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Friday, January 3, 2025

Simplify Brings an ETF Closer to TSLA

The folks at a five-year-old fund firm in Gotham are tweaking a four-year-old, hyper-concentrated, active ETF that continues to focus on Tesla, Inc.

David Marc Berns
Simplify Asset Management Inc.
CIO, Co-Founder

Yesterday (Thursday, January 2), David Berns, co-founder and chief investment officer of Simplify Asset Management [profile], revealed that the Simplify team is updating the Simplify Volt TSLA Revolution ETF (VCAR on the NYSE Arca, Inc.) by switching its ticker to TESL. The ticker switch, which took effect yesterday, comes after the Simplify team recently rebranded the ETF (fka the Simplify Volt RoboCar Disruption & Tech ETF) and refined its investment strategy. New York City-based Simplify continues to serve as TESL's investment advisor, while San Francisco-based Volt Equity LLC continues to serve as subadvisor.

Berns describes the fund's new ticker as one that "better aligns with the fund's underlying strategy of providing dynamic exposure to Tesla's stock price movements while implementing an advanced options overlay strategy to manage downside risks."

"Already one of the more widely followed and held stocks, TSLA is poised to experience even more scrutiny and volatility in the months and years to come, making the TESL approach potentially appealing to investors who may be seeking a more active way to gain exposure to the company," Berns states.

TESL comes with an expense ratio of 120 basis points. As of yesterday, it had about $19.223 million in AUM.

Berns and Tad Park, CEO of Volt, have PMed TESL since its inception (as VCAR) on December 28, 2020. Per the actively managed, non-diversified fund's updated investment strategy is designed to provide exposure to Tesla through its stock (TSLA) and Tesla-linked ETFs, swap contracts, and call options. The idea is for the ETF's portfolio managers to switch between three different postures: aggressive (150-percent exposure to TSLA), bullish (100-percent exposure), and neutral (80-exposure).

TESL is a series of Simplify Exchange Traded Funds. The ETF's other service providers include: Bank of New York Mellon as administrator, custodian, dividend disbursing agent, fund accountant, shareholder servicing agent, and transfer agent; Cohen & Company, Ltd. as independent accounting firm; ACA's Foreside Financial Services, LLC as distributor; and Thompson Hine LLP as counsel.

Printed from: MFWire.com/story.asp?s=69356

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