Introducing an ETF ‘Family’

For this week’s ETF Talk, I’m going to break from tradition somewhat by not discussing an individual exchange-traded fund (ETF). Instead, I’m going to highlight about 10 different ETFs.

Before your eyes widen in shock and you wonder how long this column will be, let me explain by saying that these 10 ETFs are actually all parts of one big ETF “family” under the banner of WBI Investments.

Based in Red Bank, New Jersey, WBI Investments is a privately owned investment management firm that has been around since 1992 and specializes in risk management and capital preservation. In 2014, its partner WBI Shares rocked the exchange-traded fund industry when it launched no less than 10 ETFs simultaneously and obtained more than $1 billion in assets under management in just the first day of trading. WBI Shares is now one of the biggest providers of active ETFs.

All of the WBI ETFs are actively managed funds and seek to provide consistent returns to investors while also striving to enforce WBI’s emphasis on reducing risk and preserving capital. Unlike many of the ETFs I write about, these funds do not seek to replicate or track any kind of index; all holdings are chosen by an investment manager.

With that backdrop, here’s a brief description of the ETFs of WBI Shares:

1. WBI SMID Tactical Growth Shares (WBIA): invests in small- and mid-cap growth stocks worldwide
2. WBI SMID Tactical Value Shares (WBIB): invests in small- and mid-cap value stocks worldwide
3. WBI SMID Tactical Value Yield (WBIC): invests in small- and mid-cap stocks with high dividends worldwide
4. WBI SMID Tactical Select Shares (WBID): invests in small- and mid-cap tactical securities worldwide
5. WBI Large Cap Tactical Growth Shares (WBIE): invests in large-cap growth stocks worldwide
6. WBI Large Cap Tactical Value Shares (WBIF): invests in tactical large-cap stocks worldwide
7. WBI Large Cap Tactical Yield Shares (WBIG): invests in large-cap tactical yield securities worldwide
8. WBI Tactical High Income Shares (WBIH): invests in foreign and domestic debt and equity securities
9. WBI Tactical Income Shares (WBII): invests in foreign and domestic debt and equity securities
10. WBI Large Cap Tactical Select Shares (WBIL): invests in large-cap tactical securities worldwide

You can view the current price, volume, performance and top 10 holdings for all of the WBI ETFs at ETFU.com.

If you’re looking for standout among the funds offered by WBI Shares, check out WBI Tactical Income Shares (WBII). After the last six months of turbulence and uncertainty, WBII is down less than 4% from its June 2015 highs and it is starting to rise again, whereas most of the other WBI funds are still trying to recover from more significant losses. According to WBI Shares, WBII is the top-ranked fund in the Morningstar Conservative Allocation category. It has a 1.4% dividend yield with around $325 million in assets under management. Top holdings include the iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond at 11.97% of assets; Vanguard Intermediate-Term Bond ETF, 7.81%; and iShares 10+ Year Credit Bond, holding 5% of assets.

If you like the idea of joining an ETF “family” or at least exploring a possible investment in its funds, I’d recommend doing some further research in the WBI Shares ETFs.

If you want my advice about buying and selling specific ETFs, including appropriate stop losses, please consider subscribing to my Successful ETF Investing newsletter.

As always, I am happy to answer any of your questions about ETFs, so do not hesitate to send me an e-mail. You just may see your question answered in a future ETF Talk.