What Newfound Research does

Newfound Research LLC is a privately held quantitative investment manager headquartered in St. Petersburg, Florida (founded 2008), that develops and distributes return stacking investment products and related research. The firm's core methodology layers one investment return on top of another to achieve more than USD 1.00 of exposure per USD 1.00 invested, combining traditional stock or bond allocations with alternative strategies through professionally managed mutual funds and exchange-traded products. This approach was historically limited to sophisticated institutional investors because of derivatives complexity; Newfound Research packages it into accessible wrappers for financial advisors, small institutions, and individual investors.

The company's product surface includes the Return Stacked ETF suite (launched February 2023, having raised over USD 1 billion in cumulative AUM), Model Portfolios distributed via returnstacked.com/model-portfolios, and a linked Newfound Research Mutual Funds site. Supporting intellectual property includes the Liquidity Cascades research on coordinated risk from uncoordinated market participants, and the Rebalance Timing Luck framework examining how rebalance timing drives performance dispersion in identically managed portfolios. A weekly 'Flirting with Models' podcast, research blog, and newsletter suite (Weekly Commentary, Video Digest, Monthly Performance Update) act as top-of-funnel thought leadership, with CEO and CIO Corey Hoffstein providing visible media representation on Bloomberg ETF IQ and in WSJ, Barron's, and Bloomberg coverage.

Newfound Research generates revenue through asset-based fees as a licensor of intellectual property and a sub-adviser to investment advisers, operating primarily across North America. The firm is registered with the SEC (Form ADV) and has a 11-50 employee footprint consistent with a boutique quant manager. Customer segments span financial advisors (primary), individual investors, and small institutions, all unified by previously limited access to institutional-grade diversification approaches. No equity funding rounds, M&A activity, or strategic partnerships are disclosed in the available data.

Name

Newfound Research

Legal name

Newfound Research LLC

Website

https://thinknewfound.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Newfound Research is a quantitative investment manager that packages return stacking strategies, layering alternative returns on top of stock and bond allocations, into Return Stacked ETFs and Model Portfolios for financial advisors, small institutions, and individual investors.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Investment Management

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940), Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (52394)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Investor Education, Research & Portfolio Analytics Services (Retail) (FSAAAAAO)

Keywords

• Quantitative investment management
• Return stacking ETFs
• Model portfolio services
• Alternative strategy investing
• Investment research

Headquarters

HQ city

Boston

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Asset-Based Management Fees: Newfound Research generates revenue through asset-based fees as a licensor of intellectual property and sub-adviser to investment advisers. The company manages alternative strategies and capital efficient solutions, with ETF products raising over USD 1 billion since February 2023.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Newfound Research is a quantitative investment manager that designs and manages Return Stacked ETFs and Model Portfolios that layer alternative strategy returns on top of traditional stock and bond allocations. The firm licenses its return stacking intellectual property and serves as a sub-adviser to investment advisers, supported by proprietary research frameworks including Liquidity Cascades and Rebalance Timing Luck.

Product overview

Newfound Research is a quantitative investment manager offering a unified platform of return stacking solutions. The core offering consists of Return Stacked ETFs—professionally managed products that layer alternative strategy returns on top of traditional stock or bond allocations—alongside Model Portfolios for direct implementation. The company supplements its investment products with proprietary research, including the Liquidity Cascades thesis on market structure risks and the Rebalance Timing Luck academic work on portfolio rebalancing effects. A podcast provides ongoing market commentary. The company raised over USD 1 billion since launching the Return Stacked ETF suite in February 2023.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Return Stacked ETFs: A suite of exchange-traded funds that combine stocks or bonds with alternative strategies to enhance diversification and performance. The funds have raised over USD 1 billion since February 2023.
• Model Portfolios
• Flirting with Models

Products and services

• Return Stacked ETFs A suite of exchange-traded funds that combine traditional stock or bond allocations with alternative strategies through return stacking, allowing investors to achieve more than $1.00 of exposure for each $1.00 invested without sacrificing core allocations.
• Model Portfolios Professionally managed model portfolios implementing return stacking concepts for financial advisors and investors seeking diversified alternative strategy exposure.
• Flirting with Models Podcast Investment research podcast covering topics related to return stacking, market dynamics, and quantitative investing, used as a thought leadership and content marketing vehicle.
• Liquidity Cascades Research Proprietary research examining the coordinated risk of uncoordinated market participants, analyzing the impact of central bank intervention, passive investing growth, and asymmetric liquidity provisioning on market liquidity dynamics.
• Rebalance Timing Luck Research Academic research on how portfolio rebalancing timing affects performance dispersion, demonstrating that identically managed strategies can exhibit significant return differences based solely on when they rebalance.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over USD 1 billion raised in Return Stacked ETF products since February 2023
• +2 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Simplify Asset Management: ETF issuer specializing in options-based and alternative-strategy ETFs designed for advisor and retail use. Comparable product architecture (derivatives-enhanced ETF wrappers) and similar target customer base to Newfound's Return Stacked line.
• Cambria Investments: ETF issuer founded by quantitative investor Meb Faber, offering actively managed ETFs with alternative and tactical strategies. Direct peer in the quant-ETF advisor channel, with comparable product philosophy and audience.
• Alpha Architect: Quantitative ETF issuer serving financial advisors and self-directed investors with rules-based, factor-tilted strategies. Highly comparable to Newfound in target audience, quant methodology, and advisor-channel distribution.
• Bridgeway Capital Management: Quantitative mutual fund and ETF manager applying academic-factor and statistical methods to multi-asset portfolios. Comparable quant-driven, advisor-focused investment firm.
• AGFiQ (AgilityFunds / AGF Investments): Quantitative ETF lineup offering factor, tactical, and multi-asset strategies distributed to advisors. Direct competitor in the rules-based ETF space with comparable methodology and channel.

Broad incumbents

• State Street SPDR ETFs: One of the largest ETF families globally, with quantitative and sector strategies in advisor channels. Adjacent comparable in distribution and product format rather than direct methodology match.
• Invesco (QQQ / ETF business): Major ETF issuer with a broad quantitative and alternatives product suite. Comparable product category (ETFs, model portfolios) and advisor distribution, but at much larger scale and scope.
• WisdomTree Investments: Large ETF issuer with quantitative and alternatives strategies distributed globally. Significantly larger scale than Newfound but overlapping advisor channel and quantitative methodology.
• PIMCO: Global asset manager with active ETF lineup and significant multi-asset / alternatives capability. Comparable in offering sophisticated multi-asset strategies to advisors and institutions, but at vastly larger scale.

Emerging players

• ReSolve Asset Management: CRO/alternative-strategy asset manager known for adaptive asset allocation and managed-futures-style strategies. Comparable in philosophy to the alternative-overlay approach underlying return stacking.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/thinknewfound

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Newfound Research