IM Global Partner LLC and Berkshire Asset Management LLC have partnered to launch a new dividend growth exchange-traded fund on the New York Stock Exchange.
The iMGP Berkshire Dividend Growth Equity ETF fund, which began trading on June 30, invests in dividend-paying equity securities on stocks the asset managers judge to have a strong track record of paying dividends or companies projected to increase their dividends over time. According to Gerard Mihalick, portfolio manager and partner at Berkshire Asset Management, the fund deviates from a quantitative index product and offers durability amidst macroeconomic shocks.
“We believe that Wall Street buys and sells companies for all sorts of nonsensical reasons,” Mihalick said. “Those who have a longer time horizon can try to use that volatility to their advantage and have more patience than the other guy and ultimately win in the long run.”
IM Global Partner Fund Management, headquartered in El Segundo, serves as the advisory arm for iM Global Partner’s $37 billion fund. The team specializes in making minority investments in asset-management boutiques. It currently manages four ETFs and has north of $3 billion in the ETF and mutual fund space.
IM Global first partnered with Berkshire Asset Management in December of last year to test the dividend strategy in separately managed accounts.
Jeff Seeley, CEO of iM Global Partner Fund Management, noted that the significant demand from investment advisors for a stable fund accelerated its launch from the second half of the year.
“The pickup in the interest has been really, really unique and interesting,” Seeley said. “That’s why we wanted to get the ETF out as quickly as possible, given the interest we’re getting in the marketplace.”
Berkshire Asset Management has managed the same growth investment strategy in separate accounts for high net-worth and institutional investors in the United States for the past 14 years. Its investment philosophy revolves around purchasing high-quality, undervalued companies and maintaining long-term positions based on solid business fundamentals rather than short-term trends.
