Founded by top-performing former TCW fund manager Joseph Shaposhnik, the Rainwater ETF offers financial advisors the opportunity to grow wealth with greater confidence and fewer surprises by investing in a focused portfolio of recurring revenue businesses.
LOS ANGELES, CA — Rainwater Equity LLC today announced the launch of the Rainwater Equity ETF (NYSE: RW) — a purpose-built investment solution for financial advisors seeking long-term, tax-efficient exposure to high-quality, recurring revenue businesses that help clients grow wealth with greater confidence and fewer surprises. The ETF invests exclusively in global public companies with durable, repeat-purchase business models and strong leadership, held in a concentrated, low-turnover portfolio.
The fund is anchored by a cornerstone investment from Bill Miller, legendary value investor and former Chairman and CIO of Legg Mason Asset Management.
“The mutual fund industry is broken,” said Joseph R. Shaposhnik, Founder and Portfolio Manager. “Over the last decade, 93% of all mutual funds underperformed their benchmarks according to data compiled by S&P. Too many funds are hugging their indexes, owning hundreds of unpredictable businesses across every sector, and generating high tax bills for their investors — all while delivering mediocre, after-tax results. Rainwater was built to correct those failures by investing in a concentrated portfolio of recurring revenue businesses we believe can be forecasted with confidence, held over the long term, in a tax-efficient structure that we invest in ourselves. Shaposhnik previously managed the TCW Compounders ETF, which was ranked the top-performing fund out of 343 peers in its U.S. Large Cap Core equity category by Nasdaq.
Rainwater becomes the third major investment firm to emerge from TCW, following in the footsteps of two former TCW fund managers who went on to launch storied investment firms of their own.
What Rainwater Equity Offers Financial Advisors:
- Focused exposure to durable businesses — 20–30 high-conviction holdings in recurring revenue companies with long runways for growth
- Built for predictability — targets companies with stable, repeat-purchase models that tend to deliver more consistent results and fewer negative surprises
- Tax-efficient structure — ETF format minimizes turnover and helps reduce clients’ annual tax burden
- Seasoned leadership, real alignment — managed by an experienced investor with nearly a decade of portfolio management experience and substantial personal capital invested alongside shareholders
- Clarity in a crowded market — a single, disciplined strategy with no style drift, no performance fee, and no unnecessary complexity
- Designed for long-term outcomes — a portfolio intended to help advisors grow client wealth steadily over time, not chase quarterly trends
“We invest in dominant businesses that generate repeat purchases from loyal customers — software providers, waste haulers, auto parts manufacturers, and stock exchanges,” said Shaposhnik. “These companies tend to grow free cash flow* more predictably and experience fewer negative surprises. We hold them for the long term.”
A Strategy Rooted in Three Timeless Principles:
- Buy Recurring Revenue Businesses — with contract-like or repeat-purchase models
2. Invest With Strong Leaders — proven operators who think like owners, allocate capital with discipline, and act in alignment with long-term shareholders
3. Hold For the Long Run — to reduce taxes, avoid churn, and compound value over time
About Joseph R. Shaposhnik
Mr. Shaposhnik is portfolio manager of the Rainwater Equity ETF and the founder of Rainwater Equity, LLC. Before establishing the firm, he founded TCW’s New America business unit in 2015, where he led and served as portfolio manager of a suite of investment strategies, including the TCW New America Premier Equities Fund/Compounders ETF (GRW), Global Premier Sustainable Equities UCITS, and Global Space Technology Equities portfolios. Before joining TCW in 2011, he was an Equity Research Associate at Fidelity Management and Research Company, where he covered the semiconductor and entertainment software sectors for the firm’s U.S. domestic equity funds. Mr. Shaposhnik holds a BS in Business Administration from the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley, and an MBA from the UCLA Anderson School of Management.
About Rainwater Equity LLC
Rainwater Equity is an independent investment firm focused exclusively on owning recurring revenue businesses for the long term. Its flagship product, the Rainwater Equity ETF (NYSE: RW) gives financial advisors a transparent, tax-efficient way to invest in a focused portfolio of recurring revenue businesses that can that help clients grow wealth with greater confidence and fewer surprises.
For more information, visit www.rainwateretf.com or email investors@rainwatereq.com.
Recurring Revenue Business: Businesses that generally secure their revenues from contracts, subscriptions, or repeat purchases.
* Free cash flow is the money that is left over after a business pays its operating expenses and capital expenditure. It is one measurement of profitability.