Andrew Chanin

Andrew Chanin is the founder of Procure Asset Management, and he's been in ETFs since the very beginning of his career. His first job out of Tulane University was as a clerk on the floor of the American Stock Exchange, working for Kellogg, which at the time operated the largest ETF specialist trading unit on the floor. He worked his way up to lead market maker for international and global equity ETFs on NYSE Arca, later helped build out an ETF prop trading desk at another firm, co-created SureShares (which sponsored 10 first-to-market ETFs including the world's first cybersecurity ETF), and eventually partnered with industry veteran Robert Tull to launch Procure AM.

On this episode, Andrew talks with Brad about building your own ETF infrastructure from scratch, the economics and geopolitics driving the space industry, and disaster recovery as an investable theme.

Why He Built His Own Infrastructure

Andrew's decision to build proprietary ETF infrastructure came from painful experience. There's a federal ruling in the Southern District of New York related to his time as a white-label client where, as he puts it, "the judge ruled that essentially our products were stolen from us." That experience made it impossible for him to put himself in the same position again. He partnered with Robert Tull, who helped build what was essentially the predecessor to iShares and launched ETFs in numerous countries around the world. Together, they had the knowledge and conviction to do it independently.

Procure now maintains separate trusts for proprietary and partner products. Andrew explains this distinction matters to potential partners because it demonstrates that Procure treats partner products with the same care and governance structure as their own, while keeping the legal entities separate for protection. They've built out the full stack: compliance, operations, distribution, and index development, all under one roof.

UFO: The Space Economy ETF

UFO, the Procure Space ETF, was built on the thesis that the space industry had finally matured enough for diversified public market exposure. The index was co-created with Michael Walter Range, a former director at the Space Foundation who helped develop the model most widely used globally for determining the size and growth of the space industry.

The fund requires that at least 80% of portfolio weight is in companies deriving a majority of their revenues from space. It typically holds somewhere between the low 30s and high 40s names on a modified market cap weighting basis, with quarterly rebalances and semi-annual reconstitutions. It includes two categories: pure-play space firms and diversified aerospace/defense names that generate significant but not majority revenues from space, with the latter capped at 20% of the index weight at rebalance.

Andrew makes a compelling case that space is the connective tissue of the modern digital economy. "Anyone walking around with a smartphone is relying on space technologies. This interview we're doing right now wouldn't be happening without space capabilities." He points to the geopolitical angle: China and Russia have leapfrogged US hypersonic capabilities, driving bipartisan increases in government space spending. The race for the "cislunar economy" (the area between Earth and the Moon) represents what he sees as a multi-trillion dollar opportunity over the next couple of decades. The historical 80/20 split between commercial and government space spending may be shifting as governments realize they need to invest heavily to maintain strategic advantage.

FIXT: Disaster Recovery as an Investment Theme

FIXT is Procure's disaster restoration ETF, which Andrew believes is the first fund to specifically target the economic impact of natural disasters. While most climate-related ETFs focus on renewable energy or carbon credits, FIXT invests in companies that operate before, during, and after disasters. That includes construction and engineering firms building hardened infrastructure, companies providing early warning systems, helicopter operators fighting wildfires, data recovery firms, and retail names like Home Depot and Lowe's that supply boarding-up and rebuilding materials.

Andrew points to the East Palestine, Ohio train derailment as an example of the fund's thesis in action: hazardous waste removal companies in the fund's universe were called into immediate service. The investment case isn't about betting on disasters happening but recognizing that they're increasing in frequency and severity, and the companies that respond to them have growing revenue streams with relatively predictable demand patterns.

Key Takeaways

• Andrew built his own ETF infrastructure after a federal court ruled that products were stolen from him as a white-label client, now maintaining separate trusts for proprietary and partner products.
• UFO requires 80% of portfolio weight in companies with majority revenues from space, holding 30-48 names with quarterly rebalances on modified market cap weighting.
• The space industry is shifting from roughly 80/20 commercial-to-government spending as nations ramp up investment, driven by adversaries' advances in hypersonics and the emerging cislunar economy.
• FIXT targets companies across the full disaster lifecycle: prevention, response, and recovery, covering construction, early warning, hazmat removal, and building supply retailers.
• Andrew previously helped launch the world's first cybersecurity ETF through SureShares and has been on the ETF trading floor since his first job out of college at the AMEX.

Listen to the full conversation on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or YouTube.