ETF Evaluator: Virtus Zevenbergen Discovery Growth ETF (ZDIS) Follow This ETF

Virtus Zevenbergen Discovery Growth ETF Overview

Virtus Zevenbergen Discovery Growth ETF (ZDIS) is an actively managed U.S. Equity Large Growth exchange-traded fund (ETF). Virtus launched the ETF in 2015.

The investment seeks long-term capital appreciation. Under normal circumstances, the fund invests at least 80% of its net assets (plus any borrowings for investment purposes) in common stocks of U.S. discovery growth companies and other U.S.-traded equity securities of discovery growth companies. It may invest up to 100% of its assets in equity securities, including common stocks, of foreign companies trading on U.S. exchanges (denominated in USD) which may include American Depository Receipts (“ADRs”). The fund is non-diversified.

About Virtus Zevenbergen Discovery Growth ETF (ZDIS)

There are 3 members of the management team with an average tenure of 11.01 years: Joseph Dennison (2015), Anthony Zackery (2015) and Nancy Zevenbergen (2015). Management tenure is more important for actively managed ETFs than passive index ETFs.

The ETF has 2 primary benchmarks: Russell 3000 TR USD index with a weighting of 100% and Russell 3000 Growth TR USD index with a weighting of 100%. Virtus Zevenbergen Discovery Growth ETF has 33 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 60.2% of the ETF’s assets. The ETF meets the SEC requirement of being classified as a nondiversified fund. The ETF is not considered to have an ESG focus with its investment selection and management.

Virtus Zevenbergen Discovery Growth ETF is part of the Equity global asset class and is within the U.S. Equity ETF group. Virtus Zevenbergen Discovery Growth ETF has 16.9% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is 82.3% There is 16.9% allocated to foreign stock, and 0.0% is allocated to preferred stocks. The bond allocation as a percentage of total assets is 0.0% (0.0% domestic bond, 0.0% foreign bond and 0.0% convertible bond). Virtus Zevenbergen Discovery Growth ETF has 0.8% of the portfolio in cash.

Assets Under Management

The fund has $66 million in total assets, which is below the $8 billion average for the Large Growth category. Normally, lower assets under management translates to higher average expense ratios, and greater total assets are desired. However, for some investment categories, such as small-cap investing, it may be difficult for the manager to fully employ the desired active strategy if assets grow too large or too quickly.

ZDIS Performance and Fees

The expense ratio measures how much of a fund’s assets are used for administrative expenses and operating expenses, including adviser fees and fees for the transfer agent and custodial services. The Virtus Zevenbergen Discovery Growth ETF expense ratio is above average compared to funds in the Large Growth category. Virtus Zevenbergen Discovery Growth ETF has an expense ratio of 0.75%, which is 49% higher than its category average, making the fund expense ratio grade a D. While it is difficult to predict returns, it is known that high annual expense ratios reduce your rate of return, and excessive fees are difficult to overcome. Active management normally comes with higher expense ratios than passive index management. Certain investment categories such as small company and foreign also normally have higher expense ratios. It is best to compare fund expense ratios against the category averages for meaningful assessments.

High portfolio turnover can translate to higher expenses and lower aftertax returns. Virtus Zevenbergen Discovery Growth ETF has a portfolio turnover rate of 11%, which indicates that it holds its assets around / 0.1 years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 73% for the Large Growth category.

Recently, in the month of August 2026, Virtus Zevenbergen Discovery Growth ETF returned 6.4%, which earned it a grade of A, as the Large Growth category had an average return of 3.8%. The letter grades of A, B, C, D and F are based upon relative rankings within the investment category. A grade of A, for example, would indicate that the return is in the highest 20% for that time period compared to all ETFs in that category.

Virtus Zevenbergen Discovery Growth ETF has a trailing yield of 0.00%, which is below the 0.46% category average. The fund normally distributes its income annually and its capital gains annually.

It’s natural to seek the best-performing investments, but you must consider the relationship between risk and return and the impact of costs and taxes on your realized returns.

Virtus Zevenbergen Discovery Growth ETF Grades

Year to date, the ETF has returned 3.2%, 6.7 percentage points worse than the category, which translates into a grade of F. The fund has returned 1.6% over the past year (grade of F), 20.5% over the past three years (grade of D) and 0.8% per year over the past five years (grade of F) and 19.4% per year over the past 10 years (grade of A).

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