The team at a $7.631-billion-AUM*, five-year-old ETF shop in the Big Apple is entering the money market fund business.
| David Marc Berns Simplify Asset Management Inc. CIO, Co-Founder | |
On Tuesday (July 15),
David Berns, chief investment officer and co-founder of
Simplify Asset Management, Inc. [
profile],
unveiled the
launch of the New York City-based firm's first money fund, the
Simplify Government Money Market ETF (SBIL on the
NYSE Arca, Inc.). Simplify serves as investment advisor to SBIL, and the launch boosts the asset manager's
lineup to 35 ETFs in total.
SBIL's inception date was Monday (July 14), and it comes with an expense ratio of 15 basis points. The new ETF already has about $688 million in AUM*, accounting for about 9 percent of Simplify's AUM*. Perhaps Simplify lined up one or more big seed investors, and/or perhaps the Simplify team is shifting other Simplify offerings' cash holdings to their own ETF instead of using other liquidity solutions or outside money funds.
Indeed, Berns specifically notes that SBIL is compliant with rule 2a-7 (which governs money funds), "making this ETF potentially appealing for institutional investors as well, who may find utility in holding a low-cost government money market fund in the convenient ETF format." The Simplify team also notes that SBIL will have a floating NAV (unlike many retail and government money funds).
"We're excited to expand our product lineup with a cash-equivalent solution that aligns with the marketplace's ongoing demand for income and stability of principal," Berns states.
SBIL's PM team includes three Simplify team members:
Chrisopher Chua, portfolio manager;
Jason England, managing director, fixed income strategist; and
Berns himself.
Simplify's new money fund is an actively managed series of
Simplify Exchange Traded Funds. SBIL's other service providers include:
Bank of New York Mellon as administrator, custodian, dividend disbursing agent, fund accountant, shareholder servicing agent, and transfer agent;
Cohen & Company, Ltd. as independent accounting firm;
ACA's Foreside Financial Services, LLC as distributor; and
Thompson Hine LLP as counsel.
*As of yesterday, i.e. July 16, 2025. 
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