Bridges Capital is a financial advisory firm that combines specialized accounting and investment expertise. The company recently launched its first US-listed exchange-traded fund (ETF) on the NASDAQ— the Bridges Capital Tactical ETF (Ticker: BDGS). This active fund provides long-only and opportunistic exposure to equities, primarily focusing on capital preservation and utilizing a strategy based on macroeconomic and monetary policy fundamentals, technical breadth, and volatility analysis.
To learn more, Pulse 2.0 interviewed Bridges Capital Managing Member Raymond Bridges, CPA.
Raymond Bridges’ Background
Bridges has extensive educational and professional experience in finance. He holds an Economics Degree from Rollins College, graduating in 2003, and a Master’s in Accounting from Nova Southeastern University. Bridges is a Certified Public Accountant in the State of Florida.
Along with his educational accomplishments, Bridges started his professional financial services career in 2003 as an NFA Registered Associate after completing his Series 3 (Futures & Options) registration. In 2004, Bridges was a Principle in a Commodity Trading Advisor, Advanced Funds LLC. By 2011, Bridges was insurance licensed in Florida with Northwestern Mutual Insurance Company.
Bridges earned his FINRA Series 7 (General Securities Representative), and Series 66 (Uniform Combined State Law). Then in 2015, he completed the Certified Financial Planner requirements. Before Bridges Capital, Bridges worked with Wells Fargo Bank N.A. and Wells Fargo Advisors. Bridges founded Bridges Capital LLC in 2018, an SEC Registered Investment Advisor. This year, Bridges sponsored the launch of the Bridges Capital Tactical ETF (Ticker: BDGS), which is listed on the Nasdaq allows investors to gain exposure to this innovative and proprietary investment process.
Evolution Of The Bridges Capital Thesis
How did Bridges Capital’s investment thesis evolve since launching? “With a background and passion for Economics, the firm’s investment thesis has always been macro-focused. However, the dynamic and tactical rebalancing methodology has been refined into a science based on experience and a preference to participate in the growth of the financial markets, but has a bias towards capital preservation,” said Bridges.
Challenges Faced
Commenting on the challenges Bridges faced in building Bridges Capital as well as the current macroeconomic climate, Bridges said,“Awareness of the tactical strategy is the most challenging aspect, as this takes time for market cycles to develop, whereas, over cycles, the tactical bias on preservation and opportunistic participation can play out. The current macroeconomic environment is favorable to this tactical approach.”
Formation Of The Bridges Capital Tactical ETF (BDGS)
The newly launched Bridges Capital Tactical ETF (BDGS) results from a tried and true investment strategy tested over the course of business cycles. “During the most dramatic point in the COVID-induced equity drawdown, the strategy employed in the ETF experienced a fraction of the drawdowns of the overall financial markets,” Bridges explained. “Also, once the macro monetary policy shifted, the strategy was well positioned with cash and able to participate in the expansion over the corresponding few years. Once monetary policy shifted again, the tax burden to individual accounts utilizing this active strategy was realized. This led to the desire to do what is right for investors and implement the tactical strategy within an ETF vehicle to create tax efficiency and lower costs to investors.”
Capital Preservation
Since founding Bridges Capital, the firm has focused on capital preservation. “The opportunities to discuss the results of the tactical strategy on capital preservation is an important part of the job. During market ebbs and flows— such as during both the COVID-induced and the 2022 Fed policy-induced sell-off, it was paramount,” Bridges reflected.
Significant Milestones
What have been some of Bridges Capital’s most significant milestones? “The launching of the ETF on the Nasdaq to allow all types of investors throughout the country an opportunity to track and participate in this tactical process, regardless of their accreditation status,” Bridges noted.
Differentiation From Other Firms
Bridges Capital is unlike most firms. “At Bridges Capital, we are focused on doing what is right for investors. It is their hard-earned money that we are fiduciaries of. This gives rise to the bias of capital preservation while looking to grow the funds in the most opportunistic methods we see available. We cannot sit back and advise to stay fully invested in equities for the long-term when we know the monetary policy is shifting to an unfavorable environment,” Bridges revealed.
“These shifts give rise to unknown repercussions and could take over a decade to fully play out. That is why we bore the cost of launching the ETF, to give access to this process and allow investors to benefit from active management tax-efficiently.”
Future Goals
The future looks bright for Bridges Capital. “The BDGS ETF is a long-only strategy that utilizes cash or cash equivalents (T-Bills) to hedge the foreseen market risks. This is the lower risk and flagship fund and process. However, in the future, there is an opportunity to utilize a similar process, yet allow within a sister ETF the ability to go long or short,” Bridges concluded.
