Get Think Tanked Distilled with Yung Lim

With the Fed looking like it’s finally going to begin tightening policy in 2022, investors will need to continue searching for solutions that can potentially make money in a rising rate environment. FolioBeyond and its CEO Yung Lim believe they have such a product. His company’s FolioBeyond Rising Rates ETF (RISR) offers a distinct strategy that is designed to seek to benefit from higher rates while delivering income. Lim joined the ETF Think Tank to discuss his fund and his outlook on the fixed income space.

RISR invests primarily in interest-only MBS (MBS IO), so the natural question is what are these securities and how can they be expected to perform. MBS IOs strip out the interest payments from the underlying security and end up getting bought and sold as individual securities themselves. The interest only (IOs) securities carry a negative duration and can potentially be a great interest rate hedge for a diversified portfolio. Lim believes that this negative duration1 aspect of his fund could potentially do well if the Fed follows through on rising interest rates and the Treasury yield curve follows suit.

Lim also notes that when rates go down, IO values have tended to fall because you anticipate greater refinances and pay-downs of existing mortgages. Since the IOs generate interest income, they can be a great tool for income investors who want to capture a yield while hedging against rising rates.

While IOs can be thought of as more of a defensive asset, there are some potential tail risks involved. Lim says that interest rate volatility, like what we’ve seen over the past week or two, can impact his fund. It takes some time for prepayment activity to work through the system and prepayments will be impacted by how primary mortgage rates respond when there’s a bigger move down in interest rates. The structure of the portfolio plays a key role in how the fund performs.

There’s also the potential risk of what might happen when the Fed begins tapering its asset purchase program and removes its support of the market. In theory, the central bank raising interest rates should be good for IOs but there’s also the issue of how MBS spreads would behave relative to Treasury yields. There’s a good chance, Lim says, that widening spreads would have the effect of slowing prepayments and this could further benefit IOs.

Other key takeaways:

  • What did trading look like during the first week of the year when rates were spiking? Lim says that his fund isn’t involved in active rebalancing unless there’s a bigger rate move, for example, of around 50 basis points2 or more. The RISR portfolio has tended not to change dramatically.
  • Lim says that his company chose to launch RISR as an ETF instead of a mutual fund because of the tax efficiency and transparency benefits of the ETF structure. He also felt that the mutual fund wrapper and its once-a-day pricing would be a disservice to investors.
  • FolioBeyond also uses artificial intelligence in developing some of its portfolio solutions, but currently limits its use to the equity side, particularly with equity income strategies. The company uses portfolio optimization techniques for fixed income solutions.

1Duration: Duration is a measure of the relationship between interest rates and price for a fixed income security. Positive duration refers to a relationship whereby prices decline as interest rates rise, while negative duration refers to a relationship whereby prices increase as interest rates rise.

2Basis Point: One hundredth of one percent, used chiefly in expressing differences of interest rates.

Disclosure

Investors should consider the investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses carefully before investing. For a prospectus or summary prospectus with this and other information about the Fund, please call (866) 497-4963 or visit our website at www.etfs.foliobeyond.com. Read the prospectus or summary prospectus carefully before investing.

Investments involve risk. Principal loss is possible. Unlike mutual funds, ETFs may trade at a premium or discount to their net asset value. The fund is new and has limited operating history to judge.

Fund Risks -The value of MBS IOs is more volatile than other types of mortgage-related securities. They are very sensitive not only to declining interest rates, but also to the rate of prepayments. MBS IOs involve the risk that borrowers may default on their mortgage obligations or the guarantees underlying the mortgage-backed securities will default or otherwise fail and that, during periods of falling interest rates, mortgage-backed securities will be called or prepaid, which may result in the Fund having to reinvest proceeds in other investments at a lower interest rate. The Fund’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 value of the Fund’s investments in fixed income securities (not including MBS IOs) will fluctuate with changes in interest rates. Typically, a rise in interest rates causes a decline in the value of fixed income securities owned indirectly by the Fund. Please see the prospectus for a complete description of principal risks.

Opinions expressed are subject to change and should not be considered investment advice.

MBS. Mortgage-backed securities are fixed-income instruments that represent an interest in a pool of mortgages.

MBS IOs. MBS IOs represent the interest portion of the MBS.

RISR is distributed by Foreside Fund Services, LLC, advised by Toroso Investments, LLC, and sub advised by FolioBeyond, LLC.

All investments involve risk, including possible loss of principal.

The information provided here is for financial professionals only and should not be considered an individualized recommendation or personalized investment advice. The investment strategies mentioned here may not be suitable for everyone. Each investor needs to review an investment strategy for his or her own particular situation before making any investment decision.

All expressions of opinion are subject to change without notice in reaction to shifting market conditions. Data contained herein from third party providers is obtained from what are considered reliable sources. However, its accuracy, completeness or reliability cannot be guaranteed.

Examples provided are for illustrative purposes only and not intended to be reflective of results you can expect to achieve.

The value of investments and the income from them can go down as well as up and investors may not get back the amounts originally invested, and can be affected by changes in interest rates, in exchange rates, general market conditions, political, social and economic developments and other variable factors. Investment involves risks including but not limited to, possible delays in payments and loss of income or capital. Neither Toroso nor any of its affiliates guarantees any rate of return or the return of capital invested. This commentary material is available for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any security and nothing herein should be construed as such. All investment strategies and investments involve risk of loss, including the possible loss of all amounts invested, and nothing herein should be construed as a guarantee of any specific outcome or profit.  While we have gathered the information presented herein from sources that we believe to be reliable, we cannot guarantee the accuracy or completeness of the information presented and the information presented should not be relied upon as such. Any opinions expressed herein are our opinions and are current only as of the date of distribution, and are subject to change without notice. We disclaim any obligation to provide revised opinions in the event of changed circumstances.

The information in this material is confidential and proprietary and may not be used other than by the intended user. Neither Toroso or its affiliates or any of their officers or employees of Toroso accepts any liability whatsoever for any loss arising from any use of this material or its contents. This material may not be reproduced, distributed or published without prior written permission from Toroso. Distribution of this material may be restricted in certain jurisdictions. Any persons coming into possession of this material should seek advice for details of and observe such restrictions (if any).

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