In a rare and controversial move, trustees overseeing two ETFs managed by Azoria Capital LLC have voted to liquidate and terminate both funds — the Azoria 500 Meritocracy ETF (SPXM) and the Azoria Tesla Convexity ETF (TSLV) — just months after their launch.
📉 Regulatory Filing Sparks Questions
According to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the decision was made after “considering all relevant information, including recent litigation involving a principal of Azoria.”
Analysts described this wording as “highly unusual” for an ETF liquidation notice, which typically uses standard boilerplate language.
💬 Analysts React
“This almost never happens,” said Jeffrey Ptak, Analyst at Morningstar, noting that such terminations are rarely tied to personal legal disputes.
📊 Background
- Azoria 500 Meritocracy ETF: ~$35 million in assets (launched June 2025)
- Azoria Tesla Convexity ETF: ~$6 million in assets (launched September 2025)
- Both were operated via Tidal Financial Group under the Tidal Trust III structure, a white-label ETF platform.
🏛️ Founder Responds
Azoria’s founder, James Fishback, said he believes the trustees’ decision was politically motivated, citing his public opposition to DEI policies and H-1B visa practices.
Fishback emphasized that while he is involved in multiple lawsuits — including one against the Federal Open Market Committee — none should disqualify him from managing ETFs.
🤝 Industry Context
Tidal Financial’s CIO, Michael Venuto, said he was unaware of the specific reasons behind the vote, adding that Tidal continues to support other politically themed ETFs such as the “God Bless America ETF (YALL)”.
This development highlights the growing intersection between politics, regulation, and asset management governance — an area increasingly scrutinized as the ETF market expands and diversifies.