TrimTabs Investment Research
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Financial services |
| Founded | 1990 |
| Founder | Charles Biderman |
| Headquarters | Sausalito, California , United States |
| Products | Institutional research on equity market liquidity, weekly and daily market reports, model trading portfolios |
| Website | www |
TrimTabs Investment Research, Inc. operates as an autonomous institutional research company with a focus on equity market liquidity, based in Sausalito, California.
Reports
TrimTabs issues four weekly publications: The Weekly Liquidity Review, The Weekly Flow Report, The Weekly International Liquidity Review, and the Weekly Asset Allocation Report. Additionally, it produces two daily updates: the Overnight Liquidity Update and the Daily Liquidity Report.
The Weekly Liquidity Review offers an in-depth analysis of supply and demand forces within the U.S. stock market, emphasizing investment inflows (demand), corporate liquidity outflows (supply), and broader macroeconomic factors. This report provides weekly insights featuring both short-term and long-term trading signals derived from domestic and international market trends, alongside financial model portfolios with corresponding recommendations.
The Weekly Flow Report focuses on quantitative fund flow data, sentiment metrics, short interest evaluations, trader commitment statistics, and sentiment among hedge fund managers.
The Weekly International Liquidity Review monitors fund flows and investor sentiment across regions such as China, Developed Emerging Markets, Europe, Japan, Latin America, and Pacific Asia excluding Japan. It also delivers updates on China’s margin debt levels, new brokerage account openings, and performance data for international mutual funds and ETFs.
The Weekly Asset Allocation Report outlines five tactical asset allocation strategies ranging from conservative to aggressive profiles. These portfolios utilize TrimTabs’ proprietary research concerning mutual funds and ETFs and are designed for financial advisors, retail brokers, and individual investors.
The Daily Liquidity Report condenses TrimTabs’ liquidity metrics into daily, monthly, and annual data regarding corporate activities like insider transactions; fund flows broken down by asset class, investment style, industry sector, and Morningstar categories; as well as the TrimTabs Demand Index—a unique market timing tool based on fund flow trends and sentiment indicators.
TrimTabs also manages eight model trading portfolios: the TrimTabs Demand Index Model Portfolio, U.S. Equity ETF Model Portfolio, U.S. Sector Model Portfolio, Nasdaq Model Portfolio, Country Model Portfolio, Bond Model Portfolio, High Yield Bond Model Portfolio, and Precious Metals Model Portfolio.
Real-Time Macroeconomics
TrimTabs evaluates the condition of the U.S. economy by analyzing wage and salary trends alongside employment figures using real-time income tax withholding data sourced from the U.S. Treasury. This analysis is complemented by credit market data, unemployment claims statistics, manufacturing sector surveys, and housing market indicators.
Their TrimTabs Macroeconomic Index (TTMI) is updated weekly by integrating sixteen leading economic indicators weighted according to their correlations.
By examining year-over-year tax withholding data without applying seasonal adjustments or statistical alterations, TrimTabs produces real-time estimates of wage growth and payroll employment changes.
Corporate history
Chairman Charles Biderman established TrimTabs in Santa Rosa, California in 1990 after completing his MBA at Harvard Business School and serving as assistant to Alan Abelson at Barron's. Originally concentrating on providing stock trading ideas for hedge funds, the company’s inaugural recommendation was a short position on Midlantic National Bank, which was subsequently acquired for under $10 to avoid bankruptcy.
Under Biderman’s leadership, TrimTabs evolved into the only independent firm delivering comprehensive daily insights into U.S. stock market liquidity. The firm launched its TrimTabs Weekly Liquidity Review in August 1995.
The TrimTabs Float Shrink ETF (NYSE ticker: TTFS)
On October 4, 2011, TrimTabs Asset Management collaborated with AdvisorShares to introduce the AdvisorShares TrimTabs Float Shrink ETF (TTFS). This fund, managed as a sub-advisor by TrimTabs Asset Management, focuses on equities exhibiting liquidity and fundamental characteristics associated with strong long-term returns. Charles Biderman held the roles of CEO of TrimTabs and Portfolio Manager alongside Minyi Chen. Subsequently, TrimTabs submitted filings with the SEC to independently launch ETFs based on their own indices.
On May 26, 2016, AdvisorShares terminated TrimTabs as the manager of TTFS, which had approximately $178 million in assets under management, appointing Wilshire Associates as the new manager. The ETF was rebranded as the Wilshire Buyback ETF but continued to trade under the TTFS ticker. Before this transition, TTFS had achieved a five-star rating from Morningstar and delivered annualized returns of 19.22% as of March 31, 2016, surpassing the NASDAQ Buyback Achievers Index by 2.2% and the Russell 3000 Index by 2.49% on an annual basis.
Charles Biderman publicly condemned his removal as "insane," highlighting that AdvisorShares provided no rationale and expressing doubt that Wilshire could duplicate TrimTabs' stock selection process. In response to his dismissal, Biderman introduced a separately managed account featuring lower minimum investment requirements and reduced fees compared to TTFS.
