‘Dr. Doom’ Nouriel Roubini set to launch his first ETF

Economist Nouriel Roubini, known for his prescient warnings ahead of the 2008 financial crisis, is set to enter the $9.4 trillion ETF market with the launch of Atlas America Fund, in which Roubini, often referred to as “Dr. Doom”, will be one of three portfolio managers, Bloomberg reported.

The fund will be actively managed and invest in a diversified range of assets. These assets may include US government, corporate, and municipal bonds, real estate, equities, and gold, according to a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

It aims to generate stable returns with low volatility and limited correlation with broader equity markets, protecting against downside risks during periods of financial market stress, the report added.

Roubini gained prominence for accurately predicting the housing bubble that led to the 2008 financial crisis, and has remained a vocal skeptic of the prolonged rise in US stocks, frequently questioning the health of the US economy.

Recently, Roubini co-authored a paper accusing the US Treasury of manipulating debt issuance in a way that lowers real borrowing costs across the economy, a charge US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen firmly rejected, Bloomberg reported.

Roubini, head of Roubini Macro Associates, joins a growing list of prominent economists and investors entering the ETF market. Recently, Tom Lee of Fundstrat was named in a filing for the Fundstrat Granny Shots US Large Cap ETF.

In 2022, Katie Stockton of Fairlead Strategies launched her ETF under the ticker TACK, and Jim Bianco of Bianco Research lent his name to the WisdomTree Bianco Total Return Fund.

(With inputs from Bloomberg)