Sterling Capital’s SCEP Blends AI With Human Stock Picking

Core Viewpoint - Sterling Capital Management launched the Sterling Capital Hedged Equity Premium Income ETF (SCEP), which combines artificial intelligence for idea generation and human intelligence for portfolio construction to provide a U.S. equity allocation while employing options strategies for income generation and market protection [1][3]. Fund Overview - The fund began trading on December 12 and currently manages $214.1 million in assets with a management fee of 0.65% [2]. - The ETF structure was chosen for its tax efficiency, intraday trading capability, and lower costs compared to traditional mutual funds [2]. Investment Strategy - SCEP aims to deliver tax-efficient monthly income, better risk-adjusted returns through AI-driven stock selection, and reduced downside risk via protective options trading [3]. - The fund's sub-adviser, Guardian Capital, has utilized AI in equity strategies since 2018 and manages over $4 billion in assets using similar investment processes [3]. AI Utilization - Guardian's AI models forecast key investment variables, including earnings growth and dividend growth, using machine learning and deep learning techniques [4]. - The AI narrows the investment universe to a shortlist of companies with a higher probability of durable earnings and dividend growth [5][6]. Portfolio Composition - The fund's top holdings include Alphabet Inc. (6.37%), Apple Inc. (6.09%), NVIDIA Corp. (5.77%), Microsoft Corp. (5.07%), and Amazon.com, Inc. (4.58%), identified for their strong balance sheets and growth potential [7]. - The fund maintains around 21% exposure to midcap stocks, which may provide better valuations compared to large-cap alternatives [11]. Options Strategy - SCEP employs a dynamic options overlay strategy, writing covered call options on up to 100% of its portfolio to boost income while buying protective put options to cushion against market declines [8][9]. - Protective puts are structured to guard against a 10% to 30% market decline, aiming to protect income-focused investors from large drawdowns [9][10]. Tax Efficiency - The fund's structure seeks to deliver more tax-efficient income by finding losses on individual securities and options to offset gains, potentially allowing for return of capital distributions [13]. - Return of capital distributions are generally not taxable in the year received, deferring taxes until the shares are sold, which may result in a higher capital gain [14][15].