ETF Evaluator: Overlay Shares Foreign Equity ETF () Follow This ETF

Overlay Shares Foreign Equity ETF Overview

Overlay Shares Foreign Equity ETF (OVF) is an actively managed International Equity Foreign Large Blend exchange-traded fund (ETF). Overlay Shares launched the ETF in 2019.

The investment seeks total return. The fund is an actively-managed exchange-traded fund ("ETF") that seeks to achieve its objective by (i) investing in one or more other ETFs that seek exposure to the performance of non-U.S. equity securities (from both developed and emerging markets) or directly in the securities held by such ETFs and (ii) selling and purchasing listed short-term put options to generate income to the fund.

About Overlay Shares Foreign Equity ETF (OVF)

There are 2 members of the management team with an average tenure of 6.84 years: C. Shawn Gibson (2019) and Adam Stewart (2019). Management tenure is more important for actively managed ETFs than passive index ETFs.

The ETF has 1 primary benchmark: MSCI ACWI Ex USA NR USD index with a weighting of 100%. Overlay Shares Foreign Equity ETF has 11 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 101.6% 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.

Overlay Shares Foreign Equity ETF is part of the Equity global asset class and is within the International Equity ETF group. Overlay Shares Foreign Equity ETF has 97.9% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is 1.0% There is 97.9% 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). Overlay Shares Foreign Equity ETF has 0.9% of the portfolio in cash.

Assets Under Management

The fund has $51 million in total assets, which is below the $9 billion average for the Foreign Large 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.

OVF 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 Overlay Shares Foreign Equity ETF expense ratio is high compared to funds in the Foreign Large Blend category. Overlay Shares Foreign Equity ETF has an expense ratio of 0.83%, which is 109% 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. Overlay Shares Foreign Equity ETF has a portfolio turnover rate of 12%, which indicates that it holds its assets around / 0.1 years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 38% for the Foreign Large Blend category.

Recently, in the month of July 2026, Overlay Shares Foreign Equity ETF returned -0.6%, which earned it a grade of D, as the Foreign Large Blend category had an average return of 1.1%. 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.

Overlay Shares Foreign Equity ETF has a trailing yield of 9.82%, which is above the 2.56% category average. The fund normally distributes its income monthly 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.

Overlay Shares Foreign Equity ETF Grades

Year to date, the ETF has returned 13.7%, 1.6 percentage points better than the category, which translates into a grade of B. The fund has returned 28.2% over the past year (grade of B), 18.1% over the past three years (grade of B) and 9.1% per year over the past five years (grade of C).

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