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WEBS Investments
Founded in 2023 by ETF industry veterans Ben Fulton, Keith Cunningham, Kevin Rich and Tony Trevisan, WEBs Investments Inc. (WEBs) specializes in using...
WEBS Investments
Founded in 2023 by ETF industry veterans Ben Fulton, Keith Cunningham, Kevin Rich and Tony Trevisan, WEBs Investments Inc. (WEBs) specializes in using volatility metrics to create investment strategies tailored for financial advisors and retail investors. With over a century of combined Wall Street experience in ETF innovation, financial analytics, and product structuring, the team partnered with Westwood Holdings Group, Inc. to bring these products to market. This joint venture leverages Westwood’s 40 years of investment management expertise to offer a unique, volatility-managed investment solution for today’s market environment. Investing in the Funds involves a high degree of risk. Principal loss is possible. Investors should consider the investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses carefully before investing. For a prospectus or summary prospectus with this and other information about the Fund, please call 844-455-9327 or visit websinv.com. Read the prospectus or summary prospectus carefully before investing. The Funds are distributed by Foreside Fund Services, LLC.
General information
Firm type
Asset Manager
Year founded
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AUM
Undisclosed
Location
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City
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Corporate office
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Frequently asked questions
Does WEBS Investments still operate as an active firm?
No. WEBS Investments Inc. was the original sponsor of the World Equity Benchmark Shares. Its product line was acquired by Barclays Global Investors in 2000 and integrated into the iShares brand. The corporate entity has no known ongoing investment activity, management team, or assets under management.
What happened to the original WEBS funds?
The 17 single-country WEBS funds were acquired by Barclays Global Investors in 2000, rebranded as iShares, and later became part of BlackRock following its 2009 acquisition of BGI. They survive today as the iShares MSCI country ETF suite, tracking individual markets from Australia to Singapore under the same underlying MSCI benchmarks.
What was the structural innovation behind WEBS?
WEBS introduced in-kind share creation and redemption for single-country international portfolios, a mechanism that kept fund prices tightly aligned with net asset value. This structure became standard architecture for the modern ETF industry and was later scaled by iShares and other issuers.
Who originally created and managed the WEBS product?
WEBS Investments Inc. sponsored the product in partnership with Morgan Stanley, which served as the initial distributor and provided seed capital. The funds tracked MSCI country indices under license, making MSCI the benchmark provider for the entire series.
Why do certain legacy trading systems still reference the WEBS tickers?
Some market-data platforms and back-office systems retain WEBS-era identifiers because the underlying fund CUSIPs and legal structures were carried forward through the Barclays and BlackRock acquisitions. The tickers switched to iShares branding, but the securities themselves represent an unbroken chain from the original 1996 listings (per public record).
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