‘Dr. Doom’ Roubini Enters the ETF Business
Nouriel Roubini, the economist nicknamed “Dr. Doom” for his often-negative market outlooks, is launching his first ETF, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The filing lists Roubini, the chairman and chief executive of Roubini Macro Associates, among three portfolio managers for the Atlas America Fund, an actively managed exchange-traded fund. The filing says the fund has flexibility to invest across multiple asset classes to provide limited correlation to the broad equity markets.
According to the filing, Roubini is chief economist of Atlas Capital Team Inc. The other portfolio managers are Puneet Agarwal, chief investment strategy officer, and Carlo Zola, chief operating officer.
Roubini is the latest celebrity investor to attach his or her name to ETFs. Others include Kevin Paffrath, an investor and real estate agent doling out financial advice on YouTube videos, who in 2022 launched the Meet Kevin Pricing Power ETF (PP) and "Greek Freak" Giannis Antetokounmpo, an NBA power forward who in 2022 joined with Calamos Investments to launch the Calamos Antetokounmpo Global Sustainable Equities ETF (SROI).
Roubini is “simply the latest in a long line of prominent names getting involved in ETFs,” said Nate Geraci, president of The ETF Store in Overland Park, Kans. “At this point, it’s much more surprising when someone with any investment stature or notoriety isn’t involved in ETFs."
Geraci agreed that the initial splash by a big name will get attention, but he questions whether that can translate into a business success.
“The challenge in the ETF space is that name alone won’t necessarily move the needle in terms of investor interest,” he said. “ETFs are a meritocracy, and, at the end of the day, this investment strategy will need to perform.”
Roubini and 2008 Crisis
Roubini was a senior economist in the Council of Economic Advisors in the 1990s during the Clinton Administration and bolstered his reputation as an economist for correctly forecasting the 2008 financial crisis. He did not immediately respond to a request for comment for this story.
Eric Balchunas, senior ETF analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, gives Roubini credit for being willing to put his market calls on the line for everyone to see.
“This is a little bit like putting your money where your mouth is, because this is a guy with opinions and people listen to his opinions,” he said. “With an ETF, people can see what you hold every day; that’s one of the reasons people like Jim Cramer will never launch an ETF because he can be exposed.”
While Balchunas gives Roubini credit for seeing the potential of the ETF industry, he questions the ability to compete against the market.
“It’s a good sign for the ETF industry, which is now the main place for the smartest people to try their strategies,” he said. “I give him credit because the odds are against him and his fund. This would have been a hedge fund 20 years ago.”