AdvisorShares Active Bear ETF Tops $100M in AUM

Maryland-based AdvisorShares, the top provider of actively managed ETFS, said today its AdvisorShares Active Bear ETF HDGE has topped $100 million in assets management. On that basis, the Active Bear ETF accounts for more than a quarter of the firms $420 million ETF assets under management as of Oct. 5. As of Oct. 5, HDGE had over $125 million in AUM, according to the AdvisorShares Web site. "In just eight months of existence, HDGE has not only raised over $100 Million in assets, but was recently the first equity based actively managed ETF with listed options. These are accomplishments that we are all very proud of," said Noah Hamman, CEO and Founder of AdvisorShares, in a statement. "Investors have quickly embraced the HDGE forensic accounting methodology that seeks to identify securities to short positions, manage the strategy without derivatives, and offer an alpha solution for hedging a portfolio," Hamman added. HDGE debuted on Jan. 26, 2011 and has since gained 15.2% compared to an 11.5% loss for the S&P 500. The Active Bear ETF has also returned nearly double what an inverse S&P 500 ETF has returned in the same time. HDGE's managers look for candidates to sell short that show low earnings quality and aggressive accounting practices. Familiar names among the ETF's top-10 short positions as of Oct. 5 include Besty Buy BBY and OpenTable OPEN.