Who We Are

Exponential ETFs

Our Philosophy

Simple effective solutions to modern portfolio problems

Exponential ETFs provides unique products that leverage transparent and systematic processes to provide differentiated results through a differentiated approach – to help investors build better portfolios. Exponential ETFs manages the American Customer Satisfaction ETF (ACSI) and the Reverse Cap Weighted U.S. Large Cap ETF (RVRS). Exponential ETFs also builds and manages ETFs on behalf of select asset managers through it’s “Powered by Exponential” operational and sub-advisory platform.

Our Funds

Exponential Principles

Customer satisfaction is not a fund thesis, it’s an ethos

Accept that failure is a cost of innovation

Be curious, adaptable and open to change

Earn trust: under promise and over deliver

Challenge, disagree, and then align as a team

Focus on the long term ahead of the short term

Take action and ownership regardless of role

Think big and plan to scale every product and service

Measure and quantify whenever possible

Integrity and compliance are long term investments

Customer satisfaction is not a fund thesis, it’s an ethos

Accept that failure is a cost of innovation

Be curious, adaptable and open to change

Earn trust: under promise and over deliver

Challenge, disagree, and then align as a team

Focus on the long term ahead of the short term

Take action and ownership regardless of role

Think big and plan to scale every product and service

Measure and quantify whenever possible

Integrity and compliance are long term investments

Sub-Advisory

Powered by Exponential ETFs

Our Powered by Exponential sub-advisory platform selectively offers services to partnered ETF Asset Managers. From product design and development, through product launch and administration – our experienced staff and tech-forward custom platform, allows managers to leverage Exponential’s cost efficiencies and best-in-class Capital Markets/Portfolio Management services. Trusting Exponential ETFs to focus on the fund operations allows managers to focus on servicing their investors.

Sub-Advisory Services

Detroit, Michigan

Our Detroit Roots

Exponential ETFs is proud to be a participant in the revitalization of Downtown Detroit. As a company we embody that Detroit Grit and Hustle and have been able to find strategic partners in the Downtown area who share our vision.

This commitment extends to our sister company Detroit Vineyards, the first winery to open its doors in downtown Detroit in over 60 years. Through its Vacant Lots Vineyards program, Detroit Vineyards gained the support of community leaders and guided local residents through the process of turning vacant lots into grape producing vineyards, which the company then purchases for wine production.

We encourage you to stop by the brand new tasting room which inhabits the former Stroh’s Ice Cream Factory.

Detroit Invests in You

Meet the team

Claes Fornell

Chairman

Phil Bak

CEO

Charles A. Ragauss (CFA)

COO

Joshua Blechman

Managing Director

Qiao Duan

Portfolio Manager

Eric Kelly

Portfolio Manager

John Cattier

CCO

Christina Stage

Project Manager

Tyrone V. Ross Jr.

Co-Founder of Detroit Invests in You

Subscribe to our podcast: the etf experience

Ready to Talk?

Get in touch

ETFs to build better portfolios

info@exponentialetfs.com

+1 (313) 281-8000

1001 Woodward Ave, Suite 500
Detroit, MI 48226

Claes Fornell

Chairman

Dr. Fornell is The Donald C. Cook Distinguished Emeritus Professor at the Stephen M. Ross School of Business, University of Michigan. Dr. Fornell founded the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI)—a monthly economic indicator of the quality of economic output. Dr. Fornell is the author of several books and hundreds of articles examining customer satisfaction and consumer behavior. According to the International Journal of Research in Marketing, Dr. Fornell is the author of 3 of the 20 most influential papers in marketing science published in leading academic marketing journals (and 5 of the top 50) over a 20-year period. Dr. Fornell’s seminal book, The Satisfied Customer, is a must-read blueprint for understanding the value of customer satisfaction in modern business practice. In addition to ACSI and Exponential ETFs, Dr. Fornell has founded several companies, including CFI Group, Detroit Vineyards, and ForeSee Results. He is the world’s leading authority on customer satisfaction, its measurement and analysis, and regularly appears in broadcast and print media.

Phil Bak

CEO

Phil Bak is the Chief Executive Officer of Exponential ETFs. He is widely regarded as an expert in the management, development and trading of Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs). Prior to joining Exponential ETFs, Mr. Bak was a Managing Director at the New York Stock Exchange where he initiated market structure enhancements and worked with asset managers, regulators and liquidity providers to ensure a fair and orderly secondary market for ETFs. Mr. Bak drove the growth of the NYSE ETF listing business to 90% market share by AUM and over $2 Trillion in total assets for NYSE listed ETFs. Previously, he was Senior Product Manager for Guggenheim Investments where he developed alternative mutual funds and ETFs and was the author of two patents on new and innovative ETF structures. Mr. Bak has a B.S. in Business Finance from Yeshiva University and is a Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA).

Charles A. Ragauss (CFA)

COO

Charles Ragauss currently serves as Managing Director at Exponential ETFs, having joined the firm in April 2016. Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Ragauss was Assistant Vice President at Huntington National Bank, where he was Product Manager for the Huntington Funds and Huntington Strategy Shares ETFs, a combined fund complex of almost $4 billion in assets under management. At Huntington, he led ETF development, bringing to market some of the first actively managed ETFs. Concurrent to his role at Huntington, Ragauss served as a member of the Investment Company Institute’s ETF Advisory Committee from 2013 to 2016. Mr. Ragauss attended Grand Valley State University where he received his Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance and International Business, as well as a minor in French.

Joshua Blechman

Managing Director

Joshua Blechman is the Director of Capital Markets at Exponential ETFs. Mr. Blechman oversees Index Management for all Exponential ETF strategies. Mr. Blechman works with market makers, exchanges and institutional clients to ensure fair and orderly price execution. Mr.Blechman also performs trading and portfolio analysis, and produces research for Exponential ETFs. Mr. Blechman graduated with a B.A. in Economics and a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Michigan and received an MBA with specializations in Finance and Real Estate from the NYU Stern School of Business.

Qiao Duan

Portfolio Manager

Qiao Duan is a Portfolio Manager at Exponential ETFs, where she manages research and analysis relating to all Exponential ETF strategies. Ms. Duan graduated with a B.S. in Applied Mathematics from Xiamen University in China’s Fujian province, where she attended through the prestigious National Scholarship, placing her in the top 0.2% of students in China for eligibility. In 2012, she achieved second place in the world famous National Chinese Mathematical Modeling Competition (CUMCM), out of 30,000 qualified entrants. Ms. Duan graduated in 2016 from the Quantitative Finance and Risk Management Program at the University of Michigan, where she won the Quantitative Program Merit Scholarship, and maintained a 4.0 GPA. Ms. Duan was featured in the October 2017 University of Michigan Alumni Magazine where she was dubbed “The Queen of Quant”

Eric Kelly

Portfolio Manager

Eric Kelly is a Portfolio Manager at Exponential ETFs, where he manages trading and reporting responsibilities relating to all Exponential ETF strategies. Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Kelly was an Associate Director with Institutional Investment Consulting (IIC) serving as the lead investment analyst on over $10 billion worth of Treasury and Retirement assets. Prior to IIC, Eric served as an analyst and trader at Merrill Lynch and in the hedge fund industry, operating within the equities, options, futures, and bond markets. Mr. Kelly attended the University of Michigan Dearborn where he received degrees in Finance and Accounting, with a minor in International Economics. He is a candidate in the Chartered Financial Analyst Program.

John Cattier

CCO

John Cattier is the Chief Financial Officer and Chief Compliance Officer of Exponential ETFs. He has 30 years of experience as a financial and operating executive in public, private and non-profit enterprises. Previously, he was the Chief Financial Officer of the Industrial Technology Institute, Chief Financial Officer of Medasys, Inc and the Directeur Financier et Adminstratif at Chamebel Afrique et Socoma Industries in Abidjan (1980-1983).

Christina Stage

Project Manager

Christina Stage is the Project Manager for Exponential ETFs. In this role she works closely with the distribution team to develop and execute strategic marketing projects for Exponential ETFs. Mrs. Stage is also responsible for maintaining and managing the personnel and operational infrastructure for The American Customer Satisfaction Index and Exponential ETFs. Prior to coming to Exponential ETFs in 2015 Mrs. Stage worked in Market Research at ForeSee Results. Mrs. Stage earned her degree Michigan State University and holds a professional certificate in Human Resources Management through MSU.

Tyrone V. Ross Jr.

Co-Founder of Detroit Invests in You

Tyrone Ross is the Director of Financial Education at Exponential ETFs. Mr. Ross is a financial consultant, early-stage start-up advisor, entrepreneur, and athlete. He graduated from Seton Hall University, and was also a 2004 Olympic Trials qualifier in track and field in the 400 meters. He was recently recognized by Investment News 40 under 40 (2019), and WealthManagement.com as a top ten advisor set to change the industry in 2019.

Who We Are

Exponential ETFs

Our Philosophy

Exponential Principles

Sub-Advisory

Powered by Exponential ETFs

Detroit, Michigan

Our Detroit Roots

Meet the team

Ready to Talk?

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