Capital Impact Advisors LLC (“Capital Impact”) is an investment adviser registered with
the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). Capital Impact was founded and
has been registered as an investment adviser since 2013. Dr. Joel M. Shulman is the
principal owner of Capital Impact. While Dr. Shulman controls Capital Impact Advisors,
the Pentegra Defined Benefit Plan for Financial Institutions (the “Pentegra DB Plan”), a
tax qualified pension plan and trust, holds a 25% equity stake in Capital Impact Advisors.
Investment Management Services
Capital Impact invests money primarily in accordance with the separate strategies the firm
has developed and is willing to customize investments and portfolios to the needs and
desires of an individual client.
It is the view of Capital Impact Advisors that organizations that emphasize entrepreneurial
culture. Entrepreneurs have the potential to outperform well-established corporations over
time. Though they may have much less access to cheap debt or equity, they tend to more
than compensate with methods for making their resources go further.
Entrepreneurs with vast financial resources are not always successful. In order to grow,
entrepreneurial teams need opportunities to match their resources with appropriate
projects. Entrepreneurs tend to position their company at the center of industry
growth. Their wealth is created, in part, from a unique vision on how to extract value
within competitive market environments. Eventually, the outstanding results of
entrepreneurial businesses attract the attention of analysts and the media, and publicly
traded stocks of successful Entrepreneurial Companies are bid higher.
Capital Impact searches for attributes that are markers of entrepreneurial behavior that can
be monitored. For example, an organization with an "entrepreneurial culture" is presumed
to have a more efficient workforce that would outperform non-Entrepreneurial Companies.
Capital Impact also evaluates "entrepreneurial vision." The portfolio manager presumes
that company managers with better entrepreneurial vision will select more efficient and
economically effective growth vehicles without taking on undue risk. This trait might be
represented by superior growth characteristics compared to other non-entrepreneurial peer
companies in the same industry.
Investments are not held by Capital Impact. Instead, all investments managed by Capital
Impact are held at the custodian or brokerage firms ("Custodian") through which
transactions are placed. Capital Impact does not assure or guarantee the results of its
investment management services. Thus, losses can occur from following Capital Impact’s
advice pertaining to any investment or investment approach.
When we recommend investing in one of our proprietary or related funds or provide
investment advice to you regarding your retirement plan account or individual retirement
account, we are fiduciaries within the meaning of Title I of the Employee Retirement
Income Securities Act (“ERISA”) and/or the Internal Revenue Code (“IRC”), as
applicable, which are laws governing retirement accounts. The receipt of our advisory fee
for making a recommendation creates a conflict of interest under ERISA/IRC with your
interests, so we operate under a special rule that requires us to act in your best interest
and
not put our interest ahead of yours. For example, if we recommend that you roll over assets
from one retirement account to another and we will receive increased compensation as a
result of that recommendation, we have a conflict that requires us to operate under this
special rule.
Type of Advisory Services
Mutual Fund - Capital Impact Advisors, LLC serves as the investment adviser to the
ERShares U.S. Small Cap Mutual Fund (the “Fund”). As investment adviser, Capital
Impact Advisors, LLC is primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the
investment portfolios of the Fund.
The ERShares U.S. Small Cap Mutual Fund seeks investment results that exceed the
performance, before fees and expenses, of the Russell 2000 Index, through active
principles-based securities selection. The Fund primarily invests in equity securities of
domestic companies with market capitalizations that are above $300 million at the time of
initial purchase and possess entrepreneurial characteristics, as determined by the Fund’s
portfolio manager.
In view of this, the Fund may be subject to above-average risk. Clients and prospective
clients are encouraged to carefully read the Funds’ Prospectus for details about the Fund’s
objectives and fees.
Exchange-Traded Fund – Capital Impact Advisors, LLC serves as the investment adviser
to the ERShares Entrepreneurs ETF (the “ETF”).
The ERShares Entrepreneurs ETF is an actively managed exchange-traded fund (the
“ETF”) that invests primarily in companies that meet the highest conviction threshold of
the adviser’s proprietary Entrepreneur Factor (“EF”) model. The adviser believes that
companies that meet the EF model are led by dynamic leaders who engage innovation and
implement solutions that create value for stakeholders. The companies that are relevant to
this theme tend to rely on or benefit from the development of new products or services,
technological improvements, and advancements in scientific research relating to various
categories (cited below). The EF model incorporates a bottom-up investment orientation
that includes investment criteria such as management attributes, sector, growth, value,
leverage, market capitalization (size), momentum, and geographic orientation. With the aid
of thematic research, the adviser also incorporates a macro-economic, top-down approach
that integrates changing investment flows, innovation entry points, sector growth and other
proprietary characteristics into a dynamic, global perspective model. The portfolio
demonstrates strong ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) characteristics because
the EF model actively integrates ESG considerations. The EF model concentrates on
sectors that have low environmental impact. Moreover, governance traits are central to the
management attributes of the EF model as well as growth considerations that provide
strong social contributions to communities.
The Fund invests primarily in equity securities of mid and large capitalization (above $2.5
billion at the time of purchase) companies traded on the NASDAQ, the New York Stock
Exchange, or other major U.S. exchanges. The Fund’s portfolio is composed of both
growth and value stocks.
Assets under Management: As of December 31, 2023, Capital Impact discretionary assets
under management were $ 170,747,801.