AAII ETF Evaluator

ETF Evaluator: The Brinsmere Fund - Growth ETF () Follow This ETF

Allocation
Global Asset Class
Allocation
Fund Group
Tactical Allocation
Category
$33.151
Last Trade
(as of Aug 25)
$ 380 Mil
Share Class Assets
2.41%
TTM Yield
$33.370 - $28.580
52-Wk High-Low Range
0.46% A
Expense Ratio
195%
Portfolio Turnover
1 (k)
Avg. Daily Trading Vol.

Best Performing in Tactical Allocation Over the Last Year

31.2% Relative Sentiment Tactical Allc ETF (MOOD)
27.5% RH Tactical Rotation ETF (RHRX)
25.2% Cambria Global Momentum ETF (GMOM)
24.3% STF Tactical Growth ETF (TUG)
23.1% Alexis Practical Tactical ETF (LEXI)
Data as of 7/31/2026
-1.4% C (NAV)
-0.7% C (Price)
1-Mo Return
2.2% C (NAV)
3.7% B (Price)
3-Mo Return
8.8% B (NAV)
6.6% C (Price)
YTD Return
18.1% B (NAV)
17.6% 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
The Brinsmere Funds

Inception Date
1/12/2024

Website

Phone
800-617-0004

Primary Benchmark
S&P 500 (TR): 100%

Secondary Benchmark
S&P Target Risk Balancd TR USD: 100%

Additional Fund Details

The Brinsmere Fund - Growth ETF Overview

The Brinsmere Fund - Growth ETF (TBFG) is an actively managed Allocation Tactical Allocation exchange-traded fund (ETF). The Brinsmere Funds launched the ETF in 2024.

The investment seeks long-term growth of capital. The fund is an actively managed fund of funds, which seeks to achieve its investment objective by investing in a globally diversified portfolio of equity and bond markets. It systematically adjusts its holdings using two proprietary strategies developed by the fund’s investment adviser, The Milwaukee Company, that are run independently. Those strategies are the Systematic Market Beta Strategy (“SMB”) and the Classic Asset Allocation Revisited Strategy (“CAAR”). SMB and CAAR systematically rebalance the underlying funds in which the fund may invest based on a set of proprietary risk-management techniques.

About The Brinsmere Fund - Growth ETF (TBFG)

There are 6 members of the management team with an average tenure of 2.25 years: Dustin Lewellyn (2024), Ernesto Tong (2024), Shrey Patel (2024), Christine Johanson (2024), Andrew Willms (2024) and Jacob Willms (2024). Management tenure is more important for actively managed ETFs than passive index ETFs.

The ETF has 2 primary benchmarks: S&P 500 (TR) index with a weighting of 100% and S&P Target Risk Balancd TR USD index with a weighting of 100%. The Brinsmere Fund - Growth ETF has 25 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 64.1% 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.

The Brinsmere Fund - Growth ETF is part of the Allocation global asset class and is within the Allocation ETF group. The Brinsmere Fund - Growth ETF has 30.5% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is 48.5% There is 29.3% allocated to foreign stock, and 0.0% is allocated to preferred stocks. The bond allocation as a percentage of total assets is 18.9% (17.7% domestic bond, 1.2% foreign bond and 0.0% convertible bond). The Brinsmere Fund - Growth ETF has 0.8% of the portfolio in cash.

Assets Under Management

The fund has $380 million in total assets, which is above the $144 million average for the Tactical Allocation 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.

TBFG 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 The Brinsmere Fund - Growth ETF expense ratio is average compared to funds in the Tactical Allocation category. The Brinsmere Fund - Growth ETF has an expense ratio of 0.46%, which is 53% 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. The Brinsmere Fund - Growth ETF has a portfolio turnover rate of 195%, which indicates that it holds its assets around / 0.0 years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 261% for the Tactical Allocation category.

Recently, in the month of July 2026, The Brinsmere Fund - Growth ETF returned -1.4%, which earned it a grade of C, as the Tactical Allocation category had an average return of -1.4%. 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.

The Brinsmere Fund - Growth ETF has a trailing yield of 2.41%, which is above the 2.15% 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.

The Brinsmere Fund - Growth ETF Grades

Year to date, the ETF has returned 8.8%, 1.3 percentage points better than the category, which translates into a grade of B. The fund has returned 18.1% 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.

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TBFG 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
TBFG Return (NAV) -1.4% 2.2% 18.1% na na na
TBFG Return (Price) -0.7% 3.7% 17.6% na na na
NAV +/- Price Return -0.693% -1.475% 0.544% na na na
Tactical Allocation Avg -1.4% 1.6% 15.9% 10.6% 5.4% 7.4%
TBFG Grade (NAV) C C B na na na
+/- Category (NAV) -0.0% 0.6% 2.2% na na na
TBFG Tax-Cost Ratio na na 1.0% na na na

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

2026 2025 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016
TBFG Return (NAV) 8.8% 14.4% na na na na na na na na na
TBFG Return (Price) 6.6% 12.6% na na na na na na na na na
NAV +/- Price Ret -0.245% -0.125% na na na na na na na na na
Tactical Allocation Avg 7.5% 12.7% 11.7% 10.7% -13.3% 16.9% 7.5% 14.0% -6.3% 19.2% 7.1%
TBFG Grade (NAV) B B na na na na na na na na na
+/- Category 1.3% 1.7% 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: 2.4%
Total Assets: $ 380 Mil
Share Class Assets: $ 380 Mil
Turnover: 195.0%
Expense Ratio: 0.46%
Index Fund: No
Index Tracked: S&P 500 (TR)
Index Weighting: 100%
Leveraged: No
Socially Responsible Fund: No
Capital Gains Distribution Frequency: Annually
Income Distribution Frequency: Quarterly

Management Team

Number of Managers: 6
Longest Tenure: 2.6 years
Average Tenure: 2.2 years
Managers (Year): Lewellyn Dustin (2024), Tong Ernesto (2024), Patel Shrey (2024), Johanson Christine (2024), Willms Andrew (2024), Willms Jacob (2024)

Portfolio Composition (as of 7/31/26)

# of Holdings: 25
% in Top 10 Holdings: 64.1%
Fund is Non-Diversified: No
% in Foreign Issues: 30.5%
 

Portfolio Allocation

Domestic Stock: 48.5%
Foreign Stock: 29.3%
Preferred Stock: 0.0%
Domestic Bond: 17.7%
Foreign Bond: 1.2%
Convertible Bond: 0.0%
Other: 2.5%
Cash: 0.8%

Purchase Information

Legal Structure: Open Ended Investment Company
Fund Family: The Brinsmere Funds
Phone Number: 800-617-0004
Website:
Inception Date: January 12, 2024

Expenses and Fees

Expense Ratio (%): 0.46% (Rating: Avg)
Category Average Expense Ratio (%): 0.97%
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