ETF Evaluator: Affinity World Leaders Equity ETF () Follow This ETF

Affinity World Leaders Equity ETF Overview

Affinity World Leaders Equity ETF (WLDR) is a passively managed International Equity Global Large-Stock Value exchange-traded fund (ETF). Affinity Investment Advisors, LLC launched the ETF in 2018.

The investment seeks to provide investment results that correspond generally, before fees and expenses, to the performance of the FTSE StarMine Affinity World Leaders Index. The index is expected to consist of approximately 150 to 250 stocks of companies located in the U.S. and in at least three countries outside of the U.S., and may invest in up to 20 countries. The index will be significantly invested in the securities of international companies in addition to securities of U.S. companies. The fund normally invests at least 80% of its net assets (plus any borrowings for investment purposes) in equity securities included in the index.

About Affinity World Leaders Equity ETF (WLDR)

There are 4 members of the management team with an average tenure of 3.01 years: David Berns (2026), Tianyue Zhang (2023), Jeffrey Schwarte (2026) and Gregory Lai (2018). Management tenure is more important for actively managed ETFs than passive index ETFs.

The ETF has 2 primary benchmarks: MSCI World NR USD index with a weighting of 100% and FTSE StarMine Affinity Wld Leader TR USD index with a weighting of 100%. Affinity World Leaders Equity ETF has 117 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 35.8% 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.

Affinity World Leaders Equity ETF is part of the Equity global asset class and is within the International Equity ETF group. Affinity World Leaders Equity ETF has 26.5% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is 72.7% There is 26.5% 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). Affinity World Leaders Equity ETF has 0.8% of the portfolio in cash.

Assets Under Management

The fund has $91 million in total assets, which is below the $457 million average for the Global Large-Stock 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.

WLDR 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 Affinity World Leaders Equity ETF expense ratio is above average compared to funds in the Global Large-Stock Value category. Affinity World Leaders Equity ETF has an expense ratio of 0.67%, which is 8% 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. Affinity World Leaders Equity ETF has a portfolio turnover rate of 112%, which indicates that it holds its assets around / 0.0 years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 46% for the Global Large-Stock Value category.

Recently, in the month of July 2026, Affinity World Leaders Equity ETF returned -1.5%, which earned it a grade of F, as the Global Large-Stock Value category had an average return of 3.4%. 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.

Affinity World Leaders Equity ETF has a trailing yield of 1.22%, which is below the 2.34% 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.

Affinity World Leaders Equity ETF Grades

Year to date, the ETF has returned 29.6%, 15.1 percentage points better than the category, which translates into a grade of A. The fund has returned 46.4% over the past year (grade of A), 29.4% over the past three years (grade of A) and 18.4% per year over the past five years (grade of A).

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