The team at a $16.6-billion-AUM (as of December 31), 41-year-old, publicly traded firm in Texas are rolling out their second ETF, three weeks after launching their first.

Brian O. Casey Westwood Holdings Group CEO

This morning, Greg Reid, president of real assets at Westwood Holdings Group [profile], and Parag Sanghani, portfolio manage on Westwood's energy team, unveiled the debut of the Westwood Salient Enhanced Energy Income ETF (WEEI on the Nasdaq). The launch comes after the Westwood folks rolled out their first ETF, the Westwood Salient Enhanced Midstream Income ETF (MDST).

WEEI comes with an expense ratio of 85 basis points, as expected, and its inception date is today. The fund already has $2.441 million in AUM.

As expected, WEEI has a lot in common with its sister fund, MDST. The two TFs are both series of the same trust (the Ultimus Managers Trust) and actively managed. Westwood Management Corp. serves as both funds' investment advisor, and Vident Asset Management serves as trading subadvisor.

WEEI and MDST have the same PM team, whch includes: Ryan Dofflemeyer, senior PM at Vident; Frank Gardner, SVP and PM at Westwood; Austin Wen, PM a Vident; Rafael Zayas, SVP and head of portfolio managment and trading at Vident; Reid; and Sanghani.

Reid calls the launch of WEEI "a natural progression for Westwood within the energy income space."

"It is an exciting time in the energy sector from both a capital appreciation and income pespective," Reid states, "and we anticipate it's just the beginning of a decade-long upcycle."

Like for MDST, WEEI's other service providers include: Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. (BBH) as custodian and transfer agent; Cohen & Company, Ld. as independent accounting firm; Northern Lights Compliance Services, LLC (NLCS) as chief compliance officer provider; Northern Lights Distributors, LLC as distributor; Sullivan & Worcester LLP as counsel; and Ultimus Fund Solutions, LLC (sibling to Northern Lights) as administrator and fund accountant. 

Stay ahead of the news ... Sign up for our email alerts now
CLICK HERE