Ramaswamy's fund family Strive pivots to wealth management; Morningstar calls Strive 'average'

Vivek Ramaswamy, co-founder of Strive Asset Management and supporter of Republican presidential nominee Donald J. Trump, is well known as an “anti-woke” warrior. 

The group of exchange-traded funds launched in 2022 and now, with close to $1.7 billion in assets, has been steady, demonstrating “it can be trusted as much as the next asset manager,” states the fund tracker Morningstar, which currently has an “average parent pillar” rating for the nascent fund group.

“A pocket of strength is the firm’s economical fees on its open-end and exchange-traded funds, demonstrating a firmwide commitment to minimizing costs and maximizing investors’ returns,” Morningstar said. “The average net expense ratio of its funds is within the lowest quintile of firms.”

“To keep an Average rating, Strive Asset Management needs to uphold a consistent track record of positive investor experience,” Morningstar concluded.

That makes Strive Enterprises Inc.’s announcement last week it was looking to expand into the wealth management industry all the more surprising to some.

Strive on Friday said it was opening its wealth management business in Dallas, following its recent close of a $30 million financing round led by Cantor Fitzgerald.

“A key part of this business will include a focus on integrating bitcoin into standard portfolios of everyday Americans as a hedge against risks Strive expects to persist over the next several decades, including unsustainable global debt levels, rising fixed income yields, long-run inflationary pressures, persistent geopolitical pressures, and potential restrictive monetary controls,” the company said in a statement.

“That does not seem like a winning brand positioning to me,” said Johnny Sandquist, CEO of Three Crowns Copywriting and Marketing. “And it’s not the MAGA theme or politics. Financial advisors are conservate and lean Republican, but they don’t have much of an interest in bitcoin or crypto currencies in general.”

“It sounds like a misunderstanding of what wealth managers care about,” he said. “Are you going to overcome an average fund rating from Morningstar because the firm offers bitcoin?”  

Matt Cole, Strive’s CEO, did not return a call on Monday to comment.

Meanwhile, Ramaswamy, 39, stepped back from Strive Asset Management last year to campaign for the Republican presidential nomination before conceding to Trump and working as a Trump surrogate.

Ramaswamy is being considered for a cabinet position if Trump wins, according to the New York Post, with secretary of homeland security among the possibilities.

Ramaswamy has also expressed interest in replacing Trump's runningmate, Sen. JD Vance, in the Senate — or even running for Ohio governor in 2026, when Republican incumbent Mike DeWine will be barred from seeking a third term, according to the Post.

“Vivek is laser-focused on securing victory in the next two weeks,” a source close to Ramaswamy told the Post last month. “After Nov. 6, he will be far more interested in the firing of bureaucrats than he is in hiring.”