Rather than tracking a specific index, this actively managed ETF has its portfolio managers hand-pick US large-cap stocks with a history of growing dividends and a stable financial base. It targets both capital growth and dividend income.

It suits medium- to long-term investors who want exposure to US large-cap dividend stocks but wish to avoid the concentration in top holdings that comes with market-cap weighting.

The ETF is run with an active (actively managed) approach by Liberty One Investment Management.

The fund selects mature, large-cap market leaders that have raised their dividends steadily, using both bottom-up and top-down analysis. After purchase, it allocates equal weights across both individual stocks and sectors, which eases the dependence of performance on a handful of mega-cap stocks and specific sectors.

• Dual equal-weight allocation across stocks and sectors
• Selection based on in-house research rather than an index
• Low turnover, oriented toward long-term holding

Assets under management (AUM) stand at $73.7M, and the Expense Ratio is 0.85% per year.

Because of its small asset base, bid-ask spreads may be wider than those of large dividend ETFs, and as an actively managed fund, its fee burden is also heavier than that of passive dividend ETFs.

Because the portfolio centers on dividend growth stocks, it tends to lag when the broader market is led by large tech names, while it tends to show relatively better downside protection when volatility rises. With a short track record, more time is needed to judge its long-term trend.

Money keeps flowing into the US dividend ETF category as a whole, but most of it goes to large, low-fee passive products that already have substantial assets. For new, small active products like this ETF, the size of inflows depends on how quickly a performance track record builds up.

Its equal-weighted dividend growth structure, which reduces concentration, is its strength, while its small asset base and fee burden are its weaknesses.

The VIG, SCHD, and VYM shown in the table are all low-fee passive products holding US large-cap dividend stocks, with a much lighter fee burden and far larger asset bases than this ETF. Products like RDVY pick dividend growth stocks by rules and are close in concept, while DFAC is closer to broad core exposure than to dividends. For a closer look at the dividend growth segment, DGRO, NOBL, and SDY are also worth comparing.

Here are the items to check before investing in this ETF. The dividend growth concept itself matters, but the effect of costs and fund size on actual long-term returns may be larger, so we recommend reviewing them together.

Because it is actively managed, performance depends on the managers' judgment, and the fee gap compounds over time the longer you hold. You should also account for the possibility of less favorable trade execution prices due to its small size.

It is an option worth considering if you want dividend growth exposure with less top-holding concentration. However, if cost and liquidity are your priorities, we recommend first comparing large passive dividend ETFs such as SCHD and VIG.