The folks at a $6.266-billion-AUM (as of December 10), four-year-old fund firm in the Big Apple are rolling out their 34th ETF and prepping what could be their 35th.

David Marc Berns Simplify Asset Management Inc. CIO, Co-Founder

Yesterday, Harley Bassman, managing partner at Simplify Asset Management Inc. (SAMI) [profile], unveiled the launch of the Simplify Downside Interest Rate Hedge Strategy ETF (RFIX), and the Simplify team also filed to launch the Simplify Currency Strategy ETF (FOXY). New York City-based Simplify will serve as investment advisor to both ETFs, which will primarily list on the NYSE Arca, Inc.

FOXY has not yet debuted, while RFIX's inception date was Tuesday (December 9). RFIX comes with an expense ratio of 50 basis points, while FOXY will cost 75bps. As of the end of day two (yesterday, i.e. Wednesday, December 10), RFIX had $5.828 million in AUM.

David Berns, chief investment officer of Simplify, will serve on the PM teams for both FOXY and RFIX. Bassman also serves as a portfolio manager for RFIX. And Ken Miller, managing director at Simplify, will also PM FOXY. FOXY will be powered by a strategy focused on foreign currency forward contracts, while RFIX will invest in a combination of debt (that produces interest income) and derivatives (specifically related to interest rates). The Simplify team describes RFIX as offering a "mirror image" to the exposure of the Simplify Interest Rate Hedge ETF (PFIX). (PFIX launched in 2021 and now has $157 million in AUM).

Bassman puts the launch of RFIX in the context of the Simplify team's efforts "to provide investors with innovative tools that provide acccess to useful and compelling strategies."

"RFIX was designed to provide a transparent and capital-efficient solution for those looking to express a bullish view on bonds and hedge against potential risks," Bassman states. "By incorporating OTC derivative profiles typically reserved for institutional investors, RFIX represents an important step in democratizing access to a strategy whose time very much may have arrived."

FOXY and RFIX will both be series of Simplify Exchange Traded Funds. The ETFs' other providers will be: Bank of New York Mellon (BNY Mellon) as administrator, custodian, dividend disbursing agent, fund accountant, shareholder servicing agent, and transfer agent; Cohen & Company, Ltd. as independent accounting firm; ACA's Foreside Financial Services as distributor; Foreside Fund Officer Services, LLC as chief compliance officer provider; and Thompson Hine LLP as counsel. 

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