VettaFi’s Coco on RANK ETF’s analyst-driven momentum

In a recent video interview with Julie Gillespie of TipRanks TV, Brian Coco, chief product officer at TMX VettaFi, described the methodology behind the DefianceKSM TipRanks Analyst ETF (RANK) and the parties involved. The ETF was launched by TipRanks in collaboration with Defiance ETFs and VettaFi and tracks the TipRanks US Momentum Analysts iNDEX.

The index begins with the VettaFi US Equity Large‑Cap 500, then ranks those 500 stocks by TipRanks’ analyst recommendation scores to identify the top 100. A momentum screen reduces that list to the 50 holdings that exhibit the strongest recent price trends. The index caps individual security weights at 6% and sector weights at 40% to limit concentration.

Coco highlighted the role of TipRanks’ historical analyst data in designing and testing the index. He pointed to about a decade of collected recommendations that VettaFi used to run backtests and evaluate the strategy’s historical behavior. “All of the great work that TipRanks has done over the last decade to procure that data allowed us to actually run back tests,” Coco said during the interview.

On sector exposure, Coco noted the caps have lowered the share of technology relative to many momentum indices that are typically roughly half tech; the RANK index measures near 40% tech. “It really brings down some of those tech names, to get back down to that 6% cap,” he added.

Coco identified likely users as investors familiar with TipRanks’ platforms and financial advisors who employ momentum strategies based primarily on price and want an approach that incorporates analyst buy and sell recommendations.

VettaFi serves as the index provider and receives an index licensing fee. Fund disclosures state that RANK is not issued, sponsored, endorsed or sold by VettaFi, and that VettaFi and its affiliates have no obligation or liability related to the ETF’s issuance, administration, marketing or trading. The full conversation between Coco and Gillespie is available through TipRanks’ channels.