AAII ETF Evaluator

ETF Evaluator: Simplify China A Shares PLUS Income ETF () Follow This ETF

Equity
Global Asset Class
International Equity
Fund Group
Greater China Region
Category
$25.463
Last Trade
(as of Aug 26)
$ 12 Mil
Share Class Assets
37.53%
TTM Yield
$36.895 - $23.830
52-Wk High-Low Range
0.88% F
Expense Ratio
na
Portfolio Turnover
2 (k)
Avg. Daily Trading Vol.

Best Performing in Greater China Region Over the Last Year

76.6% Franklin FTSE Taiwan ETF (FLTW)
70.4% iShares MSCI Taiwan ETF (EWT)
64.0% KraneShares CHN Tech & Semicon STAR50ETF (KSTR)
55.2% VanEck ChiNext Innovators ETF (CNXT)
42.4% Neuberger China Equity ETF (NBCE)
Data as of 7/31/2026
-14.1% F (NAV)
-14.2% F (Price)
1-Mo Return
-6.7% F (NAV)
-5.3% D (Price)
3-Mo Return
2.7% B (NAV)
2.9% B (Price)
YTD Return
25.1% B (NAV)
27.3% B (Price)
1-Yr Return
na (NAV)
na (Price)
3-Yr Return
na (NAV)
na (Price)
5-Yr Return
na
Category
Risk
Index
na
Total
Risk
Index

ETF Details

Fund Family
Simplify Asset Management

Inception Date
1/13/2025

Website

Phone
855-772-8488

Primary Benchmark
N/A: 100%

Additional Fund Details

Simplify China A Shares PLUS Income ETF Overview

Simplify China A Shares PLUS Income ETF (CAS) is an actively managed International Equity Greater China Region exchange-traded fund (ETF). Simplify Asset Management launched the ETF in 2025.

The investment seeks capital appreciation and income. Under normal circumstances, the fund invests at least 80% of its net assets in China A Shares and/or through instruments that have economic characteristics substantially similar to China A Shares. China A Shares are equity securities issued by companies incorporated in mainland China and are denominated and traded in renminbi (“RMB”) on stock exchanges in mainland China such as the Shenzhen, Shanghai, and Beijing Stock Exchanges. The fund is non-diversified.

About Simplify China A Shares PLUS Income ETF (CAS)

There are 2 members of the management team with an average tenure of 1.55 years: David Berns (2025) and Chris Getter (2025). Management tenure is more important for actively managed ETFs than passive index ETFs.

Simplify China A Shares PLUS Income ETF has 51 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 244.7% 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.

Simplify China A Shares PLUS Income ETF is part of the Equity global asset class and is within the International Equity ETF group. Simplify China A Shares PLUS Income ETF has 0.0% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is 0.6% There is 0.0% allocated to foreign stock, and 0.0% is allocated to preferred stocks. The bond allocation as a percentage of total assets is 51.2% (51.2% domestic bond, 0.0% foreign bond and 0.0% convertible bond). Simplify China A Shares PLUS Income ETF has 56.6% of the portfolio in cash.

Assets Under Management

The fund has $12 million in total assets, which is below the $1 billion average for the Greater China Region 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.

CAS 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 Simplify China A Shares PLUS Income ETF expense ratio is high compared to funds in the Greater China Region category. Simplify China A Shares PLUS Income ETF has an expense ratio of 0.88%, which is 35% higher than its category average, making the fund expense ratio grade a F. 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. Simplify China A Shares PLUS Income ETF has a portfolio turnover rate of 0%, which indicates that it holds its assets around /years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 56% for the Greater China Region category.

Recently, in the month of July 2026, Simplify China A Shares PLUS Income ETF returned -14.1%, which earned it a grade of F, as the Greater China Region category had an average return of -0.9%. 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.

Simplify China A Shares PLUS Income ETF has a trailing yield of 37.53%, which is above the 3.41% category average. The fund normally distributes its income quarterly 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.

Simplify China A Shares PLUS Income ETF Grades

Year to date, the ETF has returned 2.7%, 0.6 percentage points better than the category, which translates into a grade of B. The fund has returned 25.1% over the past year (grade of B).

For more ETF grades, analysis and screening tools to help your investment discovery, join AAII for a $2, full-access trial. Learn more here: https://invest.aaii.com/membership.

Otherwise, for more information about Simplify China A Shares PLUS Income ETF, including its riskiness, submit your email to unlock the rest of the article.


CAS 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
CAS Return (NAV) -14.1% -6.7% 25.1% na na na
CAS Return (Price) -14.2% -5.3% 27.3% na na na
NAV +/- Price Return 0.186% -1.380% -2.209% na na na
Greater China Region Avg -0.9% -2.5% 14.5% 8.6% -1.6% 5.1%
CAS Grade (NAV) F F B na na na
+/- Category (NAV) -13.1% -4.1% 10.6% na na na
CAS Tax-Cost Ratio na na 15.6% na na na

CAS Annual NAV Total ReturnsData as of 7/31/26

2026 2025 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016
CAS Return (NAV) 2.7% na na na na na na na na na na
CAS Return (Price) 2.9% na na na na na na na na na na
NAV +/- Price Ret 0.049% na na na na na na na na na na
Greater China Region Avg 2.2% 30.4% 11.2% -10.5% -25.1% -7.2% 42.8% 26.9% -22.9% 45.1% -6.2%
CAS Grade (NAV) B na na na na na na na na na na
+/- Category 0.6% 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: 37.5%
Total Assets: $ 12 Mil
Share Class Assets: $ 12 Mil
Turnover: na
Expense Ratio: 0.88%
Index Fund: No
Index Tracked: N/A
Index Weighting: 100%
Leveraged: No
Socially Responsible Fund: No
Capital Gains Distribution Frequency: Annually
Income Distribution Frequency: Quarterly

Management Team

Number of Managers: 2
Longest Tenure: 1.6 years
Average Tenure: 1.6 years
Managers (Year): Berns David (2025), Getter Chris (2025)

Portfolio Composition (as of 7/31/26)

# of Holdings: 51
% in Top 10 Holdings: 244.7%
Fund is Non-Diversified: Yes
% in Foreign Issues: 0.0%
 

Portfolio Allocation

Domestic Stock: 0.6%
Foreign Stock: 0.0%
Preferred Stock: 0.0%
Domestic Bond: 51.2%
Foreign Bond: 0.0%
Convertible Bond: 0.0%
Other: -8.4%
Cash: 56.6%

Purchase Information

Legal Structure: Open Ended Investment Company
Fund Family: Simplify Asset Management
Phone Number: 855-772-8488
Website:
Inception Date: January 13, 2025

Expenses and Fees

Expense Ratio (%): 0.88% (Rating: High)
Category Average Expense Ratio (%): 0.65%
Copyright 2026 American Association of Individual Investors and Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. The information contained herein: (1) is proprietary to Morningstar and/or its content providers; (2) may not be copied or distributed; and (3) is not warranted to be accurate, complete or timely. Neither Morningstar nor its content providers are responsible for any damages or losses arising from any use of this information. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.