AAII ETF Evaluator

ETF Evaluator: SMART Trend 25 ETF () Follow This ETF

Equity
Global Asset Class
U.S. Equity
Fund Group
Large Blend
Category
$26.371
Last Trade
(as of Aug 26)
$ 19 Mil
Share Class Assets
na
TTM Yield
$29.080 - $19.650
52-Wk High-Low Range
0.59% D
Expense Ratio
183%
Portfolio Turnover
12 (k)
Avg. Daily Trading Vol.

Best Performing in Large Blend Over the Last Year

62.5% ARS Focused Opportunities Strategy ETF (AFOS)
35.7% Mohr Company Nav ETF (CNAV)
33.9% Impact Shares NAACP Minority Empwrmt ETF (NACP)
31.8% Astoria US Equal Weight Quality KingsETF (ROE)
30.5% FIS Bright Portfolios Focused Equity ETF (BRIF)
Data as of 7/31/2026
-9.4% F (NAV)
-9.2% F (Price)
1-Mo Return
6.6% A (NAV)
6.9% A (Price)
3-Mo Return
18.1% A (NAV)
18.4% A (Price)
YTD Return
na (NAV)
na (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
SmartWay ETFs

Inception Date
8/19/2025

Website

Phone
877-779-1999

Primary Benchmark
N/A: 100%

Additional Fund Details

SMART Trend 25 ETF Overview

SMART Trend 25 ETF (STRN) is an actively managed U.S. Equity Large Blend exchange-traded fund (ETF). SmartWay ETFs launched the ETF in 2025.

The investment seeks long-term capital appreciation. The fund is an actively-managed exchange-traded fund (“ETF”) that invests primarily in equity securities of U.S. domiciled, large-cap companies (typically companies with a market capitalization of $10 billion or more) whose shares are listed on U.S. exchanges. The fund is non-diversified.

About SMART Trend 25 ETF (STRN)

There are 3 members of the management team with an average tenure of 0.72 years: Andrew Hicks (2026), Qiao Duan (2025) and David Brooks (2025). Management tenure is more important for actively managed ETFs than passive index ETFs.

SMART Trend 25 ETF has 27 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 63.5% 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.

SMART Trend 25 ETF is part of the Equity global asset class and is within the U.S. Equity ETF group. SMART Trend 25 ETF has 0.0% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is 99.5% 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). SMART Trend 25 ETF has 0.6% of the portfolio in cash.

Assets Under Management

The fund has $19 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.

STRN 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 SMART Trend 25 ETF expense ratio is average compared to funds in the Large Blend category. SMART Trend 25 ETF has an expense ratio of 0.59%, which is 42% higher than its category average, making the fund expense ratio grade a D. 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. SMART Trend 25 ETF has a portfolio turnover rate of 183%, which indicates that it holds its assets around / 0.0 years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 158% for the Large Blend category.

Recently, in the month of July 2026, SMART Trend 25 ETF returned -9.4%, which earned it a grade of F, as the Large Blend category had an average return of -0.8%. 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.

SMART Trend 25 ETF has a trailing yield of 0.00%, which is below the 1.16% category average. The fund normally distributes its income annually 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.

SMART Trend 25 ETF Grades

Year to date, the ETF has returned 18.1%, 8.6 percentage points better than the category, which translates into a grade of A.

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.

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STRN 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
STRN Return (NAV) -9.4% 6.6% na na na na
STRN Return (Price) -9.2% 6.9% na na na na
NAV +/- Price Return -0.198% -0.333% na na na na
Large Blend Avg -0.8% 3.7% 17.5% 17.4% 11.2% 13.6%
STRN Grade (NAV) F A na na na na
+/- Category (NAV) -8.6% 2.9% na na na na
STRN Tax-Cost Ratio na na na na na na

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

2026 2025 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016
STRN Return (NAV) 18.1% na na na na na na na na na na
STRN Return (Price) 18.4% na na na na na na na na na na
NAV +/- Price Ret 0.018% na na na na na na na na na na
Large Blend Avg 9.5% 15.3% 21.9% 22.9% -17.1% 26.9% 18.3% 29.6% -5.1% 21.5% 11.4%
STRN Grade (NAV) A na na na na na na na na na na
+/- Category 8.6% 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: --
Total Assets: $ 19 Mil
Share Class Assets: $ 19 Mil
Turnover: 183.0%
Expense Ratio: 0.59%
Index Fund: No
Index Tracked: N/A
Index Weighting: 100%
Leveraged: No
Socially Responsible Fund: No
Capital Gains Distribution Frequency: Annually
Income Distribution Frequency: Annually

Management Team

Number of Managers: 3
Longest Tenure: 1.0 years
Average Tenure: 0.7 years
Managers (Year): Duan Qiao (2025), Brooks David (2025), Hicks Andrew (2026)

Portfolio Composition (as of 7/31/26)

# of Holdings: 27
% in Top 10 Holdings: 63.5%
Fund is Non-Diversified: Yes
% in Foreign Issues: 0.0%
 

Portfolio Allocation

Domestic Stock: 99.5%
Foreign Stock: 0.0%
Preferred Stock: 0.0%
Domestic Bond: 0.0%
Foreign Bond: 0.0%
Convertible Bond: 0.0%
Other: -0.0%
Cash: 0.6%

Purchase Information

Legal Structure: Open Ended Investment Company
Fund Family: SmartWay ETFs
Phone Number: 877-779-1999
Website:
Inception Date: August 19, 2025

Expenses and Fees

Expense Ratio (%): 0.59% (Rating: Avg)
Category Average Expense Ratio (%): 0.41%
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