ETF Evaluator:
LeaderSharesTM AlphaFactor® US Cr Eq ETF ()
Follow This ETF
(as of Aug 26)
Best Performing in Mid-Cap Blend Over the Last Year
| 58.8% | Castellan Targeted Equity ETF (CTEF) |
| 53.8% | Invesco S&P Spin-Off ETF (CSD) |
| 43.0% | Counterpoint Quantitative Equity ETF (CPAI) |
| 40.8% | Optimize Strategy Index ETF (OPTZ) |
| 37.3% | Tema U.S. Manufacturing & Reshoring ETF (WELD) |
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ETF Details
LeaderSharesTM AlphaFactor® US Cr Eq ETF Overview
LeaderSharesTM AlphaFactor® US Cr Eq ETF (LSAF) is a passively managed U.S. Equity Mid-Cap Blend exchange-traded fund (ETF). Redwood Investment Management, LLC launched the ETF in 2018.
The investment seeks to provide investment results that correspond generally, before fees and expenses, to the performance of the AlphaFactor® US Core Equity Index.
Under normal circumstances, at least 80% of the fund's net assets, including any borrowings for investment purposes, will be invested in a diversified portfolio of equity securities of U.S. common stocks included in the index. The index utilizes a quantitative rules-based investment methodology that applies a multi-factor ranking process and is focused on the largest 1,000 U.S. common stocks based on market capitalization.
About LeaderSharesTM AlphaFactor® US Cr Eq ETF (LSAF)
There are 3 members of the management team with an average tenure of 7.84 years: Michael Cheung (2018), Michael Messinger (2018) and Richard Duff (2018). Management tenure is more important for actively managed ETFs than passive index ETFs.
The ETF has 2 primary benchmarks: S&P 500 (TR) (1970) index with a weighting of 100% and AlphaFactor US Core Equity USD index with a weighting of 100%. LeaderSharesTM AlphaFactor® US Cr Eq ETF has 102 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 11.7% of the ETF’s assets. The ETF meets the SEC requirement of being classified as a diversified fund. The ETF is not considered to have an ESG focus with its investment selection and management.
LeaderSharesTM AlphaFactor® US Cr Eq ETF is part of the Equity global asset class and is within the U.S. Equity ETF group. LeaderSharesTM AlphaFactor® US Cr Eq ETF has 0.0% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is 99.0% 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 0.0% (0.0% domestic bond, 0.0% foreign bond and 0.0% convertible bond). LeaderSharesTM AlphaFactor® US Cr Eq ETF has 1.0% of the portfolio in cash.
Assets Under Management
The fund has $122 million in total assets, which is below the $4 billion average for the Mid-Cap 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.
LSAF 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 LeaderSharesTM AlphaFactor® US Cr Eq ETF expense ratio is above average compared to funds in the Mid-Cap Blend category. LeaderSharesTM AlphaFactor® US Cr Eq ETF has an expense ratio of 0.75%, which is 67% 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. LeaderSharesTM AlphaFactor® US Cr Eq ETF has a portfolio turnover rate of 159%, which indicates that it holds its assets around / 0.0 years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 84% for the Mid-Cap Blend category.
Recently, in the month of July 2026, LeaderSharesTM AlphaFactor® US Cr Eq ETF returned 4.4%, which earned it a grade of A, as the Mid-Cap Blend category had an average return of -1.6%. 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.
LeaderSharesTM AlphaFactor® US Cr Eq ETF has a trailing yield of 0.57%, which is below the 0.85% category average.
The fund normally distributes its income 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.
LeaderSharesTM AlphaFactor® US Cr Eq ETF Grades
Year to date, the ETF has returned 19.7%, 5.7 percentage points better than the category, which translates into a grade of A. The fund has returned 28.6% over the past year (grade of A), 18.6% over the past three years (grade of A) and 10.9% per year over the past five years (grade of A).
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LSAF 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 |
|
| LSAF Return (NAV) | 4.4% | 9.7% | 28.6% | 18.6% | 10.9% | na |
| LSAF Return (Price) | 4.4% | 9.8% | 28.9% | 18.6% | 10.9% | na |
| NAV +/- Price Return | -0.061% | -0.098% | -0.288% | -0.046% | 0.018% | na |
| Mid-Cap Blend Avg | -1.6% | 4.4% | 20.8% | 14.8% | 8.8% | 11.6% |
| LSAF Grade (NAV) | A | A | A | A | A | na |
| +/- Category (NAV) | 6.0% | 5.3% | 7.9% | 3.8% | 2.1% | na |
| LSAF Tax-Cost Ratio | na | na | 0.3% | 0.3% | 0.3% | na |
LSAF Annual NAV Total ReturnsData as of 7/31/26
| 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | |
| LSAF Return (NAV) | 19.7% | 12.0% | 18.3% | 15.5% | -13.0% | 22.3% | 7.3% | 28.1% | na | na | na |
| LSAF Return (Price) | 20.0% | 12.0% | 18.1% | 15.5% | -13.1% | 22.7% | 6.9% | 28.3% | na | na | na |
| NAV +/- Price Ret | 0.015% | 0.004% | -0.012% | -0.000% | 0.012% | 0.019% | -0.058% | 1.1% | na | na | na |
| Mid-Cap Blend Avg | 14.0% | 10.6% | 16.1% | 16.9% | -14.4% | 23.3% | 15.6% | 27.4% | -9.1% | 19.1% | 14.8% |
| LSAF Grade (NAV) | A | B | A | D | B | D | F | C | na | na | na |
| +/- Category | 5.7% | 1.3% | 2.2% | -1.4% | 1.4% | -1.0% | -8.3% | 0.7% | na | na | na |
| Risk Measures | |
| Beta: | 0.85 |
| R-Squared: | 62% |
| Standard Deviation: | 14.0% |
| Category Risk Index: | 0.89 |
| Category Risk Rating: | Below Average |
| Total Risk Index: | 1.14 |
| Total Risk Rating: | Average |
| Portfolio Characteristics | |
| Yield: | 0.6% |
| Total Assets: | $ 123 Mil |
| Share Class Assets: | $ 123 Mil |
| Turnover: | 159.0% |
| Expense Ratio: | 0.75% |
| Index Fund: | Yes |
| Index Tracked: | S&P 500 (TR) (1970) |
| Index Weighting: | 100% |
| Leveraged: | No |
| Socially Responsible Fund: | No |
| Capital Gains Distribution Frequency: | |
| Income Distribution Frequency: | Annually |
Management Team
| Number of Managers: 3 | |||
| Longest Tenure: 7.8 years | |||
| Average Tenure: 7.8 years | |||
| Managers (Year): Cheung Michael (2018), Messinger Michael (2018), Duff Richard (2018) | |||
Portfolio Composition (as of 7/31/26)
| # of Holdings: | 102 |
| % in Top 10 Holdings: | 11.7% |
| Fund is Non-Diversified: | No |
| % in Foreign Issues: | 0.0% |
Portfolio Allocation |
|
| Domestic Stock: | 99.0% |
| Foreign Stock: | 0.0% |
| Preferred Stock: | 0.0% |
| Domestic Bond: | 0.0% |
| Foreign Bond: | 0.0% |
| Convertible Bond: | 0.0% |
| Other: | 0.0% |
| Cash: | 1.0% |
Purchase Information
| Legal Structure: | Open Ended Investment Company |
| Fund Family: | Redwood Investment Management, LLC |
| Phone Number: | 480-757-4277 |
| Website: | |
| Inception Date: | October 1, 2018 |
Expenses and Fees
| Expense Ratio (%): | 0.75% (Rating: Above Avg) |
| Category Average Expense Ratio (%): | 0.45% |
