The folks at an $18-billion-AUMA, multi-boutique asset manager in the DMV are adopting and transforming an 11-year-old, open-end mutual fund from a familiar, 34-year-old, $5.1-billion-AUM* ally in South Central Pennsylvania, near Lancaster.

Alexander Robert "Alex" Morris F/m Investments CEO, Chief Investment Officer

On Monday (October 6), David Volpe, president of Emerald Advisers, and Alex Morris, CEO of F/m Investments [profile], unveiled the launch of the F/m Emerald Special Situations ETF (SPIT on the Nasdaq). The Emerald Insights Fund was reorganized into the new ETF.

Leola, Pennsylvania-based Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust served as investment advisor to the predecessor mutual fund and is now subadvisor to SPIT. Washington, D.C.-based F/m Investments LLC took over as investment advisor to the new ETF.

The Emerald Insights Fund's inception date was August 1, 2014, while SPIT's inception date was Monday (October 6, 2025). SPIT now has about $17 million in AUM**.

The mutual-fund-to-ETF transformation and adoption also involves several other provider changes:

SPIT is an actively managed series of the RBB Fund, whereas the Emerald Insights Fund was a series of Financial Investors Trust;

Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP serves as counsel to SPIT, while Davis Graham & Stubbs LLP did so for the predecessor fund;

ACA Foreside's Quasar Distributors, LLC serves as SPIT's distributor, while SS&C's Alps Distributors, Inc. (ADI) did so for the predecessor fund; and

U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC (dba U.S. Bank Global Fund Services serves as administrator, dividend disbursing agent, and transfer agent to SPIT, while Alps Fund Services, Inc. did so for the predecessor fund.

Cohen & Company, Ltd. is staying on as the reorganized fund's independent accounting firm. And U.S. Bank, N.A. is staying on as the ETF's custodian and securities lending agent.

Volpe and Steve Amsterdam, senior research analyst at Emerald, had been on the Emerald Insights Fund's PM team since inception, and they're staying on as the portfolio managers of SPIT.

The reorganization and adoption of the Emerald fund also comes with pricing changes. SPIT's expense ratio is 89 basis points. The preceding Emerald Insights Fund, in contrast, came in four flavors:

A shares (EFCAX), with a maximum up-front load of 475 bps and an expense ratio of 135bps;

C shares (EFCCX), with a maximum deferred load of 100bps and an expense ratio of 200bps;

investor shares (EFCNX), with no load and an expense ratio of 140bps; and

institutional shares (EFCIX), with no load an an expense ratio of 105bps.

All four of the predecessor fund's share classes' expense ratios baked in a 51bps fee waiver. The minimum initial investment required for EFCIX was $1 million, while the minimum intial investment required for its three sibling share classes was $2,000 ($1,000 for qualified accounts).

Volpe puts the launch of SPIT in the context of his firm's legacy of "over 30 years identifying stock-specific catalysts that drive value creation."

"This ETF allows us to deliver that expertise in a concentrated, high-conviction strategy," Volpe states. "SPIT is designed for investors seeking differentiated opportunities that go beyond crowded strategies and mega-cap concentration."

The Emerald team describes SPIT's strategy as "benchmark-agnostic and sector-agnostic." They note that the ETF is powered by their 15-person investment team's "proprietary 10-step research process."

"We're not constrained by benchmarks or tied to the momentum of mega-cap names," Amsterdam states. "SPIT is built to be a satellite holding, a gas pedal within a portfolio, that gives investors true diversification beyond what they already own."

Morris confirms that the launch of SPIT boosts F/m's product lineup to 21 ETFs in total. (The firm also offers two mutual funds and 25 SMA strategies.) He also notes that SPIT is the 2nd F/m ETF powered by Emerald, after the launch a year ago of LFSC. He puts SPIT in the context of F/m's "mission to deliver innovative, research-driven ETF solutions that empower invesotrs to diversify beyond traditional benchmarks."

"We're proud to again partner with Emerald for this ETF launch," Morris states. "This product is designed to help advisors and investors access strategies that can meaningfully complement existing portfolios."

"Emerald has established a strong track record across multiple investment themes. SPIT continues our partnership with Emerald by delivering further SMA content in an ETF wrapper," Morris writes to MFWire. He hints at future joint F/m-Emerald product development. "Emerald has many interesting, thematic strategies we look forward to offering."

Watch for the F/m to launch other additional ETFs and mutual funds soon, too.

"We have three more funds in the Compoundr series and an investment-grade bond strategy in the pipeline," Morris writes. "Additionally, we intend to launch ETF share classes for our two mutual funds and mutual fund share classes for many of our ETFs. Our search for managers and strategies that solve investor problems is ongoing, and we will continue to develop strategies that 'have something meaningful to say.'"

*As of September 30, 2025.

**As of yesterday (October 8, 2025). 

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