Data-drive asset manager ACSI Funds has launched its inaugural exchange-traded fund, the American Customer Satisfaction Core Alpha ETF (BATS: ACSI), which sheds light on customer satisfaction for more than 350 national brands.

In 1994, ACSI Funds’ sister company, the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI), created the only national cross-industry measure of customer satisfaction, which uses a proprietary econometric model to gather and interpret data. This signal has provided the basis for ACSI’s hedge fund offering, which was launched in 2006.
 
The ACSI Funds ETF provides investors with core US equity exposure by interpreting ACSI’s exclusive data to build a diversified portfolio of the strongest companies in the US economy as defined by the American Customer Satisfaction Index.
 
“Customer satisfaction is a predictor of a company’s future revenue growth and earnings performance. The American Customer Satisfaction Core Alpha ETF utilises the groundbreaking work of Dr Claes Fornell, the world’s foremost expert on customer satisfaction measurement, to quantify this optimising factor,” says ACSI Funds’ chief strategist Kevin Quigg. “Allowing investors to access ACSI and Dr. Fornell’s proprietary, patented process through the ACSI Funds ETF is an important step for the ETF marketplace and gives investors an innovative solution for their core US equity exposure.”
 
“ACSI Funds has developed a world-class ETF product management infrastructure, which is operating alongside our seasoned hedge fund platform,” says Phil Bak, CEO of ACSI Funds. “The American Customer Satisfaction Core Alpha ETF allows us to deliver our proprietary strategy in a cost-efficient, systematic and transparent manner that provides a solution to investors looking for differentiated alpha in their broad equity allocation.”
 
The ETF expense ratio is 0.65 per cent and trades on the BATS Exchange.