About RUK Funds

Built on
Conviction.
Driven by Data.

RUK Funds is built to provide a systematic approach to factor-based strategies focused on durable, risk-aware results.

Our Story

Where We Came From

RUK Funds was founded to bring systematic factor investing to a broader audience of investors. We saw a clear need for a disciplined, transparent, rules-based approach to investing that reduces reliance on discretion and speculation.

Our founders drew on deep experience in quantitative research, portfolio construction, and financial markets to build a firm grounded in a simple idea: investment strategies should be transparent and built to last.

The result is RUK Funds, a firm where every decision is anchored in data, repeatable, and designed to endure across full market cycles.

Our Approach

Anchored in Quantitative Research

We do not seek to forecast market direction. RUK applies a rigorous, repeatable, data-driven process grounded in factors identified through quantitative research and historical analysis.

Factor investing recognizes that growth, quality, value, and momentum characteristics have been systematically associated with better risk-adjusted returns over time. Our approach blends these factors into a fund designed to pursue long-term growth through full economic cycles.

Our Team

The People Behind the Process

JR
Founder & CEO

James Rukstalis

With more than twenty-five years of experience in financial planning and investment strategy, James has built a broad practice advising clients across the United States on retirement income, estate planning, and securities. He holds a CFP® alongside multiple advanced designations, including CLU and ChFC, and has completed certifications in Principles of Finance and Corporate Finance from Harvard University Extension School. James obtained his BS in Commerce with a Major in Finance from the Leavey School of Business at Santa Clara University, as well as his Master of Liberal Arts in Extension Field: Finance from the Harvard Extension School at Harvard University.

LC
Advisor to RUK Funds

Ludwig Chincarini

Ludwig B. Chincarini, CFA, PhD, is Professor of Finance at the University of San Francisco and a leading figure in quantitative equity management and ETF development. As Director of Research at Rydex Global Advisors (now Invesco), he co-developed the S&P 500 equal-weight index and helped design RSP. He later served on the academic council of IndexIQ, where he helped pioneer landmark alternative ETFs including QAI, CPI, and MNA. He is the author of Quantitative Equity Portfolio Management, one of the defining texts in the field.

CF
Quantitative Associate

Conor Falvey

Conor is a machine learning and artificial intelligence professional with over 5 years of experience developing data-driven solutions. He studied Data Analytics and Pure Mathematics at the University of San Francisco, building a strong quantitative foundation for advanced modeling and analytics. Conor has conducted research across multiple fields and applications, and has a track record for end-to-end cross-disciplinary initiatives translating complex data into actionable insights for industries including healthcare and finance.

AS
Investment Associate

Abraham Shamieh

Abraham is an experienced financial professional with 5+ years in commercial banking at First Republic Bank, JPMorgan Chase, and California Bank of Commerce. Abraham holds a B.A. in Economics and an M.S. in Financial Analysis from the University of San Francisco. Abraham had a passion for fund creation, which inspired a transition to Ruk to take on investment strategy.

JS
Investment Associate

Jacob Shamieh

Jacob has over 5 years of experience in the finance industry. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce in Finance and Real Estate from Santa Clara University’s Leavey School of Business. Following graduation, Jacob joined the Renewable Energy Project Finance team at Silicon Valley Bank, where he underwrote renewable energy transactions, supporting the deployment of clean energy assets across a range of markets. Jacob joined the Ruk team to help spearhead investment strategy.

Our Fund

Explore the RUK Strategic Growth ETF

The RUK Strategic Growth ETF is our flagship fund, offering a systematic, factor-driven approach to U.S. large-cap equities that seeks to identify high-quality growth companies across a full economic cycle.

About RKSG → Back to Home

Investors should consider the investment objectives, risks, and charges and expenses of the fund carefully before investing. A prospectus, which contains this and other information about the fund, may be obtained by clicking here. The prospectus or summary prospectus should be read carefully before investing.

Investing involves risk. Principal loss is possible. The Index relies on a number of sources of information, either directly or indirectly, to assess the criteria of issuers in the eligible universe of constituents. This information may be based on assumptions and estimates. Neither the Fund, the Index Provider, or the Advisor can offer assurances that the Index’s calculation methodology or sources of information will provide an accurate assessment of included components or a correct valuation of securities, nor can they guarantee the availability or timeliness of the production of the Index. The Fund’s investments may be concentrated in an industry or group of industries or focused in a particular sector to the extent the Index is so invested. To the extent the Fund invests more heavily in particular industries, groups of industries, or sectors of the economy, its performance will be especially sensitive to developments that significantly affect those. The Fund’s returns may not match or achieve a high degree of correlation with the returns of the Index. The Fund is recently organized with no operating history. As a result, prospective investors have no track record or history on which to base their investment decision. There can be no assurance that the Fund will grow to or maintain an economically viable size.

ETFs are subject to additional risks that do not apply to conventional mutual funds, including the risks that the market price of an ETF's shares may trade at a premium or discount to its net asset value, an active secondary trading market may not develop or be maintained, or trading may be halted by the exchange in which they trade, which may impact an ETF's ability to sell its shares. Shares of any ETF are bought and sold at market price (not NAV) and are not individually redeemed from the ETF. Brokerage commissions will reduce returns.

The Ruk Strategic Growth ETF is distributed by Quasar Distributors, LLC.

The S&P 500 Equal Weight Index is a variation of the traditional S&P 500 Index that assigns the same weight—or fixed percentage—to each of its 500 constituents. The S&P 500 Index is a stock market index tracking the performance of approximately 500 of the largest publicly traded companies in the U.S.