Compass EMP Funds announced today that it has increased its fund lineup more than five-fold with the launch of 13 new mutual funds. Compass EMP now offers a total of 16 funds in its lineup.
The Nashville, Tenn.-based firm's newest funds offer exposure to a number of alternative and traditional asset classes. They include:
- Compass EMP U.S. 500 Volatility Weighted Fund, Compass EMP U.S. Small Cap 500 Volatility Weighted Fund, Compass EMP International 500 Volatility Weighted Fund and Compass EMP Emerging Market 500 Volatility Weighted Fund among traditional growth asset classes;
- Compass EMP U.S. 500 Enhanced Volatility Weighted Fund, Compass EMP International 500 Enhanced Volatility Weighted Fund and Compass EMP REC Enhanced Volatility Weighted Fund among alternative long/cash (hedge) asset classes;
- Compass EMP Commodity Strategies Volatility Weighted Fund in the alternative long anly asset class;
- Compass EMP Commodity Long/Short Strategies Fund and Compass EMP Long/Short Strategies Fund among alternative long/short (hedge) growth asset classes;
- Compass EMP Long/Short Fixed Income Fund in the alternative long/short (hedge) income asset class; and
- Compass EMP Enhanced Fixed Income Fund and Compass EMP Ultra Short-Term Fixed Income Fund among traditional income asset classes.
All of the 13 new funds offer class A, T, C and I share classes.
Stephen M. Hammers, chief investment officer, said that all holdings in funds that track Compass EMP's proprietary volatility-weighted index are weighted based on their volatility, or daily standard deviation, not market cap.
"Stocks qualify if they consistently make money, quarter-after quarter," Hammers explained. "We just feel that the public needs a better way to index that equalizes the risk on all securities and provides better performance."
Among the new funds, eight represent every asset class tracking the Compass EMP volatility-weighted index. These funds hold about $500 million in seed money, and Hammers said he expects the funds to reach $1 billion within 12 months.
The 13 funds make available through mutual fund format to the average retail investor all asset classes that Compass EMP has been managing for institutional investors for some time, Hammer said.
"We've had a lot of demand for these types of strategies from institutions to offer a better way to index. Our goal is to bring what we've done for institutions to the average retail investor," he said.
Compass EMP now offers a total of 16 funds in its lineup. They hold $1 billion in total assets under management, among which mutual funds represent about $400 million.
