James Fishback’s Azoria ETFs collapsed months after launch amid legal, financial scrutiny

Azoria Capital, the investment management firm founded and run by Florida gubernatorial candidate James Fishback, saw its only two exchange-traded funds (ETFs) liquidated just months after launching, with filings showing the products attracted limited investor assets before shutting down entirely.

A regulatory filing shows trustees overseeing Azoria’s funds voted to liquidate both ETFs in December 2025 after concluding it was in shareholders’ best interests to terminate them, citing factors including limited size and “recent litigation involving a principal of the sub-adviser, Azoria Capital LLC.”

One ETF, Azoria 500 Meritocracy, held about $30.6 million in assets as of Nov. 30, 2025. The other, Azoria TSLA Convexity ETF, held roughly $3.3 million. The funds ceased trading Dec. 8 and were fully liquidated Dec. 15, with proceeds returned to investors.

The closure leaves Azoria without any active ETFs, according to publicly available information.

Fishback, a Republican candidate for Governor who founded Azoria in 2023, is the firm’s CEO and controlling shareholder. A federal magistrate Judge in January ordered him to turn over Azoria stock certificates to satisfy a $229,000 court judgment owed to his former employer, Greenlight Capital, which sued him for breach of contract, defamation and misappropriation of confidential information to promote Azoria.

The U.S. Marshals Service was directed to sell the shares to repay the debt.

Azoria’s ETFs were its primary investment products. An Oct. 18, 2025, snapshot of Azoria’s website by the Wayback Machine shows Azoria 500 Meritocracy and Azoria TSLA Convexity as the company’s only two ETFs.

A third ETF, Azoria Golden Age, was listed as “coming soon.” References to all three have since been removed from the site. The website now says, “In 2025, we deployed $42 million in investment capital.”

The Azoria 500 Meritocracy ETF was marketed as investing “in the top 500 U.S. companies except those that impose (diversity, equity and inclusion) hiring targets.” The site quoted Fishback as saying, “Until now, investors had no way to exclude DEI losers from their standard S&P 500 ETF. Now they do.”

The Azoria TSLA Convexity ETF focused narrowly on Tesla and was described as “an actively managed exchange traded fund designed to maximize upside in Tesla stock by holding both Tesla stock and asymmetric, limited-loss call options.” Fishback called Tesla as “the most transformative company on Earth,” telling investors the ETF was built for those seeking “outsized gains.”

Despite the marketing pitch, the ETFs’ lifespan was brief. The Meritocracy fund launched July 7, 2025, and the Tesla-focused fund launched Sept. 29, 2025. Both were terminated less than six months later.

Trustees overseeing the ETFs cited multiple factors in deciding to liquidate the funds, including their size and legal issues involving Azoria’s leadership. Fishback admitted in separate litigation to sharing confidential Greenlight Capital portfolio information, which trustees also cited when voting to liquidate the ETFs.

It is unclear whether Azoria currently manages any active ETFs or investment vehicles.

This news of the ETF closures come as Fishback’s political campaign and finances face scrutiny.

Between when he launched his campaign in November and Dec. 31, Fishback raised less than $19,000, putting him far behind Republican rival U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds, who raised $45 million through the end of the year.

Fishback has also been ordered to turn over personal property, including luxury items, to partially satisfy the Greenlight judgment after the court found he failed to comply with payment orders.

He has positioned himself as an outsider candidate focused on economic and cultural issues, seeking to outflank other Republican Primary candidates including Donalds, Lt. Gov. Jay Collins and former House Speaker Paul Renner.

Fishback’s campaign has drawn criticism for racially charged rhetoric and associations. He has repeatedly used inflammatory language to describe Donalds, who is Black, as a “slave” to donors and corporate interests and a “token Black” lawmaker.

During a recent Miami campaign swing, Fishback appeared alongside internet personalities known for racist, misogynistic and antisemitic statements, joking about being seen with a Nazi sympathizer and participating in a podcast hosted by a figure who has praised Adolf Hitler.

Fishback’s ex-fiancé also accused him in court of dating her while she was underage, then harassing her after they broke up. Fishback called the accusation “absolutely false.”

In December, Florida Politics reported he is registered to vote in two states and had a homesteaded property in Washington, D.C., potentially jeopardizing the legality of his Governor’s bid.

Polling this year from Mason-Dixon and Fabrizio Lee & Associates show Donalds leading the Republican Primary, with at least a fivefold advantage over his closest competitor. Mason-Dixon has Donalds at 37% support, compared to 7% for Lt. Gov. Jay Collins, 4% for former House Speaker Paul Renner and 3% for Fishback. Fabrizio Lee & Associates has Donalds at 47%, with Fishback trailing in a distant second with 5% support.

Patriot Polling, a conservative survey firm that queried likely voters through late January, found Donalds with 37% support compared to 23% for Fishback. Among voters 18-29, Fishback had a 5-percentage-point lead over Donalds in the poll.