WisdomTree Investments

Last updated
WisdomTree Investments, Inc.
Company type Public
IndustryInvestment Management
Founded1985 [1]
HeadquartersNew York, New York, U.S.
Key people
Jonathan Steinberg, CEO and President
Products79 Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs)
AUM Global $99.5 billion (January 2024) [2]
Number of employees
204 [3] (July 2018)
Subsidiaries Boost ETP
Website https://www.wisdomtree.com

WisdomTree, Inc. is a global exchange-traded fund (ETF) and exchange-traded product (ETP) sponsor and asset manager with headquarters in New York. WisdomTree launched its first ETFs in June 2006, and became one of the major ETF providers in the United States. [4] [5] WisdomTree sponsors different ETFs that span asset classes and countries worldwide. Categories include: U.S. and International Equity, Currency, Fixed Income and Alternatives.

Contents

WisdomTree manages approximately $99.5 billion in assets under management globally, as of January 2024. [2]

WisdomTree’s common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker WT. [6]

Company information

In 2006, Wisdom Tree launched its first family of dividend weighted ETFs. [7] [8]

WisdomTree's dividend strategy is influenced by Professor Jeremy Siegel's research, which proposes that dividend-paying companies may offer superior long-term performance with lower risk. [9]

As of January 2023, WisdomTree offered 79 different ETFs in the U.S. and 269,349 products in Europe, with over 200+ employees worldwide across the U.S., Europe, South America and Israel. [10] [7] [11] [12]

History

WisdomTree, Inc. was incorporated by its chief executive officer and founder, Jonathan Steinberg, in Delaware as Financial Data Systems, Inc., on September 19, 1985. The company was inactive until October 1988 when it acquired the assets relating to what would become Individual Investor magazine, a monthly personal finance magazine. [1]

In December 1991, it completed an initial public offering and commenced trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market (NASDAQ). In 1993, the company's name was changed to Individual Investor Group, Inc. and throughout the 1990s it was a financial media company that published several magazines, including Individual Investor and Ticker, newsletters, as well as maintaining several online financial related websites. In addition, the company also began developing stock indexes. [1]

In 2002, the company's name was changed to Index Development Partners, Inc., and Jonathan Steinberg, along with Rayne Steinberg and Luciano Siracusano, continued development of the concepts for the company's fundamentally weighted index methodology. While this concept was being developed, the company sought to obtain financing to recapitalize and become an ETF sponsor. [1] [4]

Between 2004 and 2005, the company obtained financing from a core group of investors including former hedge fund manager Michael Steinhardt, Professor Jeremy Siegel of The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and James D Robinson IV with venture capital firm of RRE Ventures. Michael Steinhardt became Chairman and Professor Jeremy Siegel became the senior investment strategy advisor for the company. [1]

On September 21, 2005, the company's name was changed to WisdomTree Investments, Inc. [13] WisdomTree Investments, Inc. launched its first 20 ETFs in June 2006. [5] On July 26, 2011, WisdomTree listed on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the ticker: WETF. [4] [14]

In 2014, WisdomTree acquired a majority stake (75%) in London-based Boost ETP. The same year, it was reported that WisdomTree was going to invest $20 million in Boost to give it working capital to build out its European business. [15]

In 2016, the company was included on Forbes' list of America's 50 Most Trustworthy Financial Companies. [16] In 2019, it was reported by Bloomberg News that WisdomTree Investments was considering selling the company to J.P. Morgan Chase in 2018, however, the two companies failed to reach a mutually acceptable price. [17]

WisdomTree has been expanding into other digital assets, such as the launch of cryptocurrency ETPs in Europe, which are listed on the Swiss stock exchange. Other digital assets initiatives include WisdomTree’s Enhanced Commodity Strategy Fund (GCC), the first ETF to provide exposure to bitcoin futures, WisdomTree’s second investment in blockchain-based infrastructure provider Securrency Inc. and products like WisdomTree Crypto Mega Cap Equal Weight ETP, which is backed by physical assets including cryptocurrencies, as well as WisdomTree Crypto Market (BLOC) and WisdomTree Crypto Altcoins (WALT). [18]

In early 2022 ETFS Capital Limited, WisdomTree's largest single shareholder with a 10.5% stake, tried to take a seat on the board of WisdomTree. According to a 13D regulatory filing with the SEC from January 2022, ETFS Capital chairman Graham Tuckwell described what he saw as the underperformance of WisdomTree and said the company had “been unwilling to date to work constructively” toward giving him a seat on the board since discussions began. A March 8, 2022 13D filing disclosed that another WisdomTree investor, Lion Point Capital, supported ETFS Capital’s efforts to take a seat on the board. The filing revealed ETFS Capital and Lion Point Capital had entered into a Group Agreement to “seek changes to the composition of the board and management” of WisdomTree, with the intention to “work constructively with the issuer to arrive at a solution that puts the issuer in the best position to unlock value for the benefit of all stockholders”. [19]

In a regulatory filing from March 14, 2022, WisdomTree issued a ‘poison pill’, officially known as a shareholder rights agreement, to prevents any investor from acquiring more than 10% of the common stock in the company until the day after the company’s annual general meeting in June or potentially until March 2023 if extended by a shareholder vote. [20]

In March, 2022, a WisdomTree was forced to redeem all shares of 3NIS, a leveraged ETP that moved inverse nickel prices. Due to a major short squeeze for the commodity, nickel prices shot up 250% in a few days and the ETF's daily price dropped below zero. A statement from WisdomTree said "Investors should not expect to get paid for the securities they hold." [21]

In May 2022, WisdomTree reached an agreement with ETFS Capital and Lion Point Capital. As part of the settlement agreement, WisdomTree expanded its Board of Directors from seven to nine directors and appointed two independent directors. In addition, WisdomTree terminated the ‘poison pill’ that had been issued in March 2022 and announced that the company would seek stockholder approval to declassify its Board of Directors at the 2022 Annual Meeting of stockholders. [22]

In October 2022, WisdomTree announced the transfer of the listing of its common stock to the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) from The Nasdaq Global Select Market (Nasdaq). WisdomTree also announced changing its corporate name from WisdomTree Investments, Inc. to WisdomTree, Inc. effective November 7, 2022. WisdomTree common stock began trading on the NYSE at market open on November 7, 2022, under the new ticker symbol “WT”. [23]

In April 2023, ETFS Capital Limited announced its nomination of three candidates to WisdomTree’s Board of Directors. At WisdomTree’s 2023 Annual Meeting of Stockholders held on June 16, 2023, five of six WisdomTree nominees were elected, based on a preliminary vote count, with ETFS Capital Limited nominee Tonia Pankopf elected to replace WisdomTree chairman Frank Salerno. Stockholders also voted for WisdomTree’s proposals on say-on-pay, the ratification of the stockholder rights agreement and the firm’s accountant. [24]

Key financial statistics

Year endingAssets under management [1] [7] Revenue [1] [25] [26]
31 December 2006$1.52 billion$2.2 million
31 December 2007$4.56 billion$20.9 million
31 December 2008$3.18 billion$23.6 million
31 December 2009$5.98 billion$22.1 million
31 December 2010$9.89 billion$41.6 million
31 December 2011$12.18 billion$65.2 million
31 December 2012$18.30 billion$84.8 million
31 December 2013$34.90 billion$149.5 million
31 December 2014$39.30 billion$183.8 million
31 December 2015$51.60 billion$298.9 million
31 December 2016$40.20 billion$219.4 million
31 December 2017$46.80 billion$237.4 million
31 December 2018$35.50 billion$274.1 million
31 December 2019$63.60 billion$268.4 million
31 December 2020$67.40 billion$253.7 million
31 December 2021$77.50 billion$304.3 million
31 December 2022$82.00 billion$301.3 million

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ticker symbol</span> Abbreviation identifying specific shares

A ticker symbol or stock symbol is an abbreviation used to uniquely identify publicly traded shares of a particular stock on a particular stock market. In short, ticker symbols are arrangements of symbols or characters representing specific assets or securities listed on a stock exchange or traded publicly. A stock symbol may consist of letters, numbers, or a combination of both. "Ticker symbol" refers to the symbols that were printed on the ticker tape of a ticker tape machine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">S&P 500</span> American stock market index

The Standard and Poor's 500, or simply the S&P 500, is a stock market index tracking the stock performance of 500 of the largest companies listed on stock exchanges in the United States. It is one of the most commonly followed equity indices and includes approximately 80% of the total market capitalization of U.S. public companies.

An exchange-traded fund (ETF) is a type of investment fund that is also an exchange-traded product, i.e., it is traded on stock exchanges. ETFs own financial assets such as stocks, bonds, currencies, debts, futures contracts, and/or commodities such as gold bars. The list of assets that each ETF owns, as well as their weightings, is posted on the website of the issuer daily, or quarterly in the case of active non-transparent ETFs. Many ETFs provide some level of diversification compared to owning an individual stock.

The Russell 3000 Index is a capitalization-weighted stock market index that seeks to be a benchmark of the entire U.S. stock market. It measures the performance of the 3,000 largest publicly held companies incorporated in America as measured by total market capitalization, and represents approximately 97% of the American public equity market. The index was launched on January 1, 1984, and is maintained by FTSE Russell, a subsidiary of the London Stock Exchange Group. The ticker symbol on most systems is ^RUA.

Invesco Ltd. is an American independent investment management company that is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, with additional branch offices in 20 countries. Its common stock is a constituent of the S&P 500 and trades on the New York stock exchange. Invesco operates under the Invesco, Trimark, Invesco Perpetual, WL Ross & Co and Powershares brand names.

The Russell Midcap Index measures performance of the 800 smallest companies in the Russell 1000 Index. As of 30 November 2022, the stocks of the Russell Midcap Index have a weighted average market capitalization of approximately $22.64 billion, median market capitalization of $9.91 billion, and the market capitalization of the largest company is $54.74 billion. The index, which was launched on November 1, 1991, is maintained by FTSE Russell, a subsidiary of the London Stock Exchange Group.

NYSE Euronext, Inc. was a transatlantic multinational financial services corporation that operated multiple securities exchanges, including the New York Stock Exchange, Euronext and NYSE Arca. NYSE merged with Archipelago Holdings on March 7, 2006, forming NYSE Group, Inc. On April 4, 2007, NYSE Group, Inc. merged with Euronext N.V. to form the first global equities exchange, with its headquarters in Lower Manhattan. The corporation was then acquired by Intercontinental Exchange, which subsequently spun off Euronext.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ETF Securities</span> Australian asset management firm

ETF Securities is an asset management firm that issues exchange-traded funds (ETFs) primarily in Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles Biderman</span> American businessman and investor

Charles Biderman is an American businessman and investor. He is the founder of TrimTabs Asset Management, TrimTabs Investment Research, Inc., a publisher of detailed daily coverage of stock market liquidity. He is interviewed regularly on CNBC and Bloomberg TV and is quoted frequently in the financial media, including Barron's Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, and Investor's Business Daily.

An inverse exchange-traded fund is an exchange-traded fund (ETF), traded on a public stock market, which is designed to perform as the inverse of whatever index or benchmark it is designed to track. These funds work by using short selling, trading derivatives such as futures contracts, and other leveraged investment techniques.

A Business Development Company ("BDC") is a form of unregistered closed-end investment company in the United States that invests in small and mid-sized businesses. This form of company was created by the US Congress in 1980 in the amendments to the Investment Company Act of 1940. Publicly filing firms may elect regulation as BDCs if they meet certain requirements of the Investment Company Act.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stock</span> Shares into which ownership of the corporation is divided

Stocks consist of all the shares by which ownership of a corporation or company is divided. A single share of the stock means fractional ownership of the corporation in proportion to the total number of shares. This typically entitles the shareholder (stockholder) to that fraction of the company's earnings, proceeds from liquidation of assets, or voting power, often dividing these up in proportion to the amount of money each stockholder has invested. Not all stock is necessarily equal, as certain classes of stock may be issued, for example, without voting rights, with enhanced voting rights, or with a certain priority to receive profits or liquidation proceeds before or after other classes of shareholders.

The S&P SmallCap 600 Index is a stock market index established by S&P Global Ratings. It covers roughly the small-cap range of American stocks, using a capitalization-weighted index.

AdvisorShares Investments is a US-based investment management firm based in Bethesda, Maryland which offers actively managed exchange-traded funds (ETFs) through the AdvisorShares Trust. AdvisorShares partners with third party financial advisers who already manage clients’ assets to package their investment strategy using exchange-traded funds. As part of promoting its funds it also provides educational support to help financial advisors and investors understand actively managed ETFs and their underlying investment strategies.

The SPDR S&P 500 ETF trust is an exchange-traded fund which trades on the NYSE Arca under the symbol SPY. SPDR is an acronym for the Standard & Poor's Depositary Receipts, the former name of the ETF. It is designed to track the S&P 500 stock market index. This fund is the largest and oldest ETF in the USA. SPDR is a trademark of Standard and Poor's Financial Services LLC, a subsidiary of S&P Global. The ETF's CUSIP is 78462F103 and its ISIN is US78462F1030. The trustee of the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust is State Street Bank and Trust Company. The fund has a net expense ratio of 0.0945%.

Boost ETP is an independent boutique Exchange Traded Products (ETP) provider, based in London, United Kingdom. Boost ETP is the first asset management firm in Europe to offer 3x leveraged ETPs and 3x short ETPs. The first Boost ETP products became available on 6 December 2012 on the London Stock Exchange.

Christian Magoon is an American entrepreneur, author, speaker and business executive, best known for being CEO of Amplify ETFs He specializes in exchange-traded funds.

The Barron's 400 Index or B400 is a stock market index of 400 public companies in the United States, as selected by editors and associates of Barron's magazine. Established in 2007, the Barron's 400 has tended to outperform certain other major indexes at least through the first half of 2013.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Form 10" (PDF). PDF. WisdomTree. Retrieved 12 December 2012.
  2. 1 2 "Investors". WisdomTree, Inc. 12 January 2024. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
  3. ↑ "WisdomTree Announces Third Quarter Earnings Results". Press Release. WisdomTree. Retrieved 24 July 2018.
  4. 1 2 3 "Investor Relations". Website. WisdomTree. Retrieved 14 December 2012.
  5. 1 2 "U.S. Listed ETF Data - Assets" (PDF). PDF. ETF Industry Association. Retrieved 14 December 2012.
  6. ↑ "WisdomTree faces revolt by largest shareholder". FT. 13 April 2023.
  7. 1 2 3 "Annual Report on Form 10-K" (PDF). PDF. WisdomTree. Retrieved 14 December 2012.
  8. ↑ Ludwig, Olly. "WisdomTree's Steinberg: True Self-Indexer". Index Universe. Retrieved 8 January 2013.
  9. ↑ Jeremy Schwartz (2020). The Dividends of a Dividend Approach. Wisdom Tree Research
  10. ↑ Lydon, Tom (28 November 2012). "Actively Managed ETFs Ready for Take-Off". ETF Trends. Retrieved 8 January 2013.
  11. ↑ "WisdomTree Announces Changes to ETF Family". GlobeNewswire. March 1, 2017. Retrieved May 27, 2020.
  12. ↑ "WisdomTree Says Graham Tuckwell and His Nominees are Wrong for WisdomTree – Just Look at the Facts". Bloomberg. 12 May 2023.
  13. ↑ "Index Development Partners, Inc. Announces Corporate Name Change to WisdomTree Investments, Inc". WisdomTree. 21 September 2005. Archived from the original on 8 February 2006. Retrieved 27 June 2017.
  14. ↑ "NASDAQ: WETF". NASDAQ. Retrieved 8 January 2013.
  15. ↑ Hampson, Rebecca. "WisdomTree Taps Into Europe With Purchase". ETF.com.
  16. ↑ Dill, Kathryn (August 2, 2016). "America's 50 Most Trustworthy Financial Companies". Forbes . Retrieved May 27, 2020.
  17. ↑ Li, Yun (February 11, 2019). "WisdomTree reportedly explored a sale to JP Morgan last year". CNBC.com . Retrieved May 30, 2020.
  18. ↑ "WisdomTree launches its first bitcoin exchange-traded product". Reuters. 3 December 2019.
  19. ↑ Gordon, Jamie. "Activist Investor Backs ETFS Capital Push For WisdomTree Board Seat". ETF.com. ETF.com. Retrieved 2 April 2022.
  20. ↑ Gordon, Jamie. "WisdomTree issues 'poison pill' to prevent ETFS Capital board entry". ETF Stream. ETF Stream. Retrieved 3 April 2022.
  21. ↑ Jackie Noblitt (March 10, 2022). Caught in the Commodity Rush, ETFs Get Crushed. Financial Advisor IQ, accessed 15 March 2022
  22. ↑ "WisdomTree Deal Averts Proxy Battle". The Deal. 13 June 2022.
  23. ↑ "WisdomTree to transfer listing to NYSE, trade under WT ticker symbol". Seeking Alpha. 22 October 2022.
  24. ↑ "WisdomTree and ETFS Capital face off over performance concerns". Investment Week. 13 April 2023.
  25. ↑ "WisdomTree Announces Fourth Quarter and Year End 2011 Results" (PDF). PDF. WisdomTree. Retrieved 14 December 2012.
  26. ↑ "All SEC Filings". WisdomTree, Inc. 2024. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.