A 24-year-old, employee-owned, $3.2-billion-AUM (as of March 31), Midwestern asset manager is teaming up to enter the ETF side of the business.

Steven Logan Finerty Argent Capital Management Chairman, Co-Founder

Last week, Steve Finerty, chairman of Argent Capital Management LLC [profile], and Kirk McDonald, portfolio maanger and senior research analyst at Argent, unveiled the launch of the Argent Mid Cap ETF (AMID on the Nasdaq). The new, actively managed ETF is the St. Louis-based firm's first foray into ETFs, with Argent serving as subadvisor, McDonald as PM, and EA Advisers (aka ETF Architect) as investment advisor.

The new fund, whose inception date was August 17, now has $22.91 million in AUM, and it comes with an expense ratio of 52 basis points. It is a series of the EA Series Trust.

Finerty puts the launch in the context of the historical growth potential of mid-cap stocks. McDonald notes that the Argent team's process emphasizes "owning the right businesses with a seasoned management team, strong balance sheet, above average cash flow, access to capital, and a long runway for growth."

"Many of our clients are Registered Investment Advisors who prefer the ability to offer their investors the tax efficiency and convenience of ETFs," McDonald states.

The launch of the ETF comes about four years after Argent entered the mutual fund business.

AMID's other service providers include: Cohen & Company, Ltd. as independent accounting firm; Practus, LLP as counsel; Quasar Distributors, LLC as distributor; U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC (dba U.S. Bank Global Fund Services) as administrator, fund accountant, and transfer agent; and U.S. Bank National Association as custodian and securities lending agent. 

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