Key Takeaways
- Renowned tech analyst Dan Ives is launching a new exchange-traded fund (ETF) focused on artificial intelligence, ticker symbol “IVES.”
- The “Dan Ives Wedbush AI Revolution ETF” will invest in a curated list of 30 companies poised to lead the AI boom, based on Wedbush research.
- This list, known as the “Ives AI 30,” will be regularly updated to reflect the evolving AI landscape.
- The fund aims to offer investors a way to tap into the AI trend as it expands beyond a few initial winners.
Tech analyst Dan Ives is bringing his insights on the artificial intelligence boom directly to investors with a new fund. The “Dan Ives Wedbush AI Revolution ETF” is set to start trading this Wednesday under the ticker “IVES.”
This new investment vehicle will track an index composed of companies from Wedbush’s “Ives AI 30” research list. Ives explained to CNBC that this list is dynamic. “As new companies come in, then some companies could come out… It’s not static. And that’s a key part of the theme here, because the theme will continue to evolve,” he said.
Currently, the index features tech giants like Nvidia, Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon, and Tesla. It also includes smaller, emerging players in the AI space such as SoundHound AI and CyberArk Software, according to a recent Wedbush report.
The fund’s underlying index will be reconfigured quarterly. More frequent changes can occur due to corporate actions, as detailed in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing. Cullen Rogers, chief investment officer at Wedbush Fund Advisers, will oversee the ETF’s daily operations.
While technically a passive fund, Rogers noted it aims to “leverage Dan’s ideas… in an institutional framework… that gives investors a consistent, predictable structure.” This approach seeks to combine the benefits of passive investing with active research insights.
Launching AI-themed ETFs can be complex. The industry is developing rapidly, some major AI innovators like OpenAI are private, and many large public AI-linked companies are already common holdings in other investment funds.
The Wedbush team believes their fund is launching at an opportune moment. Ives sees the AI revolution broadening from semiconductors to software, infrastructure, consumer applications, and other related areas.
The new fund will enter a market with existing options, such as the Global X Artificial Intelligence & Technology ETF (AIQ). The Ives fund will have a management fee of 0.75%. This is higher than some thematic ETFs but less than the average for actively managed U.S. equity funds, as noted by Morningstar. For context, the AIQ fund has a 0.68% fee.
