Syntax

Syntax LLC (Syntax) is a custom index provider and investment management firm that offers Syntax Stratified Indices and funds that track these indices. Its indices include Stratified-Weight™ versions of widely-used benchmarks such as the S&P 500, S&P MidCap 400, MSCI EAFE, Wilshire 5000, and Wilshire LargeCap Indices. Syntax offers funds through its wholly owned subsidiary, Syntax Advisors, LLC (Syntax Advisors). Syntax Advisors is an SEC-registered investment adviser, under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 and has registered to sponsor of a family of ETFs that track Stratified-Weight Indices. In addition to these offerings, Syntax provides index licensing services, data feeds, and analytical tools using its proprietary technology. Syntax created the Stratified-Weight methodology to manage a risk that it believes is not addressed in traditional indices: the inadvertent overweighting of related business risks. This strategy was developed using a new technology called Functional Information System™ (FIS), a patented classification system developed by Syntax's sister company, Locus Analytics. FIS is a system for identifying and grouping companies that share related business risks. By using FIS to diversify related business risk, Syntax Stratified-Weight Indices aim to reduce the impact of inadvertent overweighting. The idea for Syntax came from its founder, Rory Riggs, a biotechnology entrepreneur with experience in clinical sciences and portfolio management. Rory saw that a clinician and a portfolio manager have the same problem: the inadvertent overweighting of one sub-population over another can create biased outcomes. He realized that clinicians and portfolio managers should have the same solution: stratification. In clinical trials, stratification is used to manage potential bias inherent to patients with related disease or genetic markers. In portfolio management, stratification is used to manage potential bias associated with related earnings drivers.