Unlimited – a new investment firm that gives all investors exposure to the alpha-generating potential of alternative investment strategies without the high fees and adverse tax implications of typical fund structures – announced recently that it has raised $8 million in Series A financing led by FirstMark and Citi Ventures, including previously unannounced convertible notes led by Material.
The Series A funding round will enable Unlimited to continue developing and launching new low-cost alternative strategy-tracking ETFs that use proprietary return replication technology to track global macro, long-short equity, and lower beta strategies. And Unlimited will also build out its sales and distribution teams as part of its next phase of growth. These new products that Unlimited plans to introduce will all work in service of the central mission: to offer individual investors access to the returns of sophisticated investment strategies at a lower cost than traditional limited partnerships, with greater transparency and liquidity.
The firm launched its first investment product, which is the Unlimited HFND Multi-Strategy Return Tracker ETF (NYSE: “HFND”) in the fall of 2022. And HFND uses Unlimited’s proprietary technology to seek to replicate the risk/return profile of the gross-of-fee returns of the hedge fund industry. And HFND was the most successful independent, actively managed ETF launch of 2022 based on total asset inflows since launch.
Bob Elliott, the CEO and Chief Investment Officer of Unlimited and a former member of the Investment Committee at Bridgewater Associates Bruce McNevin and Matt Salzberg co-founded New York-based Unlimited.
Elliott and Unlimited also plan to expand their growing presence on social media (including Twitter and LinkedIn) as well as their weekly newsletter, which offers unique perspectives on macroeconomic trends, capital markets commentary, and data-driven investing topics. And this work deepens the partnership and value that Unlimited can provide for financial advisors beyond its investment products. Plus Unlimited also plans to further enhance its content offerings given the overwhelming demand for these insights and the lack of strong alternatives for many advisors.
Elliott has built innovative hedge fund strategies for more than two decades. At Bridgewater Associates, the world’s largest hedge fund, Elliott was a member of the Investment Committee and developed strategies across asset classes, including many for the firm’s flagship Pure Alpha fund. He also was the author of hundreds of Bridgewater’s widely read Daily Observations and directly counseled some of the world’s foremost policymakers and institutional investors on economic and investing issues, including the Federal Reserve, Treasury, and White House during the 2008 financial crisis.
As part of the Series A funding round, FirstMark Managing Director Adam Nelson and Citi Ventures Managing Director Luis Valdich will join Unlimited’s current Board of Directors, which includes Elliott and Salzberg.
KEY QUOTES:
“Since the successful launch of HFND, we have heard from investors and financial advisors who want access to more alternative strategies in tax-efficient, low-cost and highly liquid products. This Series A financing will help bring those products to market for the benefit of all investors as well as allow us to expand our already significant thought leadership platform.”
— Bob Elliott
“We are delighted to serve as lead investors in this round of funding. Bob and his team have clearly identified the challenges that financial advisors have with many of the current alternative investment products in the market today. Unlimited’s solution leverages cutting-edge technology that seeks to provide that same return profile at a significantly lower cost through a much more flexible product. We’ve seen the disruptive effects of technology across other multi-trillion dollar markets and look forward to helping this firm transform the market for alternative investments.”
— Adam Nelson
“Having met Bob prior to the launch of HFND, we were intrigued about the founder-product fit and the team’s vision of democratizing access to gross-of-fees hedge fund index returns. We stayed close to Unlimited, and seeing how quickly HFND has been gaining traction, we are excited to co-lead this Series A round to help accelerate its journey.”
— Luis Valdich
