CHICAGO,23rd June 2023-– The Future Fund LLC, an SEC-registered investment advisor led by Gary Black and David Kalis, announced today the launch of the Future Fund Long/ Short ETF (NYSE: FFLS) on the New York Stock Exchange effective June 21, 2023.
FFLS is a high-conviction, risk-managed long/short strategy that provides the potential to capitalize on key megatrends driving the economy. Portfolio managers Black and Kalis bring decades of investment experience to the Fund and use a deep fundamental research process to select concentrated investments that may profit from emerging technological or social trends and developments. One of only a handful of fundamental-driven long/short ETFs, FFLS fills a gap in the investment marketplace and provides a unique opportunity to invest in a hedged portfolio of leading secular growth companies ideal for today’s choppier economic environment.
“Global forces are impacting businesses, economies, and individuals, and unleashing macro trends that will produce both winners and losers – transformative companies that will capitalize on these trends, and companies that will fail to adopt and be unable to keep up with the leaders,” said Mr. Black. “We believe our deep fundamental research gives us early insight into both long and short opportunities.”
The Future Fund has identified 10 megatrends that have the potential to reshape the structure of industry, including social networking, mobility, e-commerce, AI and automation, big data and security, people living longer, fintech, lifestyle betterment, 24/7 information and entertainment, and climate sustainability. The portfolio managers believe these are the key drivers to long-term secular growth opportunities in the global market.
“Our investment process recognizes the disruptive innovation that is reshaping the economy, and it identifies the transformative companies that will displace legacy industry incumbents in several key sectors,” said Kalis. “We’re looking for companies that will change the world across multiple industries and we believe they will have strong tailwinds for investors.”
As Managing Partner of The Future Fund LLC, Black has extensive experience spanning nearly 30 years in top management positions at some of the most well-respected global investment management firms. As CEO of Aegon Asset Management U.S., he oversaw $120 billion in assets. In 2009, Black launched and managed Black Capital, a top-performing fundamental-based global long/short equity firm. The firm was acquired in 2012 by Calamos Investments, where Black became Global Co-Chief Investment Officer. At Janus Capital Group, he was named CEO in 2006 at age 45 after turning around investment performance as CIO and growing net flows to +$2 billion/year from -$29 billion in outflows in 2004 after the tech bubble burst, market timing charges, and the departure of Janus’ founder and CEO. Prior to Janus, Black was Chief Investment Officer of Equities and a partner at Goldman Sachs Asset Management. Black has an MBA from Harvard Business School and a BS in Economics from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
As Partner and co-founder of The Future Fund LLC, Kalis has more than 25 years of experience managing small- and mid-cap growth portfolios and leading investment research teams. Prior to the Future Fund, he founded Curvature Capital Management, LLC, a long/short equity hedge partnership focused on catalyst-driven global equities. Performance for the firm ranked in the top decile of long/short equity hedge funds. At Calamos, Kalis led Growth Equity Strategies responsible for $6 billion in assets in mutual funds, and institutional and separately managed strategies. He also founded and managed another long/short hedge fund partnership, Charis Capital Management LLC, focused on SMID-cap equities. He also worked for Northern Trust Asset Management and Segall Bryant & Hamill. Kalis is a Chartered Financial Analyst, awarded in 1994, and a member of the CFA Society of Chicago. He received a BA in Economics from the University of Michigan.
FFLS is The Future Fund’s second exchange-traded fund. The Future Fund Active ETF (FFND) launched in August 2021.