BOSTON, Jan. 10, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- O'Shares ETF Investments expanded its suite of quality ETFs on December 30th, 2016 with the launch of the O'Shares FTSE US Small Cap Quality Dividend ETF (Ticker OUSM), a U.S. Small Cap ETF focused on higher quality dividend-paying companies with less volatility. The portfolio of OUSM owns 339 U.S. small cap dividend stocks, with an average market cap of $4.0 billion. Stocks in the portfolio were selected for Quality, Low Volatility, Yield and Diversification, based on an index developed for O'Shares ETF Investments by FTSE Russell, a global leader in index strategies.

Kevin O'Leary, Chairman of O'Shares ETF Investments believes the U.S. small cap space presents a tremendous opportunity, and that using conservative investment rules makes the risk level more attractive for conservative long-term investors. "Small caps are actually significant companies, most with over $1 billion in market value and as a group have provided attractive performance, although we prefer lower risk levels. Most people don't realize that $1,000 invested in U.S small caps 15 years ago would potentially been worth $3,385 today, compared to only $2,642 for U.S. large caps and now, with a strong U.S. dollar and the potential for reduced regulation to boost the U.S. economy, I have more reasons to own small caps. The thing is, because I am a conservative long-term investor I want less risk and want to own U.S. small caps that have been carefully selected to avoid the risky stocks and only select stocks that meet our metrics for quality, including less leverage and strong return on assets.  That's exactly how the O'Shares ETF OUSM was built, for conservative long-term investors like me," commented Mr. O'Leary, who is well-known as an investor on ABC's Shark Tank and contributor on CNBC.

Connor O'Brien, CEO of O'Shares ETF Investments, added, "Conservative investors will appreciate this ETF (Ticker OUSM) because it solves a problem. Although many investors want the performance benefits of small caps, they find that the generic market-cap weighted index funds are too risky, and take up too much of their equity risk budget; they find stock picking takes too much research time, and they find active funds are typically too expensive, not transparent and not tax effective. In OUSM, investors get a cost-effective and transparent ETF combined with the investment rules that reflect a disciplined active management process.  Some people call this 'the best of both worlds,' blending the key benefits of 'passive,' referring to the ETF structure, with 'active' management, referring to a disciplined stock selection process. In our view, OUSM will make long-term investing in the small cap asset class much more interesting for conservative advisors and investors."

For additional information on O'Shares ETF Investments and the O'Shares FTSE US Small Cap Quality Dividend ETF (Ticker OUSM) please visit www.oshares.com

O'Shares ETF Investments
O'Shares is focused on providing quality ETFs for long-term wealth management. O'Shares ETFs use the FTSE Russell Quality/Volatility/Yield rules-based indexes for investing in large cap dividend paying equities. These indexes provide a rules-based approach for investing in the U.S., Europe and Asia-Pacific regions, and seek more yield, less risk and strong long-term investment performance. O'Shares ETFs are designed to be core investment holdings, providing cost efficient access to portfolios of large-cap and mid-cap high quality, low volatility, dividend paying companies.

FTSE USA Small Cap Qual/Vol/Yield Factor 3% Capped Index
The FTSE USA Small Cap Qual/Vol/Yield Factor 3% Capped Index is designed to reflect the performance of publicly-listed small capitalization dividend-paying issuers in the United States exhibiting high quality, low volatility and high dividend yields, as determined by FTSE-Russell. The quality and low volatility factors are designed to reduce exposure to high dividend equities that have experienced large price declines, as may occur with some dividend investing strategies.

FTSE Russell
FTSE Russell is a global leader in index benchmarking and analytics, positioned to develop and offer indexing solutions for investors worldwide. Leading asset owners, asset managers, ETF providers and investment banks use FTSE Russell indexes to benchmark their investment performance and create ETFs, institutional separate accounts and index-based derivatives. FTSE Russell is wholly owned by London Stock Exchange Group. ftserussell.com.

For Further Information:
Kevin Beadles
[email protected]

Source: Bloomberg. Data as of 12/31/2016. Past performance does not guarantee future results. One cannot invest directly in an index

Before you invest in O'Shares Investments Funds, please refer to the prospectus for important information about the investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses. To obtain a prospectus containing this and other important information, please visit www.oshares.com to view or download a prospectus online. Read the prospectus carefully before you invest. There are risks involved with investing including the possible loss of principal.

Concentration in a particular industry or sector will subject the Fund to loss due to adverse occurrences that may affect that industry or sector. The Fund may use derivatives which may involve risks different from, or greater than, those associated with more traditional investments. The Fund's emphasis on dividend-paying stocks involves the risk that such stocks may fall out of favor with investors and underperform the market. Also, a company may reduce or eliminate its dividend after a Fund's purchase of such a company's securities. Returns on investments in foreign securities could be more volatile than, or trail the returns on, investments in U.S. securities. Exposures to foreign securities entail special risks, including political, diplomatic, economic, foreign market and trading risks. In addition, unless perfectly hedged, the Fund's investments in securities denominated in other currencies could decline due to changes in local currency relative to the value of the U.S. dollar, which may affect the Fund's returns. The Fund's hedging strategies may not be successful, and even if they are successful, the Fund's exposure to foreign currency fluctuations is not expected to be fully hedged at all times. See the prospectus for specific risks regarding the Fund.

The securities of small capitalization companies are often more volatile and less liquid than the stocks of larger companies and may be more affected than other types of securities during market downturns. Compared to larger companies, small capitalization companies may have a shorter history of operations, and may have limited product lines, markets or financial resources.

Past performance does not guarantee future results. Shares are bought and sold at market price (not NAV), are not individually redeemable, and owners of the Shares may acquire those Shares from the Funds and tender those Shares for redemption to the Funds in Creation Unit aggregations only, consisting of 50,000 Shares. Brokerage commissions will reduce returns.

O'Shares Investments Funds are distributed by Foreside Fund Services, LLC. Foreside Fund Services, LLC is not affiliated with O'Shares Investments or any of its affiliates.

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SOURCE O'Shares Investments