Empowered Funds

What Empowered Funds does

Empowered Funds operates ETF Architect, a white-label ETF platform and registered investment adviser headquartered in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania. Founded in 2013 and led by Wes Gray (PhD, University of Chicago; former Marine Corps Captain), the firm provides end-to-end infrastructure for fund managers, RIAs, family offices, mutual funds, and hedge funds to launch, convert, and manage exchange-traded funds under the EA Series Trust vehicle. The platform supports new strategy launches, SMA-to-ETF conversions, mutual fund-to-ETF conversions, and hedge fund-to-ETF conversions, including the first-ever tax-free hedge fund-to-ETF conversion for Upholdings in 2020. Empowered Funds has scaled to manage 107 ETFs with $36.5B+ in AUM as of May 2026, with an average new ETF launch time of under four months and claimed cost savings of more than 50% versus alternative providers. The proprietary 351 Architect™ software manages legal, compliance, tax, and diversification requirements for tax-free exchanges.

The firm's revenue model is anchored in ETF management fees generated from sponsored products, including the Freedom 100 Emerging Markets ETF (FRDM, scaled from $5M to over $400M), the MarketDesk Focused U.S. Momentum ETF (FMTM, $242.86M AUM), three pending Bitcoin futures ETFs filed under the Ark Invest and 21Shares brands, and a broad portfolio of partner-branded ETFs distributed via major U.S. exchanges (NYSE, Nasdaq, CBOE) through PINE Distributors LLC. Empowered Funds is veteran-owned and operated, with a lean staff of 11-50 employees supporting vertical integration across product development, launch, and ongoing management.

Recent strategic activity includes the July 2026 filing of Bitcoin futures ETFs in partnership with Ark Invest/21Shares, the March 2025 launch of FMTM with MarketDesk Indices, and the March 2026 liquidation of Strive International Developed Markets ETF and Strive Mid-Cap ETF, reflecting both active product expansion and selective portfolio pruning.

Name

Empowered Funds

Legal name

EMPOWERED FUNDS

Website

https://etfarchitect.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Empowered Funds operates ETF Architect, a white-label ETF platform enabling RIAs, family offices, and asset managers to launch, convert, and manage exchange-traded funds, currently overseeing $36.5B+ in AUM across 107 ETFs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Newtown Square

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. ETF Management Fees: Empowered Funds generates revenue through management fees from ETF products it sponsors and manages, including Bitcoin futures ETFs and equity ETFs.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Empowered Funds, operating through its ETF Architect brand, is an SEC-registered investment adviser and white-label ETF platform that helps asset managers, RIAs, family offices, hedge funds, and mutual fund firms build, launch, and manage exchange-traded funds. The firm also directly sponsors and manages its own ETFs (including the Freedom 100 Emerging Markets ETF and MarketDesk Focused U.S. Momentum ETF) and uses its proprietary 351 Architect™ software to execute tax-free conversions of separately managed accounts, mutual funds, and hedge funds into the ETF wrapper.

Product overview

Empowered Funds LLC is an ETF sponsor managing a focused portfolio of exchange-traded funds. The company's flagship products include the Freedom 100 Emerging Markets ETF (FRDM), which uses a proprietary freedom-weighted indexing approach, and the MarketDesk Focused U.S. Momentum ETF (FMTM), a momentum-focused domestic equity product. Empowered Funds has also filed for Bitcoin futures ETFs in partnership with Ark and 21Shares. The firm previously managed Strive-branded ETFs including International Developed Markets and Mid-Cap products, which were liquidated in March 2026.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• ETF Architect White-Label ETF Platform End-to-end white-label ETF sponsorship, operations, compliance, and distribution platform for independent RIAs, family offices, hedge funds, mutual fund managers, banks, and brokers seeking to launch or convert investment strategies into ETFs.
• Freedom 100 Emerging Markets ETF (FRDM) Emerging markets ETF that tracks a freedom-weighted proprietary index, excluding autocracies and state-owned enterprises while emphasizing countries with high civil, political, and economic freedom scores; scaled from $5mm to over $400mm AUM.
• MarketDesk Focused U.S. Momentum ETF (FMTM) U.S. equity momentum ETF that invests in momentum stocks across diversified sectors of U.S. equity markets, managed by Empowered Funds LLC with MarketDesk Indices LLC as co-manager.
• Bitcoin Futures ETFs (Ark and 21Shares brands) SEC-filed Bitcoin futures ETFs sponsored by Empowered Funds under the Ark and 21Shares brands, providing regulated, futures-based institutional access to digital asset strategies.

Named customers2 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Ark Invest / 21SharescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 17 July 2026Empowered Funds recently filed for three Bitcoin futures ETFs under the Ark and 21Shares brands, expanding institutional access beyond spot products. This partnership brings together Ark Invest's crypto expertise with Empowered Funds' ETF sponsorship capabilities.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• WisdomTree: Established mid-to-large ETF sponsor with broad product coverage including equity, fixed income, and alternatives. Represents the broader incumbent set Empowered Funds competes with for asset raiser mandates and distribution.
• BlackRock iShares: Largest global ETF sponsor and dominant incumbent. Comparable industry segment but vastly larger scale; iShares represents the cost-competitive incumbent that compresses fees for the entire ETF industry.
• Vanguard: Major incumbent ETF sponsor with industry-leading low-cost products. Competes for the same end-investor dollars and shapes fee expectations across the asset management landscape.

Others

• Bridgeway Capital Management: Mutual fund firm that converted several funds (BBLU, BSVO, $1B+ in assets) into ETFs via Empowered Funds' platform. Comparable as a customer and as a peer in the actively-managed ETF space.
• PINE Distributors LLC: Distribution partner disclosed on ETF Architect's site for Empowered Funds' ETFs. An ecosystem enabler comparable as a third-party distributor serving the same ETF sponsor ecosystem.

Direct peers

• Tidal Investments: Tidal Financial Group operates a white-label ETF platform similar to ETF Architect, supporting fund launches, active ETFs, and crypto-related products. Competes directly for sponsor mandates and ETF conversions.
• Alpha Architect: Sister firm to Empowered Funds with shared leadership (Wes Gray); operates quantitative equity ETF products including factor and custom-strategy funds. Highly comparable business model and product overlap, including custom indexing and ETF sponsorship.
• Exchange Traded Concepts: One of the largest independent white-label ETF platforms, providing turnkey ETF launches, conversions, and management services. Closest direct competitor to Empowered Funds/ETF Architect in serving RIAs, hedge funds, and asset managers seeking ETF wrappers.
• InfraCap: Niche ETF sponsor leveraging white-label partners to launch specialized ETFs (REITs, preferreds, MLP, etc.). Comparable as a small sponsor relying on white-label platforms for product launches and operations.

Emerging players

• ARK Invest: Large thematic ETF issuer and one of Empowered Funds' named partners (with 21Shares). Comparable in the ETF space, though operating its own products; represents both a customer and a peer on the sponsor side.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks4 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/etfarchitect
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/etf-architect

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 Empowered Funds