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 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 investment round will “allow 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.”
Unlimited will also “build out its sales and distribution teams as part of its next phase of growth.”
The new products that Unlimited plans “to introduce will all work in service of the firm’s 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.”
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.
The firm “launched its first investment product, the Unlimited HFND Multi-Strategy Return Tracker ETF (NYSE: HFND), in the fall of 2022.”
HFND reportedly “uses Unlimited’s proprietary technology to seek to replicate the risk/return profile of the gross-of- fees returns of the hedge fund industry.”
HFND was “the most successful independent, actively managed ETF launch of 2022 based on total asset inflows since launch.”
Mr. Elliott and Unlimited also plan “to expand their growing presence on social media (including Twitter and LinkedIn) as well as their weekly newsletter, which offer unique perspectives on macroeconomic trends, capital markets commentary and data-driven investing topics.”
This work deepens the partnership and value “that Unlimited can provide for financial advisors beyond its investment products.” 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.”
As part of the Series A financing round, FirstMark Managing Director Adam Nelson and Citi Ventures Managing Director Luis Valdich “will join Unlimited’s current Board of Directors, which includes Mr. Elliott and Mr. Salzberg.”
Mr. Elliott has “built innovative hedge fund strategies for more than two decades.”
At Bridgewater Associates, “the world’s largest hedge fund, Mr. 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.”
Mr. Elliott commented:
“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.”
FirstMark’s Mr. Nelson said:
“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.”
Mr. Valdich of Citi Ventures.said:
“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.”