Many exchange traded funds that are positioned as “core” funds are prosaic in their approach. That is not a negative. Plenty of core equity ETFs offer diversified portfolios and low costs, but there are ways to access the core with ETFs.
Consider the Vident U. S. Core Equity Fund (NasdaqGS: VUSE). Just over a year old, VUSE tracks the Vident Core U.S. Equity Index (VIUSX), “a strategy seeking to highlight companies which exhibiting higher levels of leadership and corporate governance and trading at attractive valuations,” according to Vident Financial.
That is to say VUSE is a strategic beta, but its methodology is even more unique than rival, diversified U.S. equity smart ETFs. VUSE “seek to represent a portfolio of US companies that adhere to higher standards of corporate governance and accounting, as measured by numerous research metrics,” according to Vident. [Vident Launches Core U.S. ETF]
Vident’s research is then applied across large-, mid- and small-caps, bringing the VUSE portfolio to about 500 members with sector risk approach.
VUSE starts its selection universe with 3,000 companies with market values of at least $500 million and average daily volume of at least $1.5 million. From there, the top 80% as ranked by corporate governance, financial reporting and expense recognition are selected. [Interesting New ETFs]