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8 July 2025
A specialist ETF provider is seeking to become “the new Betashares” with its active ETFs, thanks to its use of algorithms to achieve outperformance. Savana Asset Management uses an algorithmic platform which analyses over 60,000 global equities to identify undervalued and overlooked companies and mispriced opportunities, removing the human behavioural bias.
The firm’s investment philosophy is threefold, capturing skill via collective intelligence, breadth and efficiency. Its first active ETF is the US Small Caps Active ETF, which was launched in November 2024 as the firm felt it was a differentiator for them to be in the US rather than Australian equities as well as the larger stock universe in the US. Prior to launch, it had been run as a paper trade since July 2022. Samuel Atkinson, associate director at Savana, said: “We see a big opportunity in the active space. They have struggled to get off the ground because they struggle to outperform and are expensive compared to passive peers. Our testing has found we are a high-performing product which can beat the benchmark. “What we’re seeing in live trading is exactly what we observed in testing – strong downside protection when markets fall, and aggressive upside capture during rallies. In a volatile environment, our automated strategy stays disciplined, fully invested, and focused in exploiting fear-driven mispricing. “There’s countless examples in our portfolio of the algorithm making bold, fearless decisions about when to buy and sell stocks and, as much as we can, we try not to intervene with that unless there’s fraud or an error in the data.”
The management fee on the ETF is 1 per cent and the performance fee is 15 per cent per annum of the outperformance relative to the benchmark, but Atkinson said he expects these will come down in due course as the company scales up. Over the next few years, the firm has ambitions to launch as many as 20 ETFs, including an Australian small-cap and a global small-cap one, and looks to Australian ETF giant Betashares as a model to follow. It also plans to team up with a distribution partner that will be able to help the firm to achieve scale. “We would like to be the next Betashares, but for active ETFs, they have a fantastic brand and have grown their FUM to $50 billion in 15 years. We have the opportunity to replicate that as an active manager,” Atkinson said. “We’ve watched our passive competitors climb to record FUM levels simply by replicating market indices. We believe that our digital-first active model has the potential to surpass their success by delivering superior performance at scale.”
By Laura Dew
A specialist ETF provider is seeking to become “the new Betashares” with its active ETFs, thanks to its use of algorithms to achieve outperformance. Savana Asset Management uses an algorithmic platform which analyses over 60,000 global equities to identify undervalued and overlooked companies and mispriced opportunities, removing the human behavioural bias.
The firm’s investment philosophy is threefold, capturing skill via collective intelligence, breadth and efficiency. Its first active ETF is the US Small Caps Active ETF, which was launched in November 2024 as the firm felt it was a differentiator for them to be in the US rather than Australian equities as well as the larger stock universe in the US. Prior to launch, it had been run as a paper trade since July 2022. Samuel Atkinson, associate director at Savana, said: “We see a big opportunity in the active space. They have struggled to get off the ground because they struggle to outperform and are expensive compared to passive peers. Our testing has found we are a high-performing product which can beat the benchmark. “What we’re seeing in live trading is exactly what we observed in testing – strong downside protection when markets fall, and aggressive upside capture during rallies. In a volatile environment, our automated strategy stays disciplined, fully invested, and focused in exploiting fear-driven mispricing. “There’s countless examples in our portfolio of the algorithm making bold, fearless decisions about when to buy and sell stocks and, as much as we can, we try not to intervene with that unless there’s fraud or an error in the data.”
The management fee on the ETF is 1 per cent and the performance fee is 15 per cent per annum of the outperformance relative to the benchmark, but Atkinson said he expects these will come down in due course as the company scales up. Over the next few years, the firm has ambitions to launch as many as 20 ETFs, including an Australian small-cap and a global small-cap one, and looks to Australian ETF giant Betashares as a model to follow. It also plans to team up with a distribution partner that will be able to help the firm to achieve scale. “We would like to be the next Betashares, but for active ETFs, they have a fantastic brand and have grown their FUM to $50 billion in 15 years. We have the opportunity to replicate that as an active manager,” Atkinson said. “We’ve watched our passive competitors climb to record FUM levels simply by replicating market indices. We believe that our digital-first active model has the potential to surpass their success by delivering superior performance at scale.”
By Laura Dew
A specialist ETF provider is seeking to become “the new Betashares” with its active ETFs, thanks to its use of algorithms to achieve outperformance. Savana Asset Management uses an algorithmic platform which analyses over 60,000 global equities to identify undervalued and overlooked companies and mispriced opportunities, removing the human behavioural bias.
The firm’s investment philosophy is threefold, capturing skill via collective intelligence, breadth and efficiency. Its first active ETF is the US Small Caps Active ETF, which was launched in November 2024 as the firm felt it was a differentiator for them to be in the US rather than Australian equities as well as the larger stock universe in the US. Prior to launch, it had been run as a paper trade since July 2022. Samuel Atkinson, associate director at Savana, said: “We see a big opportunity in the active space. They have struggled to get off the ground because they struggle to outperform and are expensive compared to passive peers. Our testing has found we are a high-performing product which can beat the benchmark. “What we’re seeing in live trading is exactly what we observed in testing – strong downside protection when markets fall, and aggressive upside capture during rallies. In a volatile environment, our automated strategy stays disciplined, fully invested, and focused in exploiting fear-driven mispricing. “There’s countless examples in our portfolio of the algorithm making bold, fearless decisions about when to buy and sell stocks and, as much as we can, we try not to intervene with that unless there’s fraud or an error in the data.”
The management fee on the ETF is 1 per cent and the performance fee is 15 per cent per annum of the outperformance relative to the benchmark, but Atkinson said he expects these will come down in due course as the company scales up. Over the next few years, the firm has ambitions to launch as many as 20 ETFs, including an Australian small-cap and a global small-cap one, and looks to Australian ETF giant Betashares as a model to follow. It also plans to team up with a distribution partner that will be able to help the firm to achieve scale. “We would like to be the next Betashares, but for active ETFs, they have a fantastic brand and have grown their FUM to $50 billion in 15 years. We have the opportunity to replicate that as an active manager,” Atkinson said. “We’ve watched our passive competitors climb to record FUM levels simply by replicating market indices. We believe that our digital-first active model has the potential to surpass their success by delivering superior performance at scale.”
By Laura Dew
IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER:
This material has been prepared by Savana Asset Management Pty Ltd (ABN 79 662 088 904) (Savana). Savana is a corporate authorised representative of Fat Prophets Pty Ltd (ABN 62 094 448 549 AFS Licence No. 229183) (Fat Prophets), CAR Auth No. 1308949. The Savana US Small Caps Active ETF (ASX: SVNP) (ARSN 649 028 722) is issued by K2 Asset Management Limited (K2) ABN 95 085 445 094, AFS Licence No 244393, a wholly owned subsidiary of K2 Asset Management Holdings Limited (ABN 59 124 636 782). The information contained in this document is produced in good faith and does not constitute any representation or offer by K2, Savana or Fat Prophets.
This material is for information purposes only and has been prepared for both retail and wholesale investors. It is not an offer or a recommendation to invest. No representation is made as to future performance or volatility of the investment, and there is no guarantee that the investment objectives or strategy will be successful. Any forward-looking statements, opinions and estimates are based on assumptions and contingencies which are subject to change without notice. No representations or warranties, expressed or implied, are made as to the accuracy or completeness of the information contained in this document. In preparing this document, we have relied upon and assumed, without independent verification, the accuracy and completeness of all information available to Savana. Persons should rely solely upon their own investigations in respect of the subject matter discussed. To the maximum extent permitted by law, all liability in reliance on this document is expressly disclaimed.
This material may not be reproduced, distributed or published, in whole or in part, without the prior approval of Savana. There are risks associated with an investment in the Savana US Small Caps Active ETF (SVNP), including active management risk, market risk, currency risk, concentration risk, liquidity risk and model risk. Investment values may rise and fall, and past performance is not indicative of future performance.This document has not been prepared taking into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. An investment in SVNP should be considered as part of a broader portfolio, having regard to your individual objectives, financial situation and needs, including your tolerance for risk.
Before making an investment decision, you should consider the Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) and Target Market Determination (TMD), available at www.savana.ai.
