Latest news with #Fishback
USA Today
08-07-2025
- Business
- USA Today
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.' Is anti-DEI a good investment? 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.' Is there a DEI 'drag' on stocks? 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.
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.
Business Insider
07-07-2025
- Business
- Business Insider
An anti-DEI investment firm is postponing 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. 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.
Time of India
07-07-2025
- Business
- Time of India
‘Elon has gone too far': Former DOGE adviser asks Tesla Board to confront Musk over political party plans
James Fishback , a former adviser to the Department of Government Efficiency ( DOGE ), has written a scathing open letter to Tesla's board of directors, calling on them to immediately meet with Elon Musk and seek clarity over his political ambitions . The move comes days after Musk announced the formation of a new national political party — the America Party — which Fishback argues is incompatible with Musk's duties as Tesla CEO. Fishback's concerns were outlined in a detailed letter addressed to Tesla board chair Robyn Denholm and publicly shared on social media. He also announced that his investment firm, Azoria Partners , has postponed the launch of its Azoria Tesla Convexity ETF in response to Musk's political foray. 'Elon has gone too far,' Fishback wrote. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like The Simple Morning Habit for a Flatter Belly After 50! Lulutox Undo 'Our decision comes in direct response to @ElonMusk's announcement that he is launching a new national political party. This creates a conflict with his full-time responsibilities as CEO of Tesla. It diverts his focus and energy away from Tesla's employees and shareholders.' — j_fishback (@j_fishback) Live Events 'Not aligned with Tesla's mission' Fishback, whose firm had planned to list an exchange-traded fund (ETF) focused solely on Tesla shares and options next week, said the political move risks shareholder confidence . He referenced Musk's earlier decision in May to step back from DOGE — a federal role he held under Donald Trump's administration — and said investors had welcomed the renewed focus on Tesla. 'In May, when Elon stepped back from his work at DOGE and returned his attention to Tesla, we were encouraged. With Elon fully engaged, he gave shareholders renewed confidence in Tesla's future. Elon's announcement today undermines that confidence.' He added that, unlike Musk's other ventures — such as SpaceX or xAI — which align with Tesla's ambitions in AI and automation, a political party 'not only fails to complement Tesla's mission—it actively undermines it.' In the letter, Fishback urged the Tesla board to evaluate whether Musk's political activities are 'compatible with his full-time obligations to Tesla as CEO.' He concluded by saying, 'I remain hopeful that Elon will return his full attention to Tesla. If not, I trust the Board will take appropriate action.' US Treasury Secretary adds to concerns US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also weighed in on Musk's announcement, suggesting the billionaire entrepreneur should focus on his business ventures. When asked by CNN if Musk's political entry was a concern for the Trump administration, Bessent said: 'I believe that the boards of directors at his various companies wanted him to come back and run those companies, which he is better at than anyone.' 'So I imagine that those boards of directors did not like this announcement yesterday and will be encouraging him to focus on his business activities, not his political activities,' Bessent added. Musk's declaration about the America Party came shortly after he ran a poll on X, where a majority of his followers supported the idea. His message accompanying the poll read: 'Today the America Party is formed to give you back your freedom.' The Tesla board has not yet issued a response to Fishback's letter.
Time of India
06-07-2025
- Automotive
- Time of India
'Elon has gone too far': Former DOGE adviser writes to Tesla Board, 'Ask Musk to clarify his political ambitions'
Former DOGE adviser James Fishback wrote to the Tesla Board urging them to ask Elon Musk to clarify his political ambitions. Fishback said his investment firm Azoria Partners will defer the listing of its Azoria Texla Convexity exchange-traded fund after Musk's announcement that he was forming a new political party called 'America Party'. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now The paperwork of the America Party was done, and it was registered with the Federal Election Commission with Tesla CFO Vaibhav Taneja listed as its treasurer. "Elon has gone too decision comes in direct response to @ElonMusk's announcement that he is launching a new national political party. This creates a conflict with his full-time responsibilities as CEO of Tesla. It diverts his focus and energy away from Tesla's employees and shareholders," Fishback wrote. "In May, when Elon stepped back from his work at DOGE and returned his attention to Tesla, we were encouraged. With Elon fully engaged, he gave shareholders renewed confidence in Tesla's future. Elon's announcement today undermines that confidence," the letter added. James Fishback announces 'Full Support for Donald' Though Fishback worked in the Department of Government Efficiency with Elon Musk, he announced his full support for President Donald Trump as he announced launching a super PAC to resist Musk's political ambitions. The PAC is named FSD, a play on Tesla's 'full self-driving' except that it stands for 'Full Support for Donald'. The PAC will spend money in any race where Elon Musk bankrolls a candidate, either from his new party or if he backs a Democrat or a Republican against a Trump-endorsed candidate. 'There's real frustration in our movement with Elon and his antics,' Fishback told Politico. 'I'm a big believer in what he's doing in the private sector. But when it comes to politics, he's dead wrong on this.' Fishback resigned from DOGE last month after Musk lashed out at Trump. Fishback, who is represented by Lex Politica, the same firm that represents Musk and his SuperPAC AmericaPAC, is putting $1 million of his own money into his PAC, the Politico report said.
