ETF Evaluator: Northern Trust US Quality Lw Volatil ETF () Follow This ETF

Northern Trust US Quality Lw Volatil ETF Overview

Northern Trust US Quality Lw Volatil ETF (QLV) is a passively managed U.S. Equity Large Blend exchange-traded fund (ETF). Northern Trust launched the ETF in 2019.

The investment seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of the Northern Trust Quality Low Volatility IndexSM. The underlying index is designed to construct a high-quality universe of companies, that in aggregate, possess lower overall absolute volatility characteristics relative to the Northern Trust 1250 Index (the “Parent Index”), a float-adjusted market capitalization weighted index of U.S. domiciled large- and mid-capitalization companies. Under normal circumstances, the fund will invest at least 80% of its total assets in the securities of the underlying index.

About Northern Trust US Quality Lw Volatil ETF (QLV)

There are 4 members of the management team with an average tenure of 4.74 years: Lucy Johnston (2025), Robert Anstine (2019), Brendan Sullivan (2019) and Volter Bagriy (2024). Management tenure is more important for actively managed ETFs than passive index ETFs.

The ETF has 2 primary benchmarks: Russell 1000 TR USD index with a weighting of 100% and Northern Trust Quality Low Vol TR USD index with a weighting of 100%. Northern Trust US Quality Lw Volatil ETF has 122 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 36.1% 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.

Northern Trust US Quality Lw Volatil ETF is part of the Equity global asset class and is within the U.S. Equity ETF group. Northern Trust US Quality Lw Volatil ETF has 2.7% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is 96.7% There is 2.7% 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). Northern Trust US Quality Lw Volatil ETF has 0.5% of the portfolio in cash.

Assets Under Management

The fund has $188 million in total assets, which is below the $13 billion average for the 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.

QLV 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 Northern Trust US Quality Lw Volatil ETF expense ratio is low compared to funds in the Large Blend category. Northern Trust US Quality Lw Volatil ETF has an expense ratio of 0.08%, which is 81% 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. Northern Trust US Quality Lw Volatil ETF has a portfolio turnover rate of 46%, which indicates that it holds its assets around / 0.0 years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 151% for the Large Blend category.

Recently, in the month of October 2026, Northern Trust US Quality Lw Volatil ETF returned 5.1%, which earned it a grade of A, as the Large Blend category had an average return of -0.4%. 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.

Northern Trust US Quality Lw Volatil ETF has a trailing yield of 1.43%, which is above the 1.41% category average. The fund normally distributes its income 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.

Northern Trust US Quality Lw Volatil ETF Grades

Year to date, the ETF has returned 15.3%, 4.7 percentage points better than the category, which translates into a grade of A. The fund has returned 17.1% over the past year (grade of A), 18.9% over the past three years (grade of D) and 10.3% per year over the past five years (grade of D).

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