Ultimus Fund Solutions, an independent provider of fund administration, accounting, and investor solutions, has worked with Kovitz Investment Group Partners, LLC on its launch of an actively managed ETF. The project involved oversight of the custody and accounting conversion of >USD640m in assets from multiple custodians, recordkeepers, and transfer agents, coordination with market participants and listing exchange, as well as the specialised diversification testing required on each account to ensure a tax-free transfer of assets under Section 351 of the Internal Revenue Code.
The merger involved two existing mutual funds managed by Kovitz, the Marathon Value Portfolio and the Green Owl Intrinsic Value Fund, as well as assets from >400 SMAs managed by Kovitz, converting them into a single ETF, the Kovitz Core Equity ETF (EQTY). Kovitz manages and advises on approximately USD6.8bn in client assets.