More New Managers and Answers to Your Questions


In this issue of Theta News, we want to welcome two new Investment Managers to Theta’s tracking service as well as answer a common question we hear from both Managers and Subscribers.

Three New Investment Managers Sign On with Theta Research

Armando Alizo, founder of Mount Dora Capital Management is now having his new model named the ProFunds Strategy tracked on a daily basis using the ProFunds platform. Tracking for this strategy began on January 1, 2016.

Greg Brooks announces the renewal of his Brooks Active Long/Short Strategy. This strategy is tracked on a daily basis using the ProFunds mutual fund platform. Theta Research has verified this model’s actual performance back to its inception on January 1, 2004.

Tracking services have also been established for Kevin W. Murphy’s Vitruvian Geometry strategy. This strategy began trading on January 27, 2016 and is tracked on a daily basis using the Guggenheim/Rydex mutual fund platform.

Theta Answers Your Questions:


Q: Why can’t I see performance data on the subscriber site for some of the new strategies announced by Theta News?

A: There are two reasons why a strategy may not show on the Theta database. First, Theta’s shortest time window for ranking reports and analysis is three months. Strategies with less than that much historical data will not show up on the site. The name of the Investment Management firm will also not show up on the Manager list unless it has other strategies on Theta with longer track records.

As a result, brand-new model strategies could take as long as three months before tracking numbers will appear on the subscriber site. However, this is where the Theta advantage comes in. Fortunately, Theta has the ability to document and verify historical data where it exists for a model strategy. Since most Managers come to us with some historical track record, subscribers usually have immediate access to new Managers’ performance information.

The new Investment Managers being announced in this issue of Theta News are all good examples of the above. Mount Dora’s ProFunds Strategy and Kevin Murphy’s Vitruvian Geometry model both started trading in January of 2016, so you won’t see performance on those programs until after the end of the first quarter of 2016. On the other hand, Royal Oaks’ Brook Active Long/Short Strategy is a new addition to Theta’s database but actual performance has been verified back to its original inception date in 2004.

A second reason why a Manager may not show up on the Theta database is that some Managers elect to remain hidden. They value Theta’s ability to document and verify their track records, but prefer to handle marketing their programs via Theta’s Guest Pass feature. I’ll be writing more in the coming weeks about how to maximize use of Guest Passes.


Q: Why are some strategies tracked on a daily basis and others monthly?

A: When Theta Research was originally developed, it tracked only accounts trading Rydex and ProFunds index mutual funds. As a result, a download system was developed to obtain daily valuation and trade information from these two sources. There were only a few monthly tracked models and they were very hard to access using the old system.

However, as time went by, active managers branched out from Rydex and ProFunds offerings and started using other funds such as ETFs that were held in a brokerage accounts. Accordingly, Theta enhanced its monthly performance tracking system so that now it is easy to access both daily and monthly tracked models. As a practical matter, we have seen that most investment professionals want to see time-window analysis based on month-end values anyway.

Because some strategies are tracked daily and others monthly, it’s important that you pay attention to the as-of date on Theta’s reports. On monthly tracked accounts, the as-of date will always be the end of the prior month, while daily tracked as-of dates will be a rolling period based on the close of the most recent trading day.

The bottom line is that including monthly tracked account broadens the population of Investment Managers available who can take advantage of Theta’s performance tracking and verification service.

Posted by MPosey on 02-17-2016 in Company NewsPermalink