VistaShares is doubling down on its strategy of combining legendary stock pickers’ portfolios with strong income streams. The company has introduced the VistaShares Target 15 ACKtivist Distribution ETF (NYSE:ACKY), an actively managed ETF that seeks to duplicate billionaire Bill Ackman-founded Pershing Square Capital Management‘s publicly disclosed holdings while focusing on a 15% annual income, paid monthly.
The approach isn’t merely emulating a well-known investor. ACKY employs an options-based overlay that is structured to earn 1.25% in cash every month, literally converting a high-conviction equity basket into a yield engine. For income-starved investors who are leery of bonds in an evolving rate world, that mix of growth exposure and regular payouts is an increasingly winning sell.
The launch follows up on the success of the company’s previous experiment, the VistaShares Target 15 Berkshire Select Income ETF (NYSE:OMAH). That fund, which replicates a handpicked portion of Warren Buffett-owned Berkshire Hathaway’s holdings, launched in March and has already attracted about $500 million in assets. More significantly, OMAH has made its monthly target distributions since launch, showing that the mechanics can function in real life, at least to this point.
Adam Patti, CEO of VistaShares, said that combined with some of the most experienced options pros in the space, the fund is addressing some of today's toughest investment challenges.
The action reflects a larger trend in ETF innovation: mixing thematic or personality-based stock picking with advanced income-generation capabilities. It’s a means of providing more than plain passive exposure without giving up the liquidity and transparency that ETFs are renowned for.
For investors, ACKY represents another iteration in the development of ETFs, where riding the coattails of Ackman’s wagers no longer means sacrificing yield, and where pursuing income does not necessarily mean giving up equities.
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Image created using artificial intelligence via Midjourney.
