The Acquirers Fund

What The Acquirers Fund does

The Acquirers Fund (ZIG:NYSE) is an actively managed exchange-traded fund launched on May 14, 2019, and managed by Acquirers Funds, LLC, a U.S. investment adviser headquartered in Rolling Hills, California, and founded by portfolio manager Tobias Carlisle. The fund seeks long-term capital appreciation by investing in equity securities of U.S.-listed companies believed to be undervalued but fundamentally strong, typically selecting approximately 30 stocks from the largest 25% of U.S. equities (market capitalization greater than approximately $2 billion). Its core methodology is The Acquirer's Multiple®, a proprietary valuation metric defined as Enterprise Value / Operating Earnings that was developed and published by Carlisle in 2014, supplemented by statistical screens for fraud, earnings manipulation, and financial distress, and a forensic-accounting review of financial statements, notes, and management's discussion and analysis.

The fund generates revenue primarily through a 0.75% gross expense ratio applied to net assets, currently $31.74m as of July 17, 2026, implying management fee revenue on the order of $240K annually at current AUM — a sub-scale operating profile. Distribution is conducted through standard ETF channels: shares trade on the NYSE under ticker ZIG via any brokerage account, with Quasar Distributors, LLC acting as the wholesale distributor and authorized participants handling creation/redemption in creation units. The investor base is a horizontal segment of retail and institutional investors seeking deep-value U.S. large-cap exposure, with no minimum investment beyond standard brokerage requirements. Marketing is limited to a website with fund documents (fact sheet, prospectus, SAI, schedules of investments), an email subscription form, and Carlisle's media appearances (e.g., Bloomberg) and book publication.

The product is a single, non-diversified strategy with no share class extensions, no parallel funds, and no disclosed geographic expansion beyond U.S. listings; reported holdings span disparate industries (tax preparation, fertilizers, eggs, footwear, energy, asset management, tobacco, beauty, online travel) with the top 10 positions aggregating approximately 35% of net assets. The firm employs 11-50 people per firmographics and operates from a single Rolling Hills office. As a registered investment company, it files standard SEC disclosures (Form N-PX referenced), pays annual year-end distributions (most recent $0.69314/share ex-date 12/30/2025), and reports performance against NAV and market price on its website.

Name

The Acquirers Fund

Legal name

Acquirers Funds, LLC

Website

https://acquirersfund.com

Company type

Public

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Acquirers Fund (ZIG:NYSE) is an actively managed U.S.-listed deep-value ETF that invests in approximately 30 large-cap U.S. equities screened using The Acquirer's Multiple® valuation metric, serving retail and institutional investors seeking concentrated value exposure.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Torrance

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. ETF Management Fees: The fund generates revenue through management fees embedded in the 0.75% gross expense ratio. The expense ratio covers fund operations and management. Additional revenue comes from portfolio distributions (dividends from holdings) passed through to shareholders.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

The Acquirers Fund is an actively managed exchange-traded fund (ticker ZIG:NYSE) that invests in equity securities of U.S.-listed companies believed to be undervalued but fundamentally strong. The adviser typically selects approximately 30 stocks from the largest 25% of all stocks (market capitalization greater than approximately $2 billion) using The Acquirer's Multiple® (Enterprise Value / Operating Earnings) valuation metric, statistical screens for fraud, earnings manipulation, and financial distress, and a forensic-accounting due diligence review.

Product overview

The Acquirers Fund operates as a single unified offering: an actively managed ETF (ticker ZIG:NYSE) that applies a deep-value investment strategy. The fund's core methodology centers on The Acquirer's Multiple®, a valuation metric (Enterprise Value / Operating Earnings) developed and published in 2014, which is used to identify deeply undervalued and out-of-favor stocks with asymmetric return potential. The product structure is singular—there are no modular add-ons, sub-brands, or separate product lines; the fund itself represents the complete product offering managed by Acquirers Funds, LLC.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• The Acquirers Fund (ZIG:NYSE) An actively managed exchange-traded fund that invests in equity securities of U.S.-listed companies believed to be undervalued but fundamentally strong, for individual and institutional investors seeking deep-value exposure. The adviser typically selects approximately 30 stocks from the largest 25% of all stocks (market capitalization greater than approximately $2 billion).

Named customers10 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Quasar Distributors, LLCcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorQuasar Distributors, LLC serves as the distributor for The Acquirers Fund, handling regulatory compliance and distribution of fund shares to broker-dealers and investment platforms.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves3 records

Broad incumbents

• SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 Value ETF: SPYV is State Street's low-cost S&P 500 Value ETF competing in the same broad value category. As an incumbent with deep distribution and brand, it offers similar large-cap value exposure at a fraction of the cost.
• iShares Russell 1000 Value ETF: IWD tracks the Russell 1000 Value Index, providing broad exposure to U.S. large- and mid-cap value stocks. It is a passive, low-cost incumbent that competes for value allocations at a fraction of ZIG's fee.
• Vanguard Value ETF: VTV is the largest passive U.S. large-cap value ETF, tracking the CRSP US Large Cap Value Index. As a broad incumbent in the same category, it competes for the same value-oriented investor dollars at a 0.04% expense ratio.
• Schwab U.S. Large-Cap Value ETF: SCHV is Schwab's passive large-cap value ETF tracking the Dow Jones U.S. Large-Cap Value Total Stock Market Index. It is a low-cost incumbent directly competing for the same large-cap value exposure as ZIG, often used on Schwab's own platform as a default.

Others

• Cambiar Funds: Cambiar is a mutual fund manager (e.g., Cambiar Aggressive Value, Cambiar Small Cap) that employs a deep-value, contrarian investment philosophy similar to The Acquirers Fund. Although structured as mutual funds rather than an ETF, it pursues a comparable philosophy of buying undervalued, out-of-favor companies.
• AKRE Capital Management: AKRE Focus Fund is a concentrated mutual fund applying a quality-compounder approach with value sensitivity, run by a single manager. While not strictly deep value, it is a comparable concentrated, manager-driven strategy marketed to investors seeking differentiated active management.

Direct peers

• Avantis U.S. Value ETF: AVUV is an actively managed, systematic value ETF from American Century's Avantis brand. Like ZIG, it targets U.S. large-cap stocks trading at attractive valuations and pursues a disciplined, factor-based approach to deep value, making it a direct competitor for value-tilted ETF allocations.
• iShares MSCI USA Value Factor ETF: VLUE provides exposure to U.S. large- and mid-cap stocks exhibiting value characteristics (low P/B, P/E). It is a direct competitor in the value-factor ETF category with vastly greater scale, brand recognition, and lower fees.
• Invesco S&P 500 Pure Value ETF: RPV tracks the S&P 500 Pure Value index, selecting the cheapest U.S. large-cap stocks by fundamental metrics - a closely overlapping universe to The Acquirers Fund's. It is a passive, low-cost alternative to the actively managed ZIG.
• WisdomTree U.S. LargeCap Value Fund: WisdomTree's large-cap value ETF (EPS) and related value ETFs employ a fundamentally weighted, value-tilted methodology targeting U.S. large caps. They are active competitors in the value-ETF category with deeper AUM and brand recognition, and a similar fundamentally driven approach.

Market position

Strengths3 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

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 The Acquirers Fund