Clark Allen - Horizon Investments

In a recent episode of Behind the Ticker, Clark Allen, Head of ETFs at Horizon Investments, shared his journey from public accounting and family office investing to leading Horizon’s entrance into the ETF space. With a deep background in institutional asset management and quantitative research, Allen joined Horizon to help bridge the gap between sophisticated investment strategies and emotionally resonant, goals-based planning for financial advisors and their clients. Horizon, founded in the mid-1990s, evolved from a wealth manager into a strategist firm with a focus on outcome-oriented models. Today, the firm offers a blend of mutual funds, OCIO services, and now, actively managed ETFs as part of its growing product suite.

Horizon’s ETF push began with two initial launches, BENJ and HBTA, and the firm has filed for seven more ETFs in 2024. Allen explained that Horizon’s motivation was largely advisor-driven—many advisors were already using Horizon’s mutual funds and model portfolios but needed ETF-based solutions to better integrate with their workflows. BENJ, the Horizon Landmark ETF, is a cash management strategy built around box spreads, offering a T-bill-plus total return without kicking off taxable income. Allen emphasized that this feature is ideal for model portfolios, particularly in retirement distribution strategies, where advisors need liquidity but prefer to manage tax exposure and reinvestment activity with precision.

HBTA, the firm’s second ETF, is designed as a high-beta equity strategy with put spreads to offer greater upside capture than the S&P 500. Allen described it as a product built for certainty—not to time markets, but to provide clear expectations around performance, particularly for advisors seeking risk-aligned tools for growth-oriented allocations. He noted that many advisors in Horizon’s OCIO network had asked for such solutions to complement their existing exposures without relying on small caps or thematic tech names.

What sets Horizon apart, according to Allen, is its emphasis on being a solution provider rather than a product pusher. The firm’s ETF lineup is crafted to fit within model portfolios and financial plans, not just to chase the latest trend. Horizon’s focus remains on outcome-driven investing, where each ETF serves a clear role—whether providing liquidity, risk-managed equity exposure, or a building block for custom advisor models.