AOT Growth and Innovation ETF

AOTG

Market cap $105M

AOT Growth and Innovation ETF focuses on companies with "high growth potential based on a low marginal cost business model." AOTG's portfolio is highly concentrated, with 35.7% in AMD, NVDA, and MU, and features strong GARP and quality characteristics but quite high beta. AOTG's 75 bps expense ratio, suboptimal liquidity, and higher drawdown risk undermine its appeal relative to QQQM.

The AOT Growth and Innovation ETF offers investors access to businesses with low marginal costs. Initially, I believed the fund to be too similar to QQQ and not worth investigating. However, after looking deeper, I found that there are some things about the fund I admire, such as its global exposure and potential alpha through its fundamental strategy.

AOTG delivered a 104.35% cumulative total return in 2023-2024, ranking #3 in the large-cap growth category despite its high 0.75% expense ratio. Returns since its inception in June 2022 weren't as strong, though, as AOTG's selection process sets itself up to be a top- or bottom-quartile-performer in any given year. Still, its approach to investing, which involves selecting companies with 20% long-term growth rates and ones with low marginal cost, is unique to the space, and worth a closer look.