Amplify BlackSwan Tech & Treasury ETF’s management team is rated Average, but a solid investment process still helps this strategy retain its Morningstar Medalist Rating of Bronze. The portfolio maintains a cost advantage over competitors, priced within the cheapest fee quintile among peers.  

 The strategy's effective investment philosophy earns it an Above Average Process Pillar rating. The team managing the passive strategy earns the strategy an Average People Pillar rating. The strategy's parent organization earns the firm a Below Average Parent Pillar rating, and this rating is inherited from vehicles belonging to the same branding entity and is indirectly assigned by an analyst.

Analyst Rating

Morningstar's evaluation of this security's process aims to determine the likelihood that it will outperform its Morningstar Category benchmark on a risk-adjusted basis over the long term. Amplify BlackSwan Tech & Treasury ETF earns an Above Average Process Pillar rating. The largest contributor to the rating is that this fund tracks an index. Historical data, such as Morningstar's Active/Passive Barometer, finds that passively managed funds have generally outperformed their active counterparts, especially over longer time horizons. Low costs across its parent firm's funds, whose fees, on average, rank in the second-cheapest quintile of their respective category, also contribute to the process. The pattern of low expenses at the firm suggests that it is focused on delivering strong results for investors. Lastly, the process is limited by the parent firm's five-year risk-adjusted success ratio of 42%. The measure indicates the percentage of a firm's funds that survived and outperformed their respective category's median Morningstar Risk-Adjusted Return for the period. The parent's modest success ratio suggests that the firm could do better across its fund lineup.

The investment strategy as stated in the fund's prospectus is:  The investment seeks investment results that generally correspond (before fees and expenses) to the price and yield of the S-Network BlackSwan Tech & Treasury Index (the “Index”).  The fund will invest at least 80% of its net assets in the securities that comprise the index. The index is a rules-based and quantitative index designed to allow for some participation in the investment gains experienced by QQQ while providing the opportunity for a buffer against significant losses through the index’s target portfolio weighting of approximately 90% U.S. treasury securities. The fund is non-diversified. 

 In terms of portfolio turnover, on a year-over-year basis, 209% of the fund's holdings have changed, whether through increasing, decreasing, or changing a position.

Above Average

Process

Amplify’s team receives An Average People Pillar rating. The leading driver of the rating is the firm's five-year retention rate of 93%. The depth of the portfolio management team also bolsters the rating. With five portfolio managers, the fund is well-staffed. Lastly, the rating is limited by the combined average three-year excess return of each manager, which indicates that the funds they manage have trailed their respective category average.

Average

People

While differentiated from much of the competition, Amplify ETFs' concentrated lineup of largely thematic exchange-traded funds harbors considerable risk. It earns a Below Average Parent Rating.

Amplify targets niches not previously explored by larger ETF firms. This leads to product launches in relatively narrow parts of the market like cannabis, online retail, and battery technology. A recent acquisition of 12 mostly thematic ETFs from ETF Managers Group only enhances this focus. Products like these tend to be extremely concentrated and volatile, inviting significant risks to their investors, not the least of which are ill-timed purchases and sales. Because of these risks, product success is unpredictable and leads to more closures than there are among traditional strategies. Since its 2016 founding, Amplify has merged or liquidated several ETFs that failed to gain traction or produced poor results.

Five subadvisors are responsible for the day-to-day management of Amplify's 29 ETFs. The firm regularly reviews subadvisor activity and performance and risk data but does not have a dedicated risk management team. Overall, its subadvisory relationships seem to emphasize product development and distribution rather than long-term, proven investment merit.

Amplify ETFs does what it sets out to do—offer investors differentiated ETF strategies—and leadership comes with considerable ETF experience. The firm's ETFs are not cheap but neither are they particularly pricey. Many levy category-competitive fees. Few of Amplify's ETFs should be considered core holdings, but they can serve a purpose for investors seeking specific exposures so long as shareholders understand the risks embedded.

Below Average

Parent

Amplify BlackSwan Tech & Treasury ETF

QSWN tracks an index of long-dated LEAP options on Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) and US Treasurys averaging 10-year maturity.

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CHICAGO, Sept. 27, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Amplify ETFs announces September income distributions for its ETFs.

Amplify ETFs Declares September Income Distributions for its ETFs

CHICAGO, June 28, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Amplify ETFs announces June income distributions for its ETFs.

Amplify ETFs Declares June Income Distributions for its ETFs

CHICAGO, March 29, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Amplify ETFs announces March income distributions for its ETFs.

Amplify ETFs Declares March Income Distributions for its ETFs

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CHICAGO, Dec. 30, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Amplify ETFs announces December income distributions across its income, core, and thematic ETFs. In addition, none of Amplify ETFs will pay a 2022 capital gain distribution.

Amplify ETFs Declares December Income Distributions for its Income, Core, and Thematic ETFs

CHICAGO, Sept. 28, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Amplify ETFs announces September monthly and quarterly distributions across its income and core ETFs. Launched in the last month, the Amplify Natural Resources Dividend Income ETF (NDIV) and the Amplify International Enhanced Dividend Income ETF (IDVO) are making their first distributions to shareholders.

Amplify ETFs Declares Monthly and Quarterly Income Distributions for its Income and Core ETFs

The new fund is a combination of Treasurys and tech options.

Amplify Launches 3rd 'BlackSwan' ETF

Amplify ETFs announced the launch of the Amplify BlackSwan Tech & Treasury ETF (NYSE Arca: QSWN), the third ETF in their BlackSwan ETF suite. It joins the Amplify BlackSwan Growth & Treasury Core ETF (SWAN) and the Amplify BlackSwan ISWN ETF (ISWN) in providing investors with large-cap technology and growth companies with a built-in hedged approach.

News for Amplify BlackSwan Tech & Treasury ETF ETF (QSWN)