ETF Evaluator: Vident U.S. Equity Strategy ETF (VUSE) Follow This ETF

Vident U.S. Equity Strategy ETF Overview

Vident U.S. Equity Strategy ETF (VUSE) is a passively managed U.S. Equity Large Blend exchange-traded fund (ETF). Vident Financial launched the ETF in 2014.

The investment seeks to track the performance, before fees and expenses, of the Vident U.S. Quality Index (the “index”). Under normal circumstances, at least 80% of the fund's total assets (exclusive of collateral held from securities lending) will be invested in the component securities of the index. The underlying index is a rules-based, systematic strategy index comprised of equity securities of issuers domiciled and traded in the United States.

About Vident U.S. Equity Strategy ETF (VUSE)

There are 2 members of the management team with an average tenure of 6.77 years: Rafael Zayas (2020) and Austin Wen (2018). 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 Morningstar US Market TR USD index with a weighting of 100%. Vident U.S. Equity Strategy ETF has 129 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 25.2% 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.

Vident U.S. Equity Strategy ETF is part of the Equity global asset class and is within the U.S. Equity ETF group. Vident U.S. Equity Strategy ETF has 0.0% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is 99.9% 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). Vident U.S. Equity Strategy ETF has 0.1% of the portfolio in cash.

Assets Under Management

The fund has $690 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.

VUSE 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 Vident U.S. Equity Strategy ETF expense ratio is average compared to funds in the Large Blend category. Vident U.S. Equity Strategy ETF has an expense ratio of 0.50%, which is 19% 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. Vident U.S. Equity Strategy ETF has a portfolio turnover rate of 64%, which indicates that it holds its assets around / 0.0 years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 162% for the Large Blend category.

Recently, in the month of June 2026, Vident U.S. Equity Strategy ETF returned 0.3%, which earned it a grade of B, as the Large Blend category had an average return of -0.0%. 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.

Vident U.S. Equity Strategy ETF has a trailing yield of 0.45%, which is below the 1.12% 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.

Vident U.S. Equity Strategy ETF Grades

Year to date, the ETF has returned 9.6%, 0.7 percentage points worse than the category, which translates into a grade of C. The fund has returned 15.4% over the past year (grade of F), 15.6% over the past three years (grade of D) and 11.5% per year over the past five years (grade of D) and 12.4% per year over the past 10 years (grade of D).

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