Exchange Traded Concepts Announces Equity Investment from Yorkville ETF Holdings

Exchange Traded Concepts, an ETF-in-a-Box^TM turnkey solution for an accelerated, low-cost platform to bring new ETFs to market, has announced that Yorkville ETF Holdings has become a lead equity investor in the firm.

Concurrently, Yorkville ETF Advisors, a New York-based asset management firm led by the founders of Yorkville ETF Holdings, will also become a sub-advisor on Exchange Traded Concepts’ platform and plans to launch several income-oriented exchange-traded funds.

"Our relationship began after Yorkville ETF Advisors filed for Exemptive relief only to discover the process could take at least another year and require a significant financial commitment for the innovative ETFs they desired to launch. The regulatory barriers lead them to seek an alternative path – and they are a fundamental driver for why we started Exchange Traded Concepts," says Garrett Stevens, the firm’s CEO. 

Yorkville partners Richard Hogan and Darren Schuringa were referred to Exchange Traded Concepts, where Stevens was transforming FaithShares into the ETF-in-a-BoxTM platform. He envisioned a fast, cost-effective private label solution to offer potential sub-advisors who had run into roadblocks in bringing their ETFs to market. 

"We knew first-mover advantage would be critical for our ETFs and desired a faster platform to launch and market them,” says Schuringa, formerly a co-manager of a five-star fund and more than $1 billion in assets. “Exchange Traded Concepts was the only company offering expediency coupled with a cost- effective private label platform and the necessary ETF back office operations. This enables us to focus on managing and marketing the ETFs." 

Schuringa and Hogan recognized the business value of Exchange Traded Concepts’ service model and decided to not only become a sub-advisor, but negotiated for Yorkville ETF Holdings to take the position of lead equity investor in the firm. 

"After experiencing firsthand the unrivaled opportunity Exchange Traded Concepts offers to innovative managers, we knew the long-term business value presented an opportunity. The business model has proved effective in the world of mutual funds and will naturally extend to ETFs,” says Hogan, who has been involved with ETFs since their creation. "We have great confidence in Garrett and his team and all day to day management will be left in their hands. Our funds will be filed under the Exchange Traded Concepts Trust as a sub-advisor with the same agreement as others using the platform."

Hogan notes that the initial Exemptive relief filing made by Yorkville ETF Advisors in early 2011 will remain open.