ADVISORY BUSINESS.
Little Harbor Advisors, LLC (“LHA”) was founded in January of 2012 and filed
with the SEC to be a registered investment adviser in August of 2013. LHA
provides discretionary investment advisory services to the LHA Market StateTM
Alpha Seeker ETF (the “Alpha Seeker ETF”), the LHA Market StateTM Tactical
Beta ETF (the “Tactical Beta ETF”), the Market StateTM Tactical Q ETF (the
“Tactical Q ETF”) (collectively, the Alpha Seeker ETF, the Tactical Beta ETF, and
the Tactical Q ETF are referred to as the “LHA Market StateTM ETFs”), and the
LHA Risk-Managed Income ETF (collectively, the LHA Risk-Managed Income ETF
and the LHA Market StateTM ETFs are referred to as the “LHA ETFs”). LHA also
provides discretionary investment advisory services to a private collective
investment fund, the LHA MOTR Long-Short Fund, L.P (the “MOTR Fund”). In
the future, LHA may provide discretionary investment advisory services to
other registered funds and/or other private collective investment funds.
The focus of LHA’s investment advisory services is to implement each fund’s
investment strategy, manage and allocate fund assets, and to monitor and
oversee a fund’s investment return and exposure. In regard to the funds to
which LHA currently provides investment advisory services, LHA does not tailor
its advisory services to individual investors and does not accept investor-
imposed investment restrictions. As of March 28, 2024, LHA had aggregate
discretionary assets under management of approximately $201,064,865 in the
LHA ETFs and MOTR Fund.
TAI Equity Holdings, LLC is the managing member of LHA, and its managing
member is LHA’s Chief Executive Officer, John Hassett. The principal owner of
TAI Equity Holdings, LLC is also John Hassett. Currently, LHA does not have any
individual investor that has an ownership interest equal to or greater than
twenty-five percent (25%).
LHA Market StateTM Alpha Seeker ETF:
The Alpha Seeker ETF is a series of ETF Series Solutions (the “Series Solutions
Trust”). The Series Solutions Trust is an open-end management investment
company consisting of multiple investment series. The Series Solutions Trust
was organized as a Delaware statutory trust on February 9, 2012. The Series
Solutions Trust is registered with the SEC under the Investment Company Act
of 1940, as amended (together with the rules and regulations adopted
thereunder, as amended, the “1940 Act”), as an open-end management
investment company and the offering of the Alpha Seeker’s ETF shares is
registered under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”).
The Series Solutions Trust is governed by its Board of Trustees (the “Series
Solutions Board”). LHA serves as the investment adviser to the Alpha Seeker
ETF. As the investment adviser to the Alpha Seeker ETF, LHA has responsibility
for its general management and administration.
The Alpha Seeker ETF’s investment objective is to seek to provide positive
returns across multiple market cycles that are generally not correlated to the
U.S. equity or fixed income markets. The Alpha Seeker ETF is an actively-
managed exchange-traded fund (“ETF”) and seeks to achieve its investment
objective principally by investing long or short in instruments linked directly or
indirectly to the performance and/or volatility of the S&P 500® Index based on
statistical analyses, described below, that seek to estimate the direction of the
U.S. equity market. Such instruments may include index-based and other
actively managed ETFs; leveraged, inverse, and inverse-leveraged ETFs;
exchange-traded notes (“ETNs”); options; and futures contracts. The Alpha
Seeker ETF may also invest the remainder of its portfolio directly or indirectly in
cash and cash equivalents.
The Alpha Seeker ETF seeks to achieve its objective by estimating the direction
of the U.S. equity market and then using those estimates to select the ETF’s
investments in long or short S&P 500 Index linked instruments and Cboe
Volatility Index® (the “VIX® Index”) linked instruments. The Alpha Seeker ETF’s
strategy primarily relies on proprietary statistical analyses of the volatility of
the S&P 500 developed, owned, and maintained by Thompson Capital
Management LLC (“Thompson Capital”). Portfolio net exposure is based on a
proprietary process to quantify market risk by comparing volatility expectations
across various time frames, as expressed by 30-day and 90-day implied
volatility indexes and VIX futures. In general, a “long volatility” environment is
one in which near-term volatility expectations are above longer-term volatility
expectations. Similarly, a “short volatility” environment is characterized by
lower near-term volatility expectations relative to longer-term expectations.
Each day, through the use of Thompson Capital’s statistical analyses, LHA seeks
to estimate the direction and magnitude of U.S. equity market volatility based
on the movement of the VIX® Index, which utilizes real-time prices of options
on the S&P 500 to reflect investors’ consensus view of future (30-day) expected
stock market volatility, and VIX Index futures and options prices. Such
estimates are used by the Alpha Seeker ETF’s portfolio managers to determine
the extent to which the ETF’s exposure to the S&P 500 Index and/or the VIX
Index will be long or short, or in cash. Based on the direction and strength of
signals from the statistical analyses, the portfolio managers determine on a
discretionary basis in which instrument(s) to invest. Because the Alpha Seeker
ETF’s exposure may change daily, it may engage in active and frequent trading.
A more detailed explanation of the Alpha Seeker ETF’s investment strategy is
found in its Prospectus, dated April 30, 2023, as amended.
LHA Market StateTM Tactical Beta ETF:
The Tactical Beta ETF is a series of the Series Solutions Trust. The offering of
the Tactical Beta ETF’s shares is registered under the Securities Act. LHA serves
as the investment adviser to the Tactical Beta ETF. As the investment adviser
to the Tactical Beta ETF, LHA has responsibility for its general management and
administration.
The Tactical Beta ETF’s investment objective is to seek long-term out-
performance relative to the large-capitalization U.S. equity market. The fund is
an actively-managed ETF and seeks to achieve its investment objective
principally by investing in instruments linked directly or indirectly to the
performance and/or volatility of the S&P 500® Index based on statistical
analyses that seek to estimate the direction of the S&P 500 Index. Such
instruments may include index-based and other actively-managed ETFs
(including leveraged ETFs) with long exposure to the S&P 500 Index, U.S.
Treasury securities, or instruments linked to the VIX Index; securities issued by
the U.S. government or its agencies or instrumentalities; and options and
futures contracts on the S&P 500 Index or VIX Index. The fund may also invest
the remainder of its portfolio directly or indirectly in cash and cash equivalents.
The Tactical Beta ETF seeks to achieve its objective by estimating the direction
and magnitude of U.S. equity market volatility based on the movement of the
VIX® Index. Under normal market conditions, the fund’s baseline exposure
each day to the S&P 500 Index is approximately 100%, which the portfolio
managers then adjust based on a statistical method of analysis of the
movement of the VIX Index. The fund’s exposure to the S&P 500 may be
greater or less than 100% at any given time, although such exposure is
generally between approximately 80% and 120% at the time investments are
made. The portfolio managers use their analysis to determine in which
instruments(s) to invest for long exposure to the S&P 500 Index and the
magnitude of such exposures. During periods where volatility increases, LHA
expects the fund to seek protection against falling markets by lowering long
exposure to the S&P 500 and also investing long in VIX Index-linked
instruments as a hedge. During these periods when a hedge is applied, the VIX-
linked instruments are expected to generate results that are uncorrelated to
the S&P 500 and, in combination with lower S&P 500 exposure, seek to
preserve capital. From time to time, to generate additional returns, the fund
may also write (sell) call options on its S&P 500 positions; provided, however,
that when the fund writes (sells) a call option it will always own the
corresponding amount of exposure to the S&P 500 and, therefore, the fund’s
position will be “covered”.
The fund’s strategy primarily relies on proprietary statistical analyses of the
volatility of the VIX Index developed, owned, and maintained by Thompson
Capital. Portfolio net exposure is based on a proprietary process to quantify
market risk by comparing volatility expectations across various time frames, as
expressed by 30-day and 90-day implied volatility indexes and VIX futures. In
general, a “long volatility” environment is one in which near-term volatility
expectations are above longer-term volatility expectations. Similarly, a “short
volatility” environment is characterized by lower near-term volatility
expectations relative to longer-term expectations.
Each day, through the use of the statistical method of analysis, LHA seeks to
estimate the direction and magnitude of U.S. equity market volatility based on
the movement of the VIX® Index. Such estimates are used to determine the
extent of the fund’s exposure to the S&P 500 Index and the extent to which
VIX-linked instruments, if any, will be used to hedge the S&P 500 exposure, or
to invest in cash. Based on the signals from the portfolio managers’ analysis,
they determine on a discretionary basis in which instrument(s) to invest.
Because the Tactical Beta ETF’s exposure may change daily it may engage in
active and frequent trading. A more detailed explanation of the Tactical Beta
ETF investment strategy is found in its Prospectus, dated April 30, 2023.
LHA Market StateTM Tactical Q ETF:
The Tactical Q ETF is a series of the Series Solutions Trust. The offering of the
Tactical Q ETF’s shares is registered under the Securities Act. LHA serves as the
investment adviser to the Tactical Q ETF. As the investment adviser to the
Tactical Q ETF, LHA has responsibility for its general management and
administration.
The Tactical Q ETF’s investment objective is to seek long-term out-performance
relative to the large-capitalization U.S. growth equity market. The fund is an
actively-managed ETF and seeks to achieve its investment objective principally
by investing in equity instruments linked directly or indirectly to the
performance of the Nasdaq-100® Index (the “Nasdaq-100”) based on statistical
analyses that seek to estimate the direction of the Nasdaq-100. Companies in
the Nasdaq-100 have a significant portion of their assets invested in
communication services and information technology sectors, and may be
represented by depositary receipts and may have significant operations in non-
U.S. countries. Such instruments may include index-based and other
ETFs
(including leveraged and inverse ETFs) with long or short exposure to the
Nasdaq-100, U.S. Treasury securities, or instruments linked to the VIX Index;
securities issued by the U.S. government or its agencies or instrumentalities;
and options and futures contracts on the Nasdaq-100 or VIX Index. The fund
may also invest the remainder of its portfolio directly or indirectly in cash and
cash equivalents.
Under normal market conditions, the fund’s baseline exposure each day to the
Nasdaq-100 is approximately 100%, which the fund’s portfolio managers then
adjust based on a statistical method of analysis evaluating the movement of
the VIX Index. The fund’s exposure to the Nasdaq-100 may be greater or less
than 100% at any given time, although the portfolio managers expect that such
exposure will be between approximately 80% and 120% at the time
investments are made. The portfolio managers use such analysis to determine
in which instruments(s) to invest for long or short exposure to the Nasdaq-100.
During periods where volatility increases, the fund’s portfolio managers expect
the fund to seek protection against falling markets by lowering long exposure
to the Nasdaq-100 and also investing long in VIX Index-linked instruments as a
hedge. During these periods when a hedge is applied, the VIX-linked
instruments are expected to generate results that are uncorrelated to the
Nasdaq-100 and, in combination with lower Nasdaq-100 exposure, seek to
preserve capital. From time to time, to generate additional returns, the fund
may also purchase put options or write (sell) call options on its Nasdaq-100
positions; provided, however, that when the fund writes (sells) a call option it
will always own the corresponding amount of exposure and, therefore, the
fund’s options position will be “covered”. For hedging exposure, the fund may
purchase call options or call option spreads with long exposure to the VIX Index
or VIX-Index linked ETFs.
The fund’s strategy primarily relies on proprietary statistical methods of
analyses of the volatility of the VIX Index developed, owned, and maintained by
Thompson Capital. Portfolio net exposure is based on a proprietary process to
quantify market risk by comparing volatility expectations across various time
frames, as expressed by 30-day and 90-day implied volatility indexes and VIX
futures. In general, a “long volatility” environment is one in which near-term
volatility expectations are above longer-term volatility expectations. Similarly,
a “short volatility” environment is characterized by lower near-term volatility
expectations relative to longer-term expectations.
Each day, the portfolio managers use a statistical method of analysis seeking to
estimate the direction and magnitude of U.S. equity market volatility based on
the movement of the VIX® Index, which utilizes real-time prices of options on
the S&P 500® Index to reflect investors’ consensus view of future (30-day)
expected stock market implied volatility. Such estimates are used by the
portfolio managers to determine the fund’s Nasdaq-100 exposure and the
extent to which the VIX-linked instruments, if any, will be used to hedge the
Nasdaq-100 exposure. Because the Tactical Q ETF’s exposure may change daily
it may engage in active and frequent trading. A more detailed explanation of
the Tactical Q ETF investment strategy is found in its Prospectus, dated April
30, 2023.
LHA Risk-Managed Income ETF:
The LHA Risk-Managed Income ETF (the “Risk-Managed Income ETF”) is a series
of the Series Solutions Trust. The offering of the Risk-Managed Income ETF’s
shares is registered under the Securities Act. LHA serves as the investment
adviser to the Risk-Managed Income ETF. As the investment adviser to the
Risk-Managed Income ETF, LHA has responsibility for its general management
and administration.
The Risk-Managed Income ETF’s investment objective is to seek current income
and capital preservation. The fund is an actively-managed ETF and seeks to
achieve its investment objective by investing primarily in other investment
companies, including other actively managed ETFs and index-based ETFs
(collectively, “Underlying Investments”), that provide exposure to a broad
range of fixed income asset classes. The Underlying Investments may invest in
investment-grade U.S. corporate bonds, U.S. Treasury securities, floating rate
debt securities, treasury inflation-protected bonds (“TIPS”), foreign corporate
debt securities (including those of emerging markets), high yield (junk) bonds,
mortgage-backed and asset-backed securities, and preferred stocks. The fund
may also invest in cash, cash equivalents, or money market funds.
Grimes & Company, Inc. (the “Sub-Advisor”) identifies income-producing
Underlying Investments and then uses (a) a proprietary analysis that quantifies
and evaluates each Underlying Investment’s short-term (approximately one
quarter) and long term (approximately one to two years) price change and
volatility trends (the “Price and Volatility Trend Factors”), and (b) with
consideration to the Price and Volatility Trend Factors, a discretionary
approach to selection of Underlying Investments (the “Yield Review”). The Sub-
Advisor ranks Underlying Investments with positive Price and Volatility Trend
Factors by their current yield and generally selects, for inclusion in the fund’s
portfolio, the Underlying investments with the highest yield in the Yield
Review.
In seeking to manage risk, during an environment of unfavorable Price and
Volatility Trend Factors, the fund seeks capital preservation by investing in
Underlying Investments with higher quality and lower income-producing assets
(e.g., investment-grade bonds, TIPS, floating rate bonds, or money market
instruments), and cash or cash equivalents. Such unfavorable Price and
Volatility Trend Factors generally occur in periods of market downturn (e.g.,
recession, persistent inflation, war).
In an environment of favorable Price and Volatility Trend Factors, the fund
seeks to maximize income by investing in Underlying Investments with high
income-producing assets (e.g., junk bonds, preferred equities, or emerging
market bonds). Such favorable Price and Volatility Trend Factors generally
occur in periods of a rising market (e.g., low interest rates, economic stimulus).
The fund’s average weighted portfolio duration and credit quality (through its
Underlying Investments) vary over time, generally between 0-10 years, and
rated AAA-B, respectively. However, there is no limit on the weighted average
duration or the average credit rating of the fund’s portfolio. Duration is a
measure of a fixed income security’s price sensitivity to changes in interest
rates (e.g., higher duration indicates greater sensitivity to interest rate
changes). Credit ratings are issued by independent third parties (e.g., Moody’s
Investors Service, Inc.).
The fund may invest up to 100% of its assets in any fixed income class, or in
cash or cash equivalents, depending upon current fixed income market
conditions, as well as the Price and Volatility Trend Factors observed by the
Sub-Advisor. A more detailed explanation of the RMIF investment strategy is
found in the Prospectus dated June 6, 2023.
LHA MOTR Long-Short Fund, L.P.:
The MOTR Fund is a limited partnership organized under the Delaware Revised
Uniform Limited Partnership Act. The partnership was formed to pool
investment funds of its investors and trade financial instruments, including
securities. LHA serves as the investment manager to the MOTR Fund. The
MOTR Fund is exempt from registration as an investment company under the
1940 Act and exempt from registration under the Securities Act, as amended.
The MOTR Fund’s general partner is responsible for the overall management of
the fund’s affairs, including the management of the fund’s assets, but the
general partner has delegated to LHA investment authority over the fund’s
assets.
The fund’s investment objective is to seek long-term capital appreciation on an
absolute basis. No assurance can be given that the fund will achieve its
investment objective and investment results may vary substantially over time
and from period to period.
The MOTR Fund’s Investment strategy generally will be to hold long and short
U.S. equity securities. The strategy uses systematic bottom-up modelling
processes within the context of a proprietary “on” or “off” macro regime signal
to make long and short stock allocations. The “on” regime signal indicates a
broadly leading momentum environment in the equity market and an “off”
signal indicates a broadly lagging momentum environment. The investment
process focuses on leading or lagging momentum areas of the market with
positive or negative price trends to select long or short holdings, respectively,
from a universe of liquid, US mid-cap to large-cap stocks. The strategy will
invest in approximately 30-60 stocks long and approximately 10-20 stocks
short. Long exposure is typically between approximately 100-120% when the
macro regime signal is “on,” and can range from approximately 0% to 100%
when the macro regime signal is “off;” conversely, short exposure is typically
zero when the macro regime signal is “on” and between approximately 0-20%
short when the macro regime signal is “off.” Entry and exit of stock positions
are determined systematically as momentum and trend conditions warrant,
and stock positions are volatility weighted and re-balanced as conditions
warrant. The strategy seeks capital appreciation through a full cycle, and seeks
capital preservation during severe bear equity markets. The fund’s maximum
exposure to any one long position is not expected to be greater than
approximately 5-6% (at cost) for any substantial period of time and the fund’s
maximum exposure to any one short position is not expected to be greater
than approximately 1-2% (at cost) for any substantial period of time. Although
the stock selection process is systematic, LHA may use discretion to take a
temporary defensive position by reducing exposure to U.S. equity securities or
by employing other defensive tactics such as the use of options in reaction to
extraneous or exogenous events, including market disruptions relating to
political events, military events, economic events, news events or other
unexpected events.
The fund makes investment decisions informed by a comprehensive systematic
bottom-up modelling process across all sectors of the US equity market. The
fund intends to typically invest in securities of companies that are in thematic
growth industries with leading momentum and positive price trends but may
also invest in traditionally more economically sensitive stocks. Short positions
are likely to be sourced from both areas as well. The systematic investment
process, combined with the discretion to react to disruptive exogenous events,
will seek to find a balance between performance and prudent risk control. A
more detailed explanation of the MOTR Fund investment strategy is found in
its Confidential Placement Memorandum (“PPM”), which can be provided upon
request.