Azoria's Fishback to Ride Tidal Shifts

Semafor reported:

True believers will soon have a new way to ride the stock back up: MAGA investment firm Azoria yesterday announced a turbo-charged Tesla ETF that uses derivatives to amplify gains (and losses). 

The three Azoria ETFs are under a Tidal III SEC filing dated 3-19-25.  All three have a goal of long term capital appreciation.

I first reported on James Fishback after his bizarre interview with CNN's Michael Smerconish regarding his "DOGE Dividend."  It felt fishy during the interview and got fishier after looking into his background.

The Tidal III ETF prospectus stated regarding James Fishback:

James T. Fishback is the Founder and CEO of the Sub-Adviser. Prior to founding Azoria, James was a macro investor at Greenlight Capital, a multibillion dollar hedge fund founded by David Einhorn, and previously served as the founder and portfolio manager of Macrovoyant, a global macro hedge fund.

Einhorn is currently suing Fishback for violating his employment agreement with Greenlight Capital.  The suit claims Fishback misrepresented his role at Greenlight, while at the firm and afterwards.  Fishback was a research analyst at Greenlight, not a macro investor.

Macrovoyant, Fishback's hedge fund, submitted filings to the SEC from 2015 to 2018.  The latest filing showed $13.8 million in sales or assets in the fund.  There is no information on what happened to that hedge fund or how it performed during its existence.  Fishback's employment with Greenlight Capital began in 2019.

The Tidal III prospectus for the three Azoria funds lacks information on fees, compensation arrangements between parties and physical addresses in some cases.

Azoria Golden Age ETF

The Fund seeks targeted exposure to the key themes (described below) driving what the Fund’s sub-adviser, Azoria Capital Inc. (the “Sub-Adviser”), believes to be the Golden Age for America. The Fund aims to capitalize on structural trends that the Sub-Adviser believes are reshaping the U.S. economy and positioning select companies for potential long-term growth. Additionally, the Fund selectively employs an options strategy to seek to enhance returns. 

The five key themes are 

• Generative Artificial Intelligence 

• Real-World Artificial Intelligence 

• Revival of American Manufacturing 

• American Energy, Power & Connectivity 

• Rising General Prosperity

Azoria 500 Meritocracy ETF

Under normal market conditions, the Fund will invest at least 80% of its net assets (plus any borrowings for investment purposes) in equity securities of Meritocracy Companies. The Fund defines a “Meritocracy Company” as a company that the Sub-Adviser determines to be (i) one of the 500 largest publicly traded U.S. companies by market capitalization and (ii) that has not publicly disclosed explicit quantitative demographic hiring targets.

Azoria TSLA Convexity ETF

The Fund is an actively managed exchange-traded fund (“ETF”) that seeks to provide exposure to Tesla, Inc. (“TSLA” or the “Underlying Security”) through a structured “convexity” investment approach (a strategy designed to maximize upside). The Fund’s investment strategy is built to seek to capture potential gains in TSLA stock while using derivatives to potentially increase returns when TSLA stock performs well, allowing for greater return potential compared to a direct investment in TSLA stock.

Derivatives are the knife that cuts both ways.  Many a hedge fund has succumbed to its derivative exposure.  

Investors need clarity on fee information for these three Azoria funds and may wish to consider the sparse state of Azoria's current website, its founder's lawsuit with his prior employer and the general sleaze surrounding Trump II, the digital Caligula, given Fishback has been a DOGE advisor and that process has been unseemly.  

The tides are shifting and that can bring turbulence, even for a Mar-a-Lago insider like Fishback.  I encourage every investor to carefully consider the Tidal III prospectus after it is updated.  Options and derivatives are financial bets and they can go bad.  Treat it like crypto, invest only what you can afford to lose.  

Beware the rising tide that lifts yachts but sinks little boats.

Note:  Tidal has another MAGA ETF with Defiance.

Update 4-14-25:  David Einhorn called Trump's tariffs a regressive tax in a Bloomberg interview with David Rubenstein.  Interesting as the Fishback-Einhorn suit, countersuit continues and Trump keeps targeting institutions close to the heart of Carlyle co-founder David Rubenstein.  First it was the Kennedy Center, then the Smithsonian.

Update 9-9-25:  Fishback's Azoria launched its first ETF on July 8th.  Since then he has joined the Trump fight against the Fed.  Barron's reported Fishback as involved in the dismissal of Fed Governer Lisa Cook and being a general Fed irritant (specious lawsuit).

Update 9-28-25:  Bloomberg reported on "Fed candidate" James Fishback:

James Fishback, a former analyst at David Einhorn’s Greenlight Capital, admitted sharing confidential information and agreed to pay the hedge fund’s costs to resolve a lawsuit it filed against him. 

 According to an agreement filed Wednesday in Manhattan federal court, Fishback, who worked at Greenlight between 2021 and 2023, said he violated the terms of his employment by sending to a personal email account summaries of the fund’s positions and strategies as well as a document showing its entire portfolio. He also said he had an undisclosed personal trading account that invested in the same instruments as Greenlight at around the same time.

Update 12-1-25:  James Fishback announced his candidacy for Florida Governor.  Glenn Youngkin, the Carlyle co-CEO who became Virginia Governor, he ain't.  

TechGod Elon Musk is backing Byron Donalds for the position.  

Fishback is similar to Vivek Ramaswamy in they both give off a strange, creepy, greedy vibe.  Ramaswamy is running for Ohio Governor and just creeped out Ohioans with a video many thought was an AI posted by his competitor.  

Fishback's Azoria Capital Inc. has an address around the corner from the White House - 740 15th Street NW, 8th Floor, Washington, DC 20005 

Update 12-3-25:  Fishback's campaign promise is to fire every H-1B worker inside state agencies.