The decade of the 2010’s was marked by the meteoric rise of fast-growing companies, many of which have become household names. Not coincidentally, the market dominance of these large-cap tech stocks also powered the popular broad market averages to all-time highs, and their trajectory has been nothing short of remarkable. This begs the question: Which companies are poised to disrupt the status quo to such an extent that they will be the next market dominators? Identifying those stocks and piling in before they are household names is the ultimate challenge for growth-oriented investors. For example, who wouldn’t want to say that they picked up Amazon when it was just a bookseller? The VictoryShares Nasdaq Next 50 ETF (QQQN) offers investors an opportunity—just maybe—to find the next decade's biggest story.

The VictoryShares Nasdaq Next 50 ETF is a passive fund that invests in the constituents of the Nasdaq Q-50 Index, which tracks the 50 non-financial companies that are next in line for inclusion in the iconic Nasdaq-100 Index. In other words, this offers investors an easy way to gain broad exposure to a new generation of innovative companies we feel are poised for growth. These mid-cap firms may be transitioning into large or, possibly, even mega-cap status. It’s an interesting approach that offers growth investors several possible advantages.

For starters, it’s a systematic way to allocate to companies that have already been vetted given that these stocks have demonstrated strong growth to date in terms of their market cap positioning. These companies have long-graduated from fledgling startups. Moreover, this ETF rebalances quarterly, which helps ensure that the portfolio remains updated and in tune with an oft-changing environment. We believe such a quarterly rebalancing is an advantage versus some competitive products that rebalance only annually because it puts QQQN in the position to capture the value of any intriguing, rapidly growing companies and potentially IPOs that immediately become eligible for inclusion in the Nasdaq Q-50 Index. Quarterly rebalancing also ensures that investors aren’t stuck with laggards that have dropped out of candidacy for graduating into the Nasdaq-100 Index.

The current investment environment is indeed tricky and there are many challenges ahead, but there will always be innovative companies that are disrupting the status quo, regardless of market volatility, interest rates, or Federal Reserve policies. The VictoryShares Nasdaq Next 50 ETF offers investors an opportunity to allocate across 50 companies that we believe should be in excellent position to grow. Why not invest in these stocks before they are household names?

Carefully consider a fund's investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses before investing. To obtain a prospectus or summary prospectus containing this and other important information, visit www.vcm.com/prospectus. Read it carefully before investing.

Investing involves risk, including the potential loss of principal. In addition to the normal risks associated with investing, investments in small- and mid-cap companies and narrowly focused investments typically exhibit higher volatility. International investing may involve risk of capital loss from unfavorable fluctuations in currency values, differences in generally accepted accounting principles, or economic or political instability. Technology companies are often subject to severe competition and product obsolescence. The Fund has the same risks as the underlying securities traded on the exchange throughout the day. Redemptions are limited, and commissions are often charged on each trade. ETFs may trade at a premium or discount to their net asset value. The Fund is not actively managed and may be affected by a general decline in market segments related to the Index. The Fund invests in securities included in, or representative of securities included in, the Index, regardless of their investment merits. The performance of the Fund may diverge from that of the Index.

The Nasdaq Q-50 Index is a market-capitalization weighted index designed to track the performance of companies that are next-eligible for inclusion into the Nasdaq-100 Index. The Index is comprised of 50 securities and reflects companies across major industry groups, except financial companies. Nothing in this illustration should be construed as a recommendation of individual holdings or market sectors, but as an illustration of broader themes.

VictoryShares ETFs are distributed by Foreside Fund Services, LLC.

Victory Capital Management Inc. is the adviser to the VictoryShares ETFs. Victory Capital is not affiliated with Foreside Fund Services, LLC. Nasdaq is a registered trademark of Nasdaq, Inc. and its affiliates (together, “Nasdaq”) and is licensed for use by Victory Capital. The product(s) are not issued, endorsed, sold, or promoted by Nasdaq. Nasdaq makes no warranties as to the legality or suitability of, and bears no liability for, the product(s).

©2021 Victory Capital Management Inc.

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N.b. this is sponsored content and not FINSUM editorial.

(Washington)

If there were ever a sign of things to come from the SEC, this is it. There has been a lot of speculation about how the SEC will approach enforcement of Reg BI under new chief Gary Gensler. It is widely expected that the new administration will be much tougher than under Trump. But even with that expectation, this week’s move is big. The SEC just hired the every-broker-curses-her-name longtime head of investor protection at the Consumer Federation of America Barbara Roper as a senior adviser. Roper has been by far the biggest critic of Reg BI and was the biggest proponent of the Obama era DOL Rule.

FINSUM: The SEC could not have done a better job of signaling where things are heading. Time to buckle down on your compliance and start setting aside working capital to deal with beefed up protocols and more investigations.

Going independent is one of the biggest decisions an advisor will ever make. Moving from being an employee to running your own business is a huge decision. Even simply changing firms once already independent is a major one. There are a thousand considerations beyond just the obvious—branding, client retention, compensation—and advisors need incredible support when making these decisions and even well past the initial integration with a new firm.

Momentum Independent Network focuses on helping advisors with a seamless move. Instead of focusing on “transition”, momentum makes it a smooth evolution, taking a lot of the anxiety out of switching firms. We provide custom tailored support, personalized marketing consultation, business development road-mapping, and full supervision and compliance, among many other included services, such as insurance. Momentum also provides firm-specific platform and technology training so that your team can be up-to-speed in no time.

Your clients will feel how simple the transition is as well, with Momentum offering a seamless and compliant client paperwork process. And because Momentum is affiliated with HilltopSecurities—a leading municipal investment bank and one of the nation’s largest clearing firms*—your clients will benefit from superior execution, market research and insights, and a robust trading platform.

Gain an edge by speaking with Momentum Independent Network today

*As of Aug. 17, 2019. Based on number of broker-dealer clients. Investment News.

(New York)

While most banks try to stay bullish on market, Bank of America just couldn’t help but get gloomy this week, very gloomy. The bank says that record high prices and placid volatility mean a big correction looms. They believe the market is underpricing the risk of a Fed policy change, and when that comes, it will hit like a hammer. They even gave a name to these bouts of volatility/correction: “fragility shocks”. According to the bank, “We believe the US equity market is underpricing the risks of a looming tapering cycle. After all, the equity market has feasted on record monetary support post-COVID, and the Fed's outlook remains impaired by the extreme uncertainty in the macro forecasts on which they base their decisions”.

FINSUM: This unfortunately makes quite good sense. However, the opposing force here is that the buy-the-dip mentality is strong right now, which could provide support in any short-term sell-off.

With so much of the innovation driving our economy coming from venture capital-backed companies, why can’t you find VC in most people’s investment portfolios? It’s because early-stage investing has been the sandbox of institutions and the wealthy. These savvy investors allocate to VC to take advantage of the high-growth prospects of startups. It helps that they have the means to withstand the massive financial commitments and fees, the risks of betting on a small number of companies and the years of illiquidity.

No fair. Ordinary investors could also benefit from enhancing their equity holdings with exposure to companies outside the public realm. What if they could have both the exposure to gross returns of the venture capital universe and the daily liquidity of public stocks? One index solved for that back in 2012. The Thomson Reuters Venture Capital Index (TRVCI) uses private company data to identify the systematic drivers of performance in the VC world and then assembles a portfolio of publicly traded securities that replicate those drivers.

Only one mutual fund, the AXS Thomson Reuters Venture Capital Return Tracker Fund (LDVIX), tracks this index by holding what is in the portfolio. That means retail investors can circumvent the restrictions of traditional VC investments and add well-diversified exposure to the high growth potential of the VC space.