ETF Evaluator:
The Frontier Economic Fund ()
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(as of Aug 18)
Best Performing in Global Large-Stock Blend Over the Last Year
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Risk
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ETF Details
The Frontier Economic Fund Overview
The Frontier Economic Fund (AKAF) is a passively managed International Equity Global Large-Stock Blend exchange-traded fund (ETF). AKAF launched the ETF in 2025.
The investment seeks to track the performance, before fees and expenses, of the Alaska Last Frontier Index.
The fund manager employs a “passive management” - or indexing - investment approach designed to track the performance of the index. The index identifies and selects companies for inclusion using criteria designed to evaluate the extent of a company’s business activities connected to Alaska, including involvement in the state’s economic development, use of the state’s natural resources, having a local operational presence, and/or participation in Alaskan government-related initiatives. The fund is non-diversified.
About The Frontier Economic Fund (AKAF)
There are 3 members of the management team with an average tenure of 1.10 years: Rafael Zayas (2025), Austin Wen (2025) and Devin Ryder (2025). Management tenure is more important for actively managed ETFs than passive index ETFs.
The ETF has 1 primary benchmark: Alaska Last Frontier TR USD index with a weighting of 100%. The Frontier Economic Fund has 153 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 20.3% 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.
The Frontier Economic Fund is part of the Equity global asset class and is within the International Equity ETF group. The Frontier Economic Fund has 19.6% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is 80.1% There is 19.6% 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). The Frontier Economic Fund has 0.2% of the portfolio in cash.
Assets Under Management
The fund has $2 million in total assets, which is below the $2 billion average for the Global Large-Stock Blend 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.
AKAF 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 The Frontier Economic Fund expense ratio is below average compared to funds in the Global Large-Stock Blend category. The Frontier Economic Fund has an expense ratio of 0.20%, which is 59% lower than its category average, making the fund expense ratio grade a A. 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. The Frontier Economic Fund has a portfolio turnover rate of 29%, which indicates that it holds its assets around / 0.0 years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 50% for the Global Large-Stock Blend category.
Recently, in the month of July 2026, The Frontier Economic Fund returned 1.5%, which earned it a grade of B, as the Global Large-Stock Blend category had an average return of 0.0%. 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.
The Frontier Economic Fund has a trailing yield of 2.98%, which is above the 1.66% category average.
The fund normally distributes its income quarterly and its capital gains quarterly.
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.
The Frontier Economic Fund Grades
Year to date, the ETF has returned 10.9%, 1.7 percentage points better than the category, which translates into a grade of C. The fund has returned 27.4% over the past year (grade of A).
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AKAF Trailing NAV Total Returns Data as of 7/31/26
| Last Month |
Last Quarter |
Ann'l. 1Yr |
Ann'l. 3Yr |
Ann'l. 5Yr |
Ann'l. 10Yr |
|
| AKAF Return (NAV) | 1.5% | -0.5% | 27.4% | na | na | na |
| AKAF Return (Price) | -1.2% | 4.4% | 26.0% | na | na | na |
| NAV +/- Price Return | 2.645% | -4.925% | 1.424% | na | na | na |
| Global Large-Stock Blend Avg | 0.0% | 3.1% | 19.1% | 15.1% | 8.5% | 11.5% |
| AKAF Grade (NAV) | B | F | A | na | na | na |
| +/- Category (NAV) | 1.5% | -3.5% | 8.3% | na | na | na |
| AKAF Tax-Cost Ratio | na | na | 1.3% | na | na | na |
AKAF Annual NAV Total ReturnsData as of 7/31/26
| 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | |
| AKAF Return (NAV) | 10.9% | na | na | na | na | na | na | na | na | na | na |
| AKAF Return (Price) | 7.7% | na | na | na | na | na | na | na | na | na | na |
| NAV +/- Price Ret | -0.297% | na | na | na | na | na | na | na | na | na | na |
| Global Large-Stock Blend Avg | 9.2% | 20.4% | 13.8% | 18.7% | -17.7% | 17.3% | 18.3% | 26.8% | -9.1% | 23.4% | 8.1% |
| AKAF Grade (NAV) | C | na | na | na | na | na | na | na | na | na | na |
| +/- Category | 1.7% | na | na | na | na | na | na | na | na | na | na |
| Risk Measures | |
| Beta: | na |
| R-Squared: | na |
| Standard Deviation: | na |
| Category Risk Index: | na |
| Category Risk Rating: | |
| Total Risk Index: | na |
| Total Risk Rating: | |
| Portfolio Characteristics | |
| Yield: | 3.0% |
| Total Assets: | $ 3 Mil |
| Share Class Assets: | $ 3 Mil |
| Turnover: | 29.0% |
| Expense Ratio: | 0.20% |
| Index Fund: | Yes |
| Index Tracked: | Alaska Last Frontier TR USD |
| Index Weighting: | 100% |
| Leveraged: | No |
| Socially Responsible Fund: | No |
| Capital Gains Distribution Frequency: | Quarterly |
| Income Distribution Frequency: | Quarterly |
Management Team
| Number of Managers: 3 | |||
| Longest Tenure: 1.1 years | |||
| Average Tenure: 1.1 years | |||
| Managers (Year): Zayas Rafael (2025), Wen Austin (2025), Ryder Devin (2025) | |||
Portfolio Composition (as of 7/31/26)
| # of Holdings: | 153 |
| % in Top 10 Holdings: | 20.3% |
| Fund is Non-Diversified: | Yes |
| % in Foreign Issues: | 19.6% |
Portfolio Allocation |
|
| Domestic Stock: | 80.1% |
| Foreign Stock: | 19.6% |
| Preferred Stock: | 0.0% |
| Domestic Bond: | 0.0% |
| Foreign Bond: | 0.0% |
| Convertible Bond: | 0.0% |
| Other: | 0.1% |
| Cash: | 0.2% |
Purchase Information
| Legal Structure: | Open Ended Investment Company |
| Fund Family: | AKAF |
| Phone Number: | 800-617-0004 |
| Website: | |
| Inception Date: | June 25, 2025 |
Expenses and Fees
| Expense Ratio (%): | 0.20% (Rating: Below Avg) |
| Category Average Expense Ratio (%): | 0.49% |
