ETF Evaluator:
Towle Value ETF ()
Follow This ETF
(as of Aug 26)
Best Performing in Small Value Over the Last Year
| 44.0% | EA Bridgeway Omni Small-Cap Value ETF (BSVO) |
| 43.5% | Cambria Micro and Smcp Shld Yld ETF (MYLD) |
| 42.4% | First Trust Small Cap Val AlphaDEX® ETF (FYT) |
| 42.0% | Invesco S&P SmallCap 600® Pure Value ETF (RZV) |
| 41.7% | EA Bridgeway Ultra-Small Company Mkt ETF (BUSM) |
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ETF Details
Towle Value ETF Overview
Towle Value ETF (TCV) is an actively managed U.S. Equity Small Value exchange-traded fund (ETF). Towle launched the ETF in 2011.
The investment seeks long-term capital appreciation.
The fund will invest at least 80% of its net assets in publicly traded equity securities that meet the fund’s investment sub-adviser, definition of value ("Value Companies"). The sub-adviser defines Value Companies as those companies the believes are deeply undervalued relative to their earnings potential and revenue base. The sub-adviser considers a company to be deeply undervalued if its enterprise value-to-sales is less than 1.5x at the time of purchase. The sub-adviser defines enterprise value to be a company’s market capitalization plus debt less its cash and cash equivalents. It is non-diversified.
About Towle Value ETF (TCV)
There are 3 members of the management team with an average tenure of 11.67 years: Peter Lewis (2011), Christopher Towle (2011) and G. Barthelmess (2021). 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 Russell 2000 Value TR USD index with a weighting of 100%. Towle Value ETF has 51 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 30.5% 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.
Towle Value ETF is part of the Equity global asset class and is within the U.S. Equity ETF group. Towle Value ETF has 4.2% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is 94.9% There is 4.2% 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). Towle Value ETF has 1.2% of the portfolio in cash.
Assets Under Management
The fund has $204 million in total assets, which is below the $2 billion average for the Small Value 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.
TCV 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 Towle Value ETF expense ratio is high compared to funds in the Small Value category. Towle Value ETF has an expense ratio of 0.85%, which is 77% 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. Towle Value ETF has a portfolio turnover rate of 100%, which indicates that it holds its assets around / 0.0 years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 60% for the Small Value category.
Recently, in the month of July 2026, Towle Value ETF returned 2.2%, which earned it a grade of B, as the Small Value category had an average return of 1.2%. 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.
Towle Value ETF has a trailing yield of 0.43%, which is below the 1.71% 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.
Towle Value ETF Grades
Year to date, the ETF has returned 24.2%, 4.4 percentage points better than the category, which translates into a grade of A. The fund has returned 37.1% over the past year (grade of B), 7.4% over the past three years (grade of F) and 6.6% per year over the past five years (grade of D) and 7.9% per year over the past 10 years (grade of F).
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TCV 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 |
|
| TCV Return (NAV) | 2.2% | 5.8% | 37.1% | 7.4% | 6.6% | 7.9% |
| TCV Return (Price) | 2.1% | 5.6% | 39.3% | 7.4% | 6.6% | 7.8% |
| NAV +/- Price Return | 0.032% | 0.166% | -2.171% | 0.023% | 0.014% | 0.007% |
| Small Value Avg | 1.2% | 6.4% | 31.1% | 13.1% | 8.6% | 10.2% |
| TCV Grade (NAV) | B | C | B | F | D | F |
| +/- Category (NAV) | 1.0% | -0.6% | 6.0% | -5.7% | -2.0% | -2.3% |
| TCV Tax-Cost Ratio | na | na | 0.2% | 1.2% | 1.1% | 1.3% |
TCV Annual NAV Total ReturnsData as of 7/31/26
| 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | |
| TCV Return (NAV) | 24.2% | 1.5% | -9.0% | 19.0% | -2.2% | 26.2% | 5.6% | 22.6% | -31.9% | 14.8% | 54.4% |
| TCV Return (Price) | 26.5% | -0.4% | -9.0% | 19.0% | -2.2% | 26.2% | 5.6% | 22.6% | -31.9% | 14.8% | 54.4% |
| NAV +/- Price Ret | 0.097% | -1.292% | 0.000% | 0.000% | 0.000% | 0.000% | 0.000% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| Small Value Avg | 19.7% | 7.0% | 7.8% | 17.1% | -10.9% | 33.0% | 4.1% | 21.2% | -12.2% | 9.8% | 29.4% |
| TCV Grade (NAV) | A | F | F | B | A | F | C | B | F | A | A |
| +/- Category | 4.4% | -5.5% | -16.8% | 2.0% | 8.6% | -6.9% | 1.5% | 1.4% | -19.7% | 5.0% | 25.1% |
| Risk Measures | |
| Beta: | 1.20 |
| R-Squared: | 53% |
| Standard Deviation: | 21.6% |
| Category Risk Index: | 1.17 |
| Category Risk Rating: | High |
| Total Risk Index: | 1.76 |
| Total Risk Rating: | High |
| Portfolio Characteristics | |
| Yield: | 0.4% |
| Total Assets: | $ 204 Mil |
| Share Class Assets: | $ 204 Mil |
| Turnover: | 100.0% |
| Expense Ratio: | 0.85% |
| Index Fund: | No |
| Index Tracked: | S&P 500 (TR) (1970) |
| 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: 14.8 years | |||
| Average Tenure: 11.7 years | |||
| Managers (Year): Lewis Peter (2011), Towle Christopher (2011), Barthelmess G. (2021) | |||
Portfolio Composition (as of 7/31/26)
| # of Holdings: | 51 |
| % in Top 10 Holdings: | 30.5% |
| Fund is Non-Diversified: | Yes |
| % in Foreign Issues: | 4.2% |
Portfolio Allocation |
|
| Domestic Stock: | 94.9% |
| Foreign Stock: | 4.2% |
| Preferred Stock: | 0.0% |
| Domestic Bond: | 0.0% |
| Foreign Bond: | 0.0% |
| Convertible Bond: | 0.0% |
| Other: | -0.2% |
| Cash: | 1.2% |
Purchase Information
| Legal Structure: | Open Ended Investment Company |
| Fund Family: | Towle |
| Phone Number: | 215-330-4476 |
| Website: | www.valueshares.com |
| Inception Date: | October 31, 2011 |
Expenses and Fees
| Expense Ratio (%): | 0.85% (Rating: High) |
| Category Average Expense Ratio (%): | 0.48% |
