Legacy Firm Wedbush's First Ever ETF to Focus on AI

Wedbush Securites, a 70-year-old financial services firm based in Los Angeles, has filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission to enter the ETF space.

According to the filing, the proposed Wedbush IVES AI Revolution ETF will track an index of the same name, which is comprised exclusively of securities included in the Dan Ives AI 30 Research Report. The filing did not include a ticker or proposed fees as of yet. 

Ives is the head of technology research at Wedbush Securities. The AI Report is a “periodically released, publicly available research report, comprising companies that have been identified as significant creators, enablers or adopters of artificial intelligence technologies through their strategic focus, partnerships, innovation, product development or integration of AI into their operations,” according to the filing.

“ETF creation is a logical progression for Wedbush as we continue to provide efficient solutions to our investor clients,” CEO Gary Wedbush said in a press statement. The firm also said it plans future exchange-traded fund launches. 

Wedbush is a diversified financial services firm that includes a broker-dealer, investment banking, research, a robo-advisor platform and an $8.9 billion wealth management division.

Wedbush ETF to Track AI Index

Wedbush was involved in the ETF space about seven years ago through an investment in an ETF issuer, but that connection dissolved when the ETF advisor was acquired.

“After exiting that position, we decided we had the infrastructure, but we hadn’t been taking advantage of our best ideas, which we want to do in the ETF wrapper,” said Matt Bromberg, chief operating officer of Wedbush Fund Advisors.

Bromberg was unable to discuss details of the ETF in filing or talk about Wedbush’s specific plans for developing a footprint in the $11 trillion ETF space, but the filing represents the firm’s “expansion in asset management and proprietary products.”

Those ETFs, he added, will be distributed through internal and external channels.

“We’ve got a pipeline” of products on the drawing board, Bromberg said.

Debuting with a focus on artificial intelligence is indicative of what investors and financial advisors can expect from Wedbush, said Wedbush Fund Advisors Chief Investment Officer Cullen Rogers, who added that Wedbush will be leveraging its strengths in areas including public markets, private markets, investment banking and research.

“It’s more about creating differentiated products,” he said. “We’re not trying to barge into a crowded room.”