Latest news with #Azoria
Yahoo
08-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
The latest MAGA index fund is here
There's a new way to own the libs, but it'll cost you. The latest anti-DEI index fund — described by its founder to Semafor last year as 'an S&P 500 fund without the woke sh*t' — launches today. Azoria's Meritocracy ETF will own the S&P 500 except for 37 companies, including Nike and Airbnb, that it says prioritize diversity over merit in hiring. Azoria's founder, James Fishback, said in an interview that Susquehanna, the trading firm run by conservative donor Jeffrey Yass, bought 75,000 shares at the open. Conservative ETFs — and virtue-signaling funds of all political stripes — are proliferating in the Trump age. While a handful have beaten the broader market this year, they are far more expensive than the benchmarks they, to varying degrees, deviate from. The newly launched Meritocracy ETF charges $47 (for Trump) on every $10,000 invested, versus about $3 for the cheapest S&P 500 trackers. As a FactSet researcher told The Wall Street Journal, a more efficient, though less satisfying, way to virtue-signal would be to buy a plain-vanilla index fund and donate the investment gains to a political cause. — Liz Hoffman Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
08-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Should investors bet against DEI? What to know about new anti-'woke' index fund
One S&P 500 please, hold the diversity, equity and inclusion. That is the proposed selling point of a new index fund launching Tuesday: The exchange-traded fund mirrors the S&P 500 but excludes 37 companies that engage in DEI. It is the brainchild of James Fishback, an ally of President Donald Trump who used to work for the hedge fund Greenlight Capital and recently became more widely known as the Department of Government Efficiency adviser who proposed sending taxpayers stimulus checks. Last week, Fishback launched a Trump super PAC to back the president in his feud with the GOP's largest individual donor and former DOGE architect Elon Musk. With the Azoria 500 Meritocracy ETF, Fishback is piggybacking on the Trump-powered DEI backlash. He unveiled his plans in December at the president's Mar-a-Lago resort. 'I am making the bet of my career that, generally, stocks that hire on skill and merit and not on race and gender will do better,' Fishback, CEO and founder of investment firm Azoria, told USA TODAY in an exclusive interview. 'The next couple years are going to decide if this strategy is a success.' Morningstar analyst Bryan Armour said he expects some investors will flock to the index fund which trades under the ticker symbol SPXM. 'Investors are often drawn to the siren song of a good narrative, especially one that speaks to their views,' Armour said. 'My guess is there will be some appetite for an ETF like this.' But, he said, investors are best off "separating investing and politics.' Exchange-traded funds, or ETFs, are bundles of stocks that trade on public exchanges like individual stocks, giving investors the ability to buy hundreds of securities in a single purchase. Anyone with a brokerage account can put money in ETFs, which can be bought and sold like shares during the trading day. Ideologically driven S&P 500 trackers tend to charge high fees and attract meager investment, University of Florida finance professor Jay Ritter told USA TODAY in December. 'We will probably see some more anti-'woke' ETFs but only the biggest will survive,' Ritter said. 'Each year, a lot of small ETFs get closed or merged because there is not enough liquidity to attract investors and cover the costs of managing the ETF.' Fishback told USA TODAY his index fund filters out more than three dozen companies that use explicit race and gender quotas in hiring decisions including Nike, Airbnb and Intel. Airbnb and Nike declined to comment. In a statement, Intel said its hiring and promotion practices "follow a competitive and fair process in compliance with the law and we do not use identity based quotas.' Initially, Fishback thought the announcement of his S&P 500 tracker would put pressure on the nation's largest companies to roll back these policies, but in conversations with business leaders, Fishback said he discovered they 'genuinely believe that their DEI hiring targets help their long-term business" and few could be persuaded to make changes. 'I thought a lot more companies would have taken these policies off the table," he said. "But the fact that six months later, there are still three dozen companies hiring on race and gender tells me that this product has to be there." The Florida investment fund manager said his research shows a 'DEI drag' has caused these 37 stocks to underperform for the last two years. "We identified DEI hiring targets as the likely driver of underperformance by studying a diverse set of 37 companies across 26 industries that share little in common except for one policy: explicit, quantitative DEI hiring targets. This uniformity allowed us to isolate that variable as a common denominator," Fishback said. On average, the companies saw their stocks rise 3.8% in the 30 days after dropping diversity hiring targets, compared to the S&P 500's average monthly return of 1.24%, according to Fishback. "Our research demonstrates a strong negative association between explicit demographic hiring targets and stock returns," he said. Analysts were skeptical. 'I find it hard to believe that DEI hiring practices can be directly linked to stock underperformance,' Armour said. The Azoria 500 Meritocracy ETF charges a management fee of 0.47%, meaning if an investor puts in $10,000, they will have paid approximately $48 in fees to the fund manager after one year. Even if diversity targets were the common denominator, the omitted companies would need to "underperform by a lot" to make the fund a worthwhile investment when an investor can buy an S&P 500 fund "for three basis points of fees or less," Armour said. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Should you invest in new anti-DEI index fund? What to know Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
08-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Tesla investors aren't excited about Elon Musk's new political party
(NewsNation) — Elon Musk says he's starting a new political party, but Tesla investors aren't thrilled. Shares of Tesla plunged nearly 7% Monday, as markets reacted to Musk's plans for the 'America Party,' a third political faction aimed at rivaling Democrats and Republicans, and in response to President Trump's renewed calls for tariffs. Prominent Wall Street tech analyst Dan Ives said the billionaire entrepreneur's latest political foray is 'exactly the opposite direction that most Tesla investors want him to take' and is 'causing exhaustion.' Amazon Prime Day Deals — Early Prime Day deals are live and impressive — Track all the top markdowns on Apple products — Get a jump on back-to-school shopping with discounts BestReviews is reader-supported and may earn an affiliate commission. 'I think the board is going to have to get involved,' Ives, managing director at Wedbush Securities, told Bloomberg TV on Monday, adding that Musk is starting to cross 'a line in the sand.' A reignited Trump-Musk feud burns Tesla investors, shares of EV company tumble 8% James Fishback, CEO of investment firm Azoria, said Saturday that the firm would be postponing the launch of its Tesla-focused ETF due to Musk's political party announcement. 'We deserve a full-time CEO, not someone fixated on sabotaging President Trump,' Fishback, known for proposing 'DOGE dividend checks,' wrote on X. President Donald Trump was also quick to voice his disapproval on Truth Social, saying the Tesla CEO had gone 'completely off the rails' and argued that third parties 'have never succeeded in the United States.' Musk, once a top donor and ally of Trump, had a falling out with the president over the Republicans' 'Big, Beautiful' budget bill. The Budget Lab at Yale University estimates it could add $3 trillion to the nation's debt over the next decade. 'When it comes to bankrupting our country with waste & graft, we live in a one-party system, not a democracy,' Musk wrote on X, declaring the formation of the 'America Party.' The question on Tesla investors' minds: Where will he find the time? Musk's alliance with Trump was good for Tesla's stock — until it wasn't. Shares of Tesla nearly doubled after Election Day, but as Musk's role in the administration grew, so did investors' concerns about his focus, or lack thereof, on the EV giant. The Tesla CEO allayed some of those fears in May when he left Washington and vowed to spend '24/7' at work, even if it meant 'sleeping in conference/server/factory rooms.' But that renewed focus didn't last long, and the latest political distraction threatens to create new enemies on both sides of the aisle. Trump-Musk feud continues, now involving Tesla Trump bought 'I think in the view of investors, there's really no upside,' Ives said Monday, warning that Trump could become a blockade to Tesla's autonomous vehicle ambitions. Ross Gerber, a longtime Tesla investor and vocal Musk critic, didn't hold back online, writing, 'no one wants the Elon first party,' accusing the company's board of being 'Elon vampires sucking the blood of Tesla equity.' 'Waymo has solved autonomous driving. Meanwhile Elon is starting a new political party,' Gerber, CEO of Gerber Kawasaki Wealth and Investment Management, wrote on X over the weekend. Musk's new political adventure comes at an especially challenging time for the EV maker. Last week, Tesla reported a 13% drop in global car sales from a year earlier. Part of that decline has been attributed to Musk's political forays, which have sparked protests and alienated many consumers in Tesla's core market. A recent AP-NORC poll found that about half of U.S. adults have an unfavorable opinion of Tesla. Even more, closer to 60% have an unfavorable view of Musk. Tesla recently launched its robotaxi service in Austin, and while it's been generally well-received by passengers, it's also drawn the attention of federal traffic safety regulators after videos surfaced appearing to show driving errors. Then there's the problem of China — a vital country where Tesla's market share has shrunk thanks to stiff competition from low-cost local rivals. The Wall Street Journal put it bluntly Sunday: 'Elon Musk Is Running Out of Road in China.' But whatever the headwinds, investors want their mercurial CEO at the helm. Instead, Musk will be splitting his attention across a range of ventures, including Tesla, SpaceX, the social media platform X, and now, apparently, a political party. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
07-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Anti-DEI Firm Postpones Tesla ETF Over Musk Announcement
Azoria, an anti-diversity, equity and inclusion investment firm, postponed the public listing of its Tesla ETF scheduled for this week after Elon Musk announced plans to launch a new national political party, according to a weekend social media post from the investment firm's chief executive. James Fishback, founder and CEO of Azoria, said the decision to delay the Azoria Tesla Convexity ETF (TSLV) came in direct response to Musk's political announcement, according to a Saturday X post. The firm believes the political party creates a conflict with Musk's responsibilities as CEO of Tesla Inc. (TSLA). "This creates a conflict with his full-time responsibilities as CEO of Tesla," Fishback wrote in the X post. "It diverts his focus and energy away from Tesla's employees and shareholders." Azoria sent a letter to Tesla board chair Robyn Denholm expressing concerns about Musk's political ambitions, according to the firm. The letter encourages Tesla's board to meet and ask Musk to clarify his political plans. "I encourage the Board to meet immediately and ask Elon to clarify his political ambitions and evaluate whether they are compatible with his full-time obligations to Tesla as CEO," Fishback wrote in the letter to Denholm. The firm praised Tesla's long-term investment potential in artificial intelligence, citing breakthroughs in robotaxis, its Optimus robot and full self-driving technology, according to the letter. Azoria believes no other company is positioned to lead the future like Tesla. Fishback noted that when Musk stepped back from his work at the Department of Government Efficiency in May and returned attention to Tesla, shareholders gained renewed confidence, according to the letter. The CEO said Musk's political party announcement undermines that confidence. The Tesla ETF delay comes as Azoria prepares to launch its anti-DEI fund, the Azoria 500 Meritocracy ETF (SPXM), which will invest in the S&P 500 while excluding companies that use racial or gender quotas in hiring decisions, according to the company's website. Azoria's top holdings include major technology companies like NVIDIA Corp. (NVDA), Microsoft Corp. (MSFT), Apple Inc. (AAPL), Inc. (AMZN), Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL) and Meta Platforms, Inc. (META), according to the company. The SPXM fund uses a proprietary research methodology to exclude companies that have disclosed explicit quantitative demographic hiring targets from a universe of approximately 400 to 500 of the largest U.S. companies, with Fishback stating that investors previously "had no way to exclude DEI losers from their standard S&P 500 ETF," according to the company's website. Azoria also has plans for a Golden Age ETF (GAGE), which will seek long-term capital appreciation by investing in companies aligned with five investment themes including generative artificial intelligence, real-world artificial intelligence, the revival of American manufacturing, American energy and power, and rising general prosperity, according to a June | © Copyright 2025 All rights reserved Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Business Insider
07-07-2025
- Automotive
- Business Insider
An anti-DEI investment firm postponed its Tesla ETF, saying Elon Musk has 'gone too far' by launching a political party
Elon Musk's decision to set up a new political party is already proving a headache for Tesla. James Fishback, CEO of investment firm Azoria, said on Sunday that the firm — which has stated its opposition to DEI targets and "woke" companies — will postpone its planned public listing of a Tesla ETF, which would invest in the EV giant's shares and options. The firm planned to launch the ETF in the coming days. It would have allowed investors to bet on Tesla while using leverage to potentially gain bigger returns than investing in the company's stock directly. While ETFs are generally used to spread risk by allowing investors to invest across a broad range of stocks, often a whole index, single stock ETFs aim to spread risk by trading options to mitigate the risks In a post on X, Fishback, who previously worked as an outside advisor to DOGE, said that the billionaire had "gone too far" with his latest plan to set up the "America Party" and take on both Republicans and Democrats. Fishback, who included a letter to Tesla Chair Robyn Denholm in his X post, added that the new party "creates a conflict" with Musk's responsibilities as CEO of Tesla and "actively undermines" the company's mission. "I encourage the Board to meet immediately and ask Elon to clarify his political ambitions and evaluate whether they are compatible with his full-time obligations to Tesla as CEO," said Fishback. Tesla's share price was down as much as 7% premarket on Monday, as investors expressed unease over Musk's decision to dive back into politics. Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives wrote in a Sunday note that investors were feeling a "sense of exhaustion" over Musk's new political party. The longtime Tesla bear said that Musk, who told investors in April that he would step back from his role in the Trump administration to focus on the beleaguered EV maker, was going in "exactly the opposition direction" to what Tesla shareholders wanted. Ives also warned that the billionaire's extremely public falling out with Trump could create additional hurdles for Tesla in the future. Other investors expressed similar frustrations. "Waymo has solved autonomous driving. Meanwhile, Elon is starting a new political party," wrote Tesla investor and regular Musk critic Ross Gerber on X. An outspoken supporter of President Donald Trump, Fishback told Business Insider in January he had served as an outside advisor to DOGE, and proposed the idea of a "DOGE dividend" earlier this year. The investment banker, who has said that he owns Tesla stock and that the EV giant is Azoria's largest position, also accused Musk of being fixated on "sabotaging President Trump" and said the Tesla CEO was an "absolute failure" at DOGE in a series of posts on X.
