Global X Adaptive US Factor ETF

AUSF

Market cap $713M

I rate AUSF a strong buy for long-term investors, thanks to its adaptive blend of minimum volatility, value, and momentum factors. AUSF consistently outperforms the S&P 500 over 5- and 10-year periods, while maintaining a lower P/E ratio and higher dividend yield than peers. The fund's diversified, low-concentration portfolio reduces risk, and its adaptive strategy mitigates underperformance in any single factor.

Global X Adaptive U.S. Factor ETF (AUSF) uses a dynamic allocation strategy targeting value, momentum, and low volatility, with a 0.27% expense ratio. AUSF offers better downside protection due to high value stock exposure but underperforms the S&P 500 and has a high turnover ratio. The fund's dynamic allocation rebalances quarterly, often underweighting recent strong performers, which may hinder long-term outperformance.

AUSF dynamically allocates across value, momentum, and low volatility factors, aiming to outperform broader equity indexes with lower volatility and attractive valuations. The fund's portfolio is diversified across market caps and sectors, with a significant focus on financial services, industrials, and consumer staples. AUSF's low P/E ratio and conservative tech exposure contribute to its low valuation, but it shows slower growth and profitability compared to the Russell 1000.

The Global X Adaptive U.S. Factor ETF (AUSF) dynamically allocates between minimum volatility, value, and momentum factors to adapt to changing market conditions. AUSF's flexible approach aims to outperform by adjusting its factor exposure based on recent returns, offering a 50/50 or 40/40/20 split. The fund's sector allocation favors Financials and includes diverse holdings like IBM, AT&T, and Verizon, providing value and stability.

AUSF tracks an index that is designed to rotate in and out of three factors, namely value, momentum, and low volatility. In the current version, AUSF has a high earnings yield, with most holdings demonstrating soft growth characteristics and low beta. There is an adequate dosage of quality. Due to spotty past performance and the factor mix that I believe looks weak for the current environment, AUSF does not deserve a rating upgrade today.

Passively managed AUSF has a multi-factor equity strategy revolving around value, momentum, and low volatility that has not translated into consistent outperformance in the past. The ETF currently has a tilt toward less expensive, less volatile stocks with unappealing growth characteristics. The paradox is that AUSF emerged from the 2022 bear market almost unscathed, but still delivered the worst maximum drawdown in the ETF group discussed in the article.

The Global X Adaptive U.S. Factor ETF uses trailing relative performance to allocate weights between value, momentum, and minimum volatility factors. AUSF has historically performed well, with minimal decline during the 2022 equity bear market. However, compared to the Invesco Russell 1000 Dynamic Multifactor ETF, OMFL has higher historical returns and a more intuitive strategy based on the business cycle.