The folks at a $1.644-billion-AUM (as of yesterday), three-year-old, options-focused, New York City-based fund firm are rolling out a long-short fund that's powered by a "proprietary machine learning stock selection model."

Paul Sang Jin Kim Simplify Asset Management Inc. CEO, Co-Founder

Today, David Berns, co-founder and chief investment officer of Simplify Asset Management [profile], unveils the launch of the Simplify Market Neutral Equity Long/Short ETF (EQLS on the NYSE Arca, Inc.). The new, actively managed fund is one of 24 Simplify ETFs and is a series of Simplify Exchange Traded Funds.

EQLS's inception date was yesterday, and its AUM yesterday reached $2.5 million. The new fund comes with an expense ratio of 100 basis points.

Simplify Asset Management Inc. services as EQLS' investment advisor. The new fund's PM team includes: Berns; John Downing, managing director of Simplify; David Jackson, vice president of portfolio management; and Paul Kim, CEO.

Berns puts the launch of EQLS in the context of "advancements in machine learning [that] allow for entirely new approaches to detecting patterns and translating those patterns into formulas used to forecast securities prices." That, plus swaps, allows EQLS to have "greater capital efficiency and an added income component via gains on the swaps," Berns explains.

"Market neutral strategies ... should provide significant diversification benefits and compelling return profiles for investors but too often the category has disappointed, missing significant moves to the upside and being slow to react to downward pressures," Berns states. "With EQLS, we've sought to update how an equity long/short portfolio can be constructed and managed."

EQLS' other service providers include: Bank of New York Mellon as administrator, custodian, fund accountant, and transfer agent; Cohen & Company, Ltd. as independent accounting firm; Foreside Financial Services, LLC as distributor; and Thompson Hine LLP as counsel. 

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