Dave Portnoy helps launch new BUZZ ETF that tracks advanced stocks

Dave Portnoy promotes a new exchange-traded fund (ETF) focused on equities with positive shareholder sentiment starting on the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday.

Portnoy, the founder of the popular sports and pop culture website Barstool Sports, has partnered with the makers of the VanEck Social Sentiment ETF (BUZZ) to launch the new investment vehicle. Portnoy has become a day-trading phenomenon in recent years as the COVID-19 pandemic had to halt sports betting. He translated his fame with sports betting to day traders and shared his gains and losses on social media and YouTube every day.

BUZZ will invest in the 75 shares worth at least $ 5 billion and receive the most positive sentiment on the internet and social media by using artificial intelligence to search the web for listings. Specifically, the ETF’s algorithm monitors 15 million positions per month to measure which stocks have the most positive investor sentiment based on online chatter. Then it’s the 75 best stocks in the BUZZ NextGen AI US Sentiment Leaders Index.

Online sentiment has traded unprecedented volumes so far this year. The chat, led by retail investors and day traders, took so-called meme stocks like GameStop (GME) and AMC Entertainment (AMC) to new heights. The latest target of online forums like RedStit’s WallStreetBets was Rocket Companies (RKT), which gained 71% on Tuesday.

Portnoy, which acquired ownership in BUZZ, said the algorithm was built five years ago. In 2020, the Buzz index outperformed the S&P 500 by 40%, he said.

Some of the top interests in BUZZ include Twitter, Tesla, Draft Kings, Virgin Galactic, Advanced Micro Devices, Plug Power, Ford, Novavax, Facebook, Amazon and Apple. Ninety percent of the businesses in BUZZ are in the following five sectors: technology, consumer discretionary, communications services, healthcare, and industry.