Defiance launches RANK ETF using analyst consensus, momentum

On June 30, Defiance launched the Defiance KSM TipRanks Analyst ETF (RANK). The ETF carries a 0.60% expense ratio and tracks the TipRanks US Momentum Analysts index.

The index draws its investable universe from the 500 largest U.S. companies by market capitalization. Those companies are ranked by their number of analyst buy recommendations. The 100 companies with the highest analyst recommendation scores advance to the momentum-ranking stage.

Momentum rankings use two price measures: current share price versus the prior eight-month average and the 50-day average versus the 200-day average. The 50 companies with the highest momentum rankings are included in the index and the ETF.

Index weights are adjusted by analyst recommendation scores and momentum rankings. To limit concentration, no single holding may exceed 6% of the portfolio, a sector may include at most 20 companies, and the overall portfolio has a maximum sector weight of 40%. The index is rebalanced quarterly.

The ETF will trade under the ticker RANK and holds 50 large-cap U.S. stocks selected by the methodology. The fund uses a rules-based process that combines measurable analyst consensus data with technical momentum signals to determine holdings and weights.

VettaFi LLC serves as the index provider and receives an index licensing fee. Offering documents state that VettaFi is not the issuer, sponsor, endorser or seller of RANK and has no obligation or liability related to the ETF’s issuance, administration, marketing or trading.

In a press release, TipRanks CEO and co-founder Uri Gruenbaum wrote: “Over the past decade we’ve built one of the world’s largest and most trusted financial intelligence platforms. Launching our first ETF is a natural extension of that vision. We’re moving beyond helping investors make better decisions-we’re enabling investment products themselves to be powered by our data. We believe this represents the future of investing.”