(VEGA) STAR Global Buy-Write ETF
Overview
How VEGA Works
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The AdvisorShares STAR Global Buy-Write ETF (NYSE Arca: VEGA) seeks consistent repeatable returns across all market cycles. VEGA is sub-advised by Partnervest Advisory Services, LLC (“Portfolio Manager”). The Portfolio Manager seeks to achieve the investment objective by using a proprietary strategy known as Volatility Enhanced Global Appreciation (“VEGA”). VEGA is primarily a “fund of funds” and employs a “Buy-Write” or “Covered Call” overlay for its global allocation strategy using Exchange Traded Products (ETPs).
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According to the internal benchmark policy, the Portfolio Manager will use both ETFs and individual equities to implement its tactical allocation strategy in which the volatility of each of the underlying positions determines the amount of option hedging. During periods of high volatility, the Portfolio Manager will write (or sell) a call option against some of its positions in order to hedge downside risk, while generating an income stream from the sale of options. At any given time, approximately 60% to 85% of VEGA’s positions will have covered options. Additionally when volatility is low, the portfolio manager buys protective put options to manage downside risk.
Fund Documents
VEGA in the News
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Performance -Month-End
VEGA Performance History (%) as of 1/31/2019
| NAV | Market Price Return | MSCI World Index | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Month | 6.13 | 6.17 | 7.78 |
| 3 Months | 0.71 | 0.25 | 0.72 |
| YTD | 6.13 | 6.17 | 7.78 |
| 1 Year | -3.47 | -3.60 | -6.54 |
| 3 Years | 7.27 | 7.21 | 11.26 |
| 5 Years | 4.70 | 4.66 | 6.94 |
| Since Inception (09/17/2012) |
3.51 | 3.48 | 8.79 |
Performance -Quarter-End
VEGA Performance History (%) as of 12/31/2018
| NAV | Market Price Return | MSCI World Index | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Month | -6.21 | -5.97 | -7.60 |
| 3 Months | -10.03 | -10.17 | -13.42 |
| YTD | -6.36 | -6.52 | -8.71 |
| 1 Year | -6.36 | -6.52 | -8.71 |
| 3 Years | 3.90 | 3.98 | 6.30 |
| 5 Years | 3.10 | 3.03 | 4.56 |
| Since Inception (09/17/2012) |
2.58 | 2.55 | 7.62 |
Performance data quoted represents past performance and is no guarantee of future results. All Fund data and performance data quoted is believed to be accurate, and unless otherwise stated, is sourced from the Fund administrator, the Advisor’s or Sub-Advisor’s proprietary data, and Morningstar. Current performance may be lower or higher than the performance data quoted. Investment return and principal value will fluctuate so that an investor’s shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than original cost. Returns less than one year are not annualized.
The MSCI World Index is a free float-adjusted market capitalization weighted index that is designed to measure the equity market performance of developed markets. One cannot invest directly in an index.
Fund Distributions
| Ex-Date | Record Date | Pay Date | Cash Div | ST Cap Gain | LT Cap Gain | Return of Capital | Total Distribution |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
12-27-18 | 12-28-18 | 12-31-18 | $0.12925 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.12925/per share |
12-27-17 | 12-29-17 | 01-02-18 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00/per share |
12-28-16 | 12-30-16 | 01-04-17 | $0.2243 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.2243/per share |
12-29-15 | 12-31-15 | 01-05-16 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00/per share |
12-29-14 | 12-31-14 | 01-05-15 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00/per share |
12-27-13 | 12-31-13 | 01-03-14 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00/per share |
12-27-12 | 12-31-12 | 01-03-13 | $0.167 | $0.031 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.198/per share |
Why Invest in VEGA?
- Low Volatility Risk Managed Solution - The asset allocation, option writing decisions, and overall portfolio put protection is heavily driven by volatility. When added to a traditional investment portfolio, VEGA will attempt to manage downside risk while seeking to gain as much of the upside growth as possible.
- For a Total Return Solution - The performance for VEGA will be driven by both equity growth and income; additionally, option income may provide additional return diversification to the overall total return of the portfolio.
5 Key Attributes
- Tactical - The asset allocation of the portfolio is tactically managed based on the volatility of the underlying asset classes. This tactical allocation provides a secondary form of managing risk in the portfolio.
- Options Hedging - As markets drop, the levels of implied volatility increase. Higher implied volatility results in higher than average option premiums that can offset downside moves, and VEGA will employ a higher percentage of hedging. When volatility is low, long term protective puts can be employed to protect in severe downward spikes. Volatility-based reinvesting insures a buy low, sell high discipline using a portion of the earned option income.
- Harnessing Volatility - Option premiums are used to seek to enhance the VEGA portfolio by writing call options on the ETF positions, in an effort to create less dependence on markets for returns during market downturns. Volatility may allow investors to add to their return when options are not exercised.
- Total Return Solution - The Portfolio Manager believes that VEGA can structure a target outcome, through an option overlay strategy on a global allocation strategy to generate returns.
- Income - The overwrite options strategy seeks to generate a return stream in the form of option premiums that accrue independently of the underlying investments and are not subject to equity risk.
About the Portfolio Managers
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Kenneth R. Hyman, President and Chief Executive Officer
Kenneth R. Hyman founded Partnervest in 2001 and is responsible for the direction and oversight of Partnervest’s business, financial, and operational affairs. He also serves as Co-Portfolio Manager and member of the Investment Management Committee overseeing the STAR Asset Management program. Established in 2001, the Sub-Advisor provides investment management solutions to investors and the advisors that serve them. Prior to establishing Partnervest, Mr. Hyman was the Senior Executive and Financial Officer for Integral Securities, Inc. and Integral Securities Europe Ltd. Prior to Partnervest and Integral, Mr. Hyman was the Managing Principal and Chief Operating Officer of Mercer Global Securities and the Director of Operations for Mercer Global Advisors, one of the nation’s largest fee-only financial planning and investment management firms. He was also the Vice-President of Trading for Associated Financial Group, a financial services company providing support to more than 328 representatives in over 179 branch and satellite offices.
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David Young, CFA, Chief Investment Officer
Mr. Young joined Partnervest Advisory Services in 2015 and serves as Chief Investment Officer and member of the Investment Management Committee. He is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Anfield Capital Management LLC, an SEC registered investment advisory firm that specializes in risk-based global allocation and fixed income strategies. Prior to founding Anfield, Mr. Young spent 15 years at PIMCO, focusing on investment strategy, portfolio management and asset allocation. While there, he formed and chaired the first multi-asset investment committee and headed the account management group in London. Mr. Young holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation, an MBA with a concentration in Finance from the Paul Merage School of Business at the University of California, Irvine and degrees in Economics and Political Science from UC, Irvine, where he has also served as an adjunct professor.
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Rebecca M. Valdez, Director of Investments
Mrs. Valdez joined Partnervest Advisory Services in 2007 and currently serves as its Director of Investments, portfolio manager and a member of the Investment Management Committee. Mrs. Valdez has 9 years of investment management experience with a specialty in option strategies. At Partnervest her responsibilities include trading, account maintenance, strategy review and trade analysis and portfolio management. Mrs. Valdez is a Level III Chartered Financial Analyst candidate and has a degree in Economics with a concentration in Finance from California Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo.
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Peter Van De Zilver, Portfolio Manager
Mr. Van De Zilver joined Partnervest Advisory Services in 2015 and serves as portfolio manager and member of the Investment Management Committee. He is the Director of Portfolio Analytics and Risk Management at Anfield Capital Management LLC, an SEC registered investment advisory firm that specializes in risk-based global allocation and fixed income strategies. He has over 20 years of investment management experience and served in a senior position at PIMCO in the Portfolio Analytics group, where he was responsible for the architecture, development and implementation of many analytics and risk management systems. Mr. Van De Zilver holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation and degrees in Physics, Mathematics and Economics from the Universities of Utrecht and Amsterdam, as well as an MA degree in Economics from the University of Southern California.
Morningstar-Rated™ Top Performer
| 10 Yr | 5 Yr | 3 Yr | Overall | Category | # in Overall Category |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
N/A  |
 |
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Option Writing | 96 |
| Overall Morningstar rating is derived from a weighted average of the fund's 3-, 5-, and 10- year (if applicable) risk-adjusted returns as of 1/31/2019. Category consists of 96 funds in 3 year and 63 in 5 year. | |||||
Price History
As of: 02/14/2019
| NAV | $30.85 | Closing Price | $30.74 |
| Change | $-0.04 | Change | $-0.08 |
| Shares Outstanding | 500,000 | Volume | 4,270 |
| 4PM Bid/Offer Midpoint | $30.76 | Premium/Discount | $-0.09 |
| Assets Under Management | $15,423,969.00 | ||
| Premium/Discount Historical Data | |||
Shares are bought and sold at market price (closing price) not NAV and are not individually redeemed from the Fund. Market price returns are based on the midpoint of the bid/ask spread at 4:00 pm Eastern Time (when NAV is normally determined), and do not represent the return you would receive if you traded at other times. Holdings and allocations are subject to risks and to change. A holding identified with an "MM" at the end of its name indicates it is a Money Market fund.
Fund Basics
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Symbol
VEGA
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Exchange
NYSE Arca
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Inception Date
09/17/2012
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CUSIP
00768Y768
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Indicative Value
VEGA.IV
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Options
No
Fees & Expenses
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Management Fee
1.35%
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Other Expenses
0.83%
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Acquired Fund Fees
0.21%
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Gross Expense Ratio
2.39%
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Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement
-0.33%
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Net Expense Ratio
2.06%*
- *The Advisor has contractually agreed to keep net expenses from exceeding 1.85% of the Fund’s average daily net assets for at least one year from the date of the prospectus and for successive one-year periods thereafter unless the agreement is terminated. This agreement is limited to the Fund’s direct operating expenses and, therefore, does not apply to “Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses.”