Yorkville ETF Advisors
Yorkville ETF Advisors is an asset management company dedicated to creating the next generation of MLP ETFs. Our YETF product line tracks MLP indexes designed to be investment strategies, not simple benchmarks. This objective approach allows investors to participate in MLP opportunities based on investment merit rather than arbitrary criteria.
Our initial YETFs product, the Yorkville High Income MLP ETF (YMLP), tracks an index of high income MLPs. Although MLPs have traditionally been sought after as an income investment, YMLP is the first MLP ETF tracking an index designed around a comprehensive income - focused investment strategy.
Yorkville ETF Advisors' extensive experience in MLP research and portfolio management has led to its foundational belief in the value of a strategic investment approach toward MLPs. The YETFs product line provides an efficient, transparent and flexible path for MLP ETF investors to access this investment approach.
Who we are:
Darren Schuringa, Managing Partner
Darren Schuringa, CFA is Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Yorkville ETF Advisors LLC. He serves as the portfolio manager for the Yorkville High Income MLP ETF (YMLP). Darren is also a principal of Yorkville Capital Management, an asset management firm focused on MLPs with over 20 years of experience researching and investing in the asset class. Previously Darren was a Partner and Manager with Estabrook Capital Management where he managed over $1 billion of assets. Darren graduated from the University of Western Ontario and received an MBA in finance from Rollins College.
Jay Baker, Managing Partner
Jay Baker is a Managing Partner of Yorkville ETF Advisors LLC. He is responsible for new product and business development, marketing, and client service. Jay has been involved with ETFs throughout his career as a member of the Exchange Traded Products Group at the American Stock Exchange, Spear, Leeds & Kellogg, and most recently with Goldman Sachs’ Electronic ETF Trading Group. Jay graduated from Ohio Wesleyan University and has an MBA from Pace University.
Richard Hogan, Managing Partner
Rich Hogan is Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Yorkville ETF Advisors. Rich began his professional career as an Independent Options Trader on the floors of the New York Stock Exchange and American Stock Exchange. Rich was a Managing Director of Spear, Leeds & Kellogg from 1992-2000 and later became a Managing Director of Goldman Sachs where he played a critical role in combining the ETF operations of SLK, Goldman Sachs and Hull Trading. Rich has been in involved with ETFs in the United States since their inception. He is a graduate of Villanova University.
William N. Hershey
William N. Hershey joined Yorkville ETF Advisors as a research analyst after interning with Yorkville Capital Management since the Summer of 2009. Mr. Hershey recently co-authored an in-depth study of Master Limited Partnerships that was published as a white paper, entitled Publicly Traded Partnerships: A Complete Study of Risk and Return (1986-2011). William is involved in the research, development, and structuring of Yorkville’s ETF investment products.
Mr. Hershey graduated from Vanderbilt University in May 2011. He received a BA in Economics with a minor in Finance.
Jennifer Bergenfeld
Jennifer Bergenfeld, Esq. is Legal and Regulatory Advisor for Yorkville ETF Advisors and Exchange Traded Concepts, LLC. Jennifer previously served as General Counsel of EMG Investment Services/Emerging Managers Group and prior to that as Counsel and Vice President for subadvisory fund and corporate legal matters. She has also held regulatory counsel and senior compliance positions at several boutique and bulge bracket investment firms. Jennifer earned her BA from George Washington University, her MA and MBA at NYU where she is now a professor, and her law degree from the Benjamin Cardozo School of Law at Yeshiva University.
David Tokar
David Tokar serves as ETF Product Specialist and Sales Professional at Yorkville ETF Advisors, LLC. Prior to joining Yorkville, David worked at Guggenheim Investments where he gained extensive knowledge in the distribution of Exchange-Traded Funds, Mutual Funds, Closed-End Funds and Unit-Investment Trust. While at Guggenheim, David managed several premier territories and educated financial professionals on more than 70 different investment products.
David holds a B.A. in Business/Economics from Wheaton College in Illinois.
Jason Bloom
Jason Bloom is the Head of Global Distribution for Yorkville ETF Advisors, LLC. Prior to joining Yorkville, Jason served as ETF Portfolio Strategist with Guggenheim Investments where he played an extensive role in training Guggenheim ETF product specialists in product knowledge, ETF trading and execution, and portfolio implementation. Jason also managed key relationships with institutional ETF trading desks and conducted ETF-focused training events for employees of some of the largest broker-dealers in the world. Prior to joining Guggenheim Investments, Jason spent a decade trading proprietary strategies in global equities, fixed-income, and energy commodities. Jason now manages strategic relationships with Yorkville partner firms as well as leading Yorkville’s team of ETF product specialists.
Jason has a B.A. in Economics and Finance from Gustavus Adolphus College and a J.D. from the University of Iowa College of Law.
Carefully consider the Funds’ investment objectives, risk factors, charges and expenses before investing. This and additional information can be found in the Funds’ prospectus, which may be obtained by clicking here. Read the prospectus carefully before investing.
Investing involves risk, including the possible loss of principal.
Narrowly focused investments typically exhibit higher volatility. The energy industry is highly volatile due to significant fluctuation in the prices of energy commodities, as well as political and regulatory developments. Rising interest rates could adversely impact the performance and/or the present value of cash flow of MLPs operating in the energy sector. The abilities of MLPs operating in the energy sector to grow and increase cash distributions can be highly dependent on their ability to make acquisitions that generate increasing cash flows.
Investments in common units of MLPs involve risks that differ from investments in common stock including risks inherent in the structure of MLPs, including (i) tax risks, (ii) risk related to limited control of management or the general partner or managing member, (iii) limited rights to vote on matters affecting the MLP, except with respect to extraordinary transactions, and (iv) conflicts of interest between the general partner or managing member and its affiliates and the limited partners or members, including those arising from incentive distribution payments or corporate opportunities, and cash flow risks. General partners typically have limited fiduciary duties to an MLP, which could allow a general partner to favor its interests over the MLP’s interests. MLP common units can be affected by macro-economic and other factors affecting the stock market in general, expectations of interest rates, investor sentiment towards MLPs or the energy sector, changes in a particular issuer’s financial condition, or unfavorable or unanticipated poor performance of a particular issuer (in the case of MLPs, generally measured in terms of distributable cash flow). Prices of common units of individual MLPs and other equity securities also can be affected by fundamentals unique to the partnership or company, including cash flow growth, cash generating power and distribution coverage. See the prospectus for more detail.
YMLP invests in royalty trusts, which are dependent upon the product and sales of natural resources; as the resources deplete, production and cash flows steadily decline, which may decrease distribution rates to the fund.
The fund is treated as a regular corporation for federal income tax, which differs from most investment companies. Unlike traditional ETFs, the Fund is subject to U.S. federal income tax as well as state and local income taxes. Further, the amount of taxes currently paid by the Fund will vary depending on the amount of income, and gains derived from investments and/or sales of MLP interests and such taxes will reduce your return. A portion of the Fund’s distributions will be treated as a return of capital for tax purposes. To the extent distributions represent a return of capital; an investor’s cost basis will be reduced at the time of sale potentially increasing taxes owed.
The potential tax benefits from investing in MLPs depend on them being treated as partnerships for federal income tax purposes. If the MLP is deemed to be a corporation then its income would be subject to federal taxation at the entity level, reducing the amount of cash available for distribution to the fund which could result in a reduction of the fund's value.
The Fund may defer income taxes for many years on gains attributable to its underlying MLP holdings and the deferred tax liability used to calculate the Fund’s NAV could vary dramatically from the Fund’s actual tax liability. Upon sale of an MLP security, the Fund may be liable for previously deferred taxes and, as a result, the determination of the Fund’s actual tax liability may substantially increase expenses and lower the Fund’s NAV.
Unlike most ETFs, the Fund expects to effect share redemptions principally for cash, rather than in-kind, which may make the Fund less tax-efficient than an investment in a conventional ETF. Furthermore, the Fund may need to sell portfolio securities in order to raise cash for redemptions. These factors may increase transaction costs and result in the Fund having wider bid and offering spreads than conventional ETFs.
Exchange Traded Concepts, LLC serves as the investment advisor and Yorkville ETF Advisors, LLC and Index Management Solutions, LLC serve as sub advisors to the fund. The Funds are distributed by SEI Investments Distribution Co., which is not affiliated with Exchange Traded Concepts, LLC or any of its affiliates.