Optimus Masthead
Competitive Analysis
Optimus Strategies vs. Peers:  Short-Only Alternative Strategies
July 13th, 2012
 
Greetings!

  

Optimus vs. Peers 

 

This is the 3rd part of a multi-part series showing Optimus strategies vs. our peers. Watch for each email as we provide helpful information we use to analyze our strategies.

 

Our three Optimus Advantage Strategies are very different from one another. Our Advantage Plus Strategy can short 3 US broad market indices and be up to 200% net short. The Global Advantage Plus Strategy can short 4 US broad market indices, 2 foreign equities indices & the US Dollar, while being up to 200% net short. Our newest addition to the Advantage Series, Global Advantage All Asset, can short 3 US broad market indices, 3 US sectors, 2 foreign equities indices plus 10-year & 30-year Govt bonds, with a maximum of 100% net short capabilities.

 

The graphs below show the performance of Optimus strategies and our peers from July 1, 2009 through June 30th, 2012.  We are using this time period to show returns for the strategies after the big initial thrust from the March 2009 lows.  Also of note is that with the Optimus strategies represented, their performance lines are a mix of hypothetical and live trading results.

 

Peer Analysis Part III: Short-Only Strategies Category

 

Advantage chart A

(Growth of $100,000)

 

The thick lines represent our three Optimus Advantage Strategies, whereas the thin lines represent our peers.  Our peers are represented by three Short-Only strategies and the Morningstar Category: Bear-Market.  All three Optimus Strategies have outperformed their peers and benchmark by a very wide margin.  Also, note that all our peers are actually showing large losses during this past cyclical bull market period. 

 

Could a short-only strategy beat the

S&P 500 during a cyclical bull market?

 

This is the same graph as above, only we added the S&P 500 index for comparison.

 

Advantage Shaded B  

(Growth of $100,000)

 

In analyzing the movement of the S&P 500 in this graph, you can see five distinct time segments:  Rising equities (shaded in green) from 7/2009 to 4/2010, 7/2010 to 4/2011 and 10/2011 to 4/2012; while falling equities were from 5/2010 to 6/2010 and 5/2011 to 9/2011.

 

How did the Optimus Advantage Strategies perform during this cyclical BULL market, when the S&P 500 climbed nearly 60%?  While the Advantage Plus Strategy turned in a good performance relative to its peers, it's our other two Advantage Strategies that need to be highlighted.  Both strategies climbed significantly during the first BULL move (which doesn't seem possible), spiked up during the market's decline, were relatively flat during the next bull move (again, very important to note), drastically spiked up during the next market decline and held up rather well during the most recent bull move. 

 

The end result:  The two Advantage Strategies beat the performance of the S&P 500 (during a cyclical bull) while maintaining a negative correlation to the overall market, at the same time as their peers and category benchmark losing 35% to 55% of their value.  That is truly unique.

 

Be sure to watch for the next installment of our Peer Analysis series. Next, we'll be taking a look at how to effectively add Optimus Strategies to your client portfolios.

If you are looking for the potential for strong performance with low-to-negative correlation to both the stock and bond markets, our Optimus Strategies may be just what you're looking for.

 

For more information regarding these or any of our other strategies, please scroll back up to the top and click on our advisor-only webpage link.

Optimus Advisory Group's Mission
At Optimus Advisory Group, we're trying to meet the Investment Advisor's need for liquid alternative investment strategies.  
 

For more information about any of our programs, please contact us.  You may also download the factsheets for any of our alternative investment strategies by scrolling back up to the top and clicking the advisors-only webpage link.  Each factsheet contains disclaimers and disclosures for each model.

 

Thank you for your interest in our liquid alternative investment strategies.  We'll continue to keep you informed as we move forward.

 

Sincerely,

 


Steve Rumsey

Chief Investment Officer
Optimus Advisory Group

(949) 727-4734

 

Advisory services offered through Optimus Advisory Group,
a registered investment advisor.

 

Disclosures

The performance results shown include the reinvestment of dividends and other earnings. Comparison of the Optimus Advisory Group Programs to any other indices is for illustrative purposes only and the volatility of the indices used for comparison may be materially different from the volatility of the Optimus Advisory Group Programs due to varying degrees of diversification and/or other factors. Different types of investments involve varying degrees of risk and there can be no assurance that any specific investment will be profitable. Optimus Advisory Group does not make any representation that the Optimus Advisory Group Programs will or are likely to achieve returns similar to those shown in the performance results in this presentation. Optimus Advisory Group reserves the right to trade different funds within their models.
 

Past performance may not be indicative of future results. Therefore, no current or prospective client should assume that future performance will be profitable, or equal to any corresponding historical index. The S&P 500 Composite Index (the "S&P") is a market capitalization-weighted index of 500 widely held stocks often used as a proxy for the stock market. Standard & Poor's chooses the member companies for the S&P based on market size, liquidity, and industry group representation. Included are the common stocks of industrial, financial, utility, and transportation companies. The historical performance results of the S&P (and those of all indices) do not reflect the deduction of transaction and custodial charges, nor the deduction of an investment management fee, the incurrence of which would have the effect of decreasing indicated historical performance results. The S&P is not an index into which an investor can directly invest. The historical S&P performance results (and those of all other indices and index funds used as proxies for indices) are provided exclusively for comparison purposes only, so as to provide general comparative information to assist an individual client or prospective client in determining whether the performance of the Optimus' portfolio meets, or continues to meet, his/her investment objective(s). It should not be assumed that any Optimus portfolio holdings will correspond directly to any such comparative index.
 

Different types of investments and/or investment strategies involve varying levels of risk, and there can be no assurance that any specific investment or investment strategy (including the investment strategies devised or undertaken by Optimus Advisory Group) will be profitable for a client's or prospective client's portfolio. All performance results have been compiled solely by Optimus Advisory Group and have not been independently verified.
 

The Optimus performance results do not reflect the impact of taxes.