AXS Investments, a leading asset manager providing access to alternative investments for growth, income and diversification, is today announcing that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Knowledge Leaders Capital, the firm that first identified “the Knowledge Effect” – the tendency of highly innovative companies to generate excess returns in the stock market – and created the first investment methodology designed to capture those excess returns.
As part of this transaction, AXS will be acquiring the Knowledge Leaders funds and key members of the KLC team will be joining AXS in senior roles, including KLC’s CIO Steven Vannelli, CFA.
“This is an exciting day for us at AXS as we announce the latest in a long line of acquisitions that have expanded our product lineup, enhanced our talented investment team, and brought some of the most innovative and useful investment strategies in the market under one roof,” said Greg Bassuk, CEO of AXS Investments. “Our entire business is built upon the promise of providing investors and advisors with access to unique, differentiated exposures, and what Steve and his team have built at Knowledge Leaders Capital certainly fits that bill. We’re excited to welcome them to AXS and to educate the marketplace on the role that the Knowledge Effect can play in enhancing portfolio outcomes.”
The Knowledge Leaders flagship strategy seeks long-term capital appreciation by investing in equities of highly innovative companies in the developed world. These companies, identified as Knowledge Leaders by the KLC team, possess deep reservoirs of intangible capital as a result of their history of investing in knowledge-intensive activities like research and development, brand development and employee education. The result is a portfolio designed to play a core role in providing exposure to developed world equities.
“When we first started these discussions with AXS, it quickly became clear how closely aligned our two firms are on topics like improving investor access to unique strategies and a focus on innovation,” said KLC CEO, Steve Vannelli. “We have long recognized the AXS track record of leadership and success in the ETF space, its differentiated approach to fund marketing and distribution, and its aggressive growth plans. It’s an exciting time in asset management, particularly in ETFs, and we are thrilled to be joining AXS on its continued journey to innovate as a game changer in the ETF space and beyond.”
The announcement of the pending acquisition of KLC closely follows the AXS launch of the RINC ETF, a distinctive strategy designed to generate higher yields via real estate exposures, which itself joined a suite of alternative income offerings from AXS Investments that also includes innovative exposure to CLOs (AAA ETF), tactical income (TINIX) solutions, sustainable income (AXSKX), and more. On the equities side, AXS was first to market with its family of single-stock inverse and leveraged ETFs, several ETFs through which investors can express their views on the “innovation trade,” a number of sustainability-focused strategies and much more.
For more information on AXS Investments and their full lineup of investor solutions, please visit: axsinvestments.com.
About AXS Investments
AXS Investments is a leading alternative investment manager providing a diversified family of alternative investments for growth, income and diversification. The firm empowers investors to diversify their portfolios with investments previously available only to the largest institutional and high net worth investors. The investor-friendly AXS funds are time-tested, liquid, transparent and managed by high pedigreed portfolio managers with long and strong track records. For more information, visit www.axsinvestments.com.
