SS&C ALPS, O’Shares Agree To Distribution Deal

Four ETFs will be reorganized under the ALPS ETF Trust.

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Reviewed by: Dan Mika
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Edited by: Dan Mika

SS&C ALPS has agreed to take over four ETFs from O’Shares Investments holding $1.52 billion in assets in what the two issuers call a strategic partnership.

In a statement, SS&C said it would reorganize the O’Shares ETFs into new funds under the ALPS ETF Trust, which holds more than $8.6 billion in assets. O’Shares will continue to provide its in-house indexes to the ETFs under a licensing agreement and provide marketing, while SS&C will lead distribution for the funds.

Shareholder meetings for SS&C and O’Shares investors to vote on the deal have yet to be announced.

O’Shares, which counts “Shark Tank” panelist Kevin O’Leary as its chairman, first launched in July 2015 with the O’Shares U.S. Quality Dividend ETF (OUSA).

Three of its funds posted returns north of 20% in 2021, while its O’Shares Global Internet Giants ETF (OGIG) lost nearly 10% in part by holding Chinese firms hit by investor pullbacks in the wake of a government crackdown on the industry last summer.

 

Ticker Fund Expense Ratio AUM ($M) 2021 Return
OUSA O’Shares U.S. Quality Dividend ETF 0.48% $826.26 24.72%
OEUR O’Shares Europe Quality Dividend ETF 0.48% $41.25 20.57%
OUSM O’Shares U.S. Small-Cap Quality Dividend ETF 0.48% $163.69 22.02%
OGIG O'Shares Global Internet Giants ETF 0.48% $486.14 -9.98%

 

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. SS&C and O’Shares did not respond to requests for comment Wednesday.

Contact Dan Mika at [email protected], and follow him on Twitter

Dan Mika is a reporter for etf.com. He has previously covered business for the Ames Tribune and Cedar Rapids Gazette in Iowa, and BizWest Media in Fort Collins, Colorado. Dan holds a bachelor's degree in journalism from Truman State University.