Σ1

Sigma1 Position Overview Component Hard Short Med Short Light Short Neutral Light Long Med Long Very Long Equities X International Equities X Emerging Markets X Bonds X Corporate Bonds X International Bonds X Cash and Short-Term X Intermediate-Term Bonds X Long-Term Bonds X Equity-ETF Call Options X Equity-ETF Put Options X USD (US Dollar) X [...]

I created the Σ1 Fund for several reasons. A proprietary fund in which to invest some of my LLC’s assets. A real-world investment vehicle in which to test, refine, and showcase  investing and trading strategies. A hedge fund where my LLC can also make revenue from fees. (Fees as low as reasonably possible.) A fund [...]

The PowerShares S&P 500 BuyWrite ETF (PBP) and iPath CBOE S&P 500 Buy/Write Index ETN (BWV) both seek to track the BXM Index.  Each advertises a 0.75% expense ratio/annual fee.  The BXM Index reports an “18 years [history], generating a return comparable to that of the S&P 500 with approximately two-thirds of the risk”.  Should [...]

For the last several weeks, behind-the-scenes work on the Σ1 Fund has been quietly progressing.  Now some of that work is finally being unveiled.  The most visible change is an upgrade to the more prestigious sigma1.com top-level domain (TLD) name.  This involved acquiring the TLD in a private auction, numerous technical tasks assisted by Endress|Analytics, [...]

I ask myself what value-adds will distinguish the Σ1 Fund from the numerous fund out there. Here are a few key distinguishing points:

1. Innovative, industry-leading transparency for a hedge fund.
2. Far lower overall expenses than typical for a hedge fund.
3. Far lower investment minimums, by far, than a typical hedge fund.

On Sept. 17th the Σ1 Fund was launched with a NAV (net asset value) of $25.00/share.  Today’s closing NAV was $25.30/share, representing a 1.2% gain. Long holdings (stock and bond ETFs): 100 shares SPY 100 shares BND 100 shares VTI 100 shares JNK Short positions (options): RMN 19MAR11 67.5 SPY 20NOV10 115 Leverage Ratio: 1.22

As a young investor (age 12) I was given the opportunity to invest in bonds and mutual funds because my Dad had a brokerage account.  As a junior investor my meager individual funds were initially a liability to the brokerage.  However, my Dad’s funds were an asset.  The brokerage won in two ways.  First, my [...]

Σ1 is a Balhiser-LLC-managed private-equity-trading-group fund.  Its current assets (or some cases liabilities) include ETFs such as SPY and VTI, stock options, bond ETFs, and cash-settled options. Σ1 was formed Sept. 17, 2010. While Σ1 is not currently available to outside investment, it may someday be. Until then I, as the fund manager, intend to [...]