Aptus Drawdown Managed Equity ETF

Aptus Drawdown Managed Equity ETF (ADME) is an actively managed fund of U.S. stocks that also buys options, mainly put options, to try to soften market drops. As of July 31, 2026, its largest holdings were NVIDIA, Apple, Alphabet and Microsoft. Its 0.79% expense ratio is far above the 0.08% average of similar large-company funds. It also had the lowest one- and three-year returns among those nine funds through October 27, 2026.

• Over the year to Oct 27, 2026, ADME returned +8.7%, 9th of 9 among similar funds.
• Its 5-year annualized return was +7.0% and its 10-year +9.3%.
• In the 2020 COVID crash it fell 16.9% and regained its old high 2.2 months after the low.
• Its worst full calendar year was 2022 (-21.8%); its best was 2024 (+22.1%).
• The deepest fall in its price history was 27.5% (Oct 1, 2018 to Mar 23, 2020), recovered by Jan 8, 2021.

As of Jul 31, 2026, the fund held 162 securities; the ten largest made up 39.93% of assets.

By sector

• Over the three months to Jul 31, 2026, investors added a net $22.2M (creations minus redemptions, per the N-PORT report).
• Monthly total returns reported for that quarter: +4.40%, -1.22%, -0.80%.

ADME follows no index. Its adviser, Aptus Capital Advisors, picks the stocks. At least 80% of net assets normally go into US-listed common stocks of any size, real estate investment trusts (REITs) and American Depositary Receipts (US-traded shares of foreign firms). A "yield plus growth" screen weighs yield, growth, valuation and momentum (recent price strength). As of July 31, 2026, the top 10 of 162 holdings made up 39.9% of assets, led by NVIDIA (7.6%), Apple (7.1%) and Alphabet (5.9%).

The "downside protection" in its objective comes from options. Aptus buys put options, which pay off if a stock, index or ETF falls below a set price by a set date. Each put costs a premium, lost if markets hold up. Puts generally take under 5% of net assets when bought. Aptus rolls them to later dates or resizes them as markets move.

Aptus may also sell covered calls and puts to collect premium, though sold calls can cap gains. It can pair bought and sold options (spreads), including on the Cboe Volatility Index (VIX), which tracks expected stock swings. As of July 31, 2026, its five option positions, mostly VIX calls, netted 0.18% of assets. Protection is partial: the fund lost 21.72% in 2022.

• ADME charges 0.79% a year, versus an average of 0.08% for the similar funds below (9th of 9, cheapest first).
• Using the prospectus's standard example, $10,000 invested would cost about $81 in the first year and $978 over 10 years (assuming a 5% annual return).

ADME is a broad, large-company U.S. stock portfolio with a modest options hedge, so it behaves mostly like a stock fund rather than a true defensive holding.

ADME could serve as a core U.S. stock holding with a hedge on top, but its record shows the hedge softened losses rather than preventing them. It fell 16.9% in the 2020 COVID crash and recovered in about two months. It fell 23% in the 2022 bear market and did not recover until June 2024, about 20 months later. 2022 was its worst calendar year, at -21.7%. Its deepest drop, 27.5%, ran from October 2018 to March 2020. Anyone forced to sell shares for spending during those stretches would have locked in losses. The fund launched in 2016, so it has no 2008 record. Income is small: a 0.35% trailing yield as of October 27, 2026, paid quarterly. In the SEC's standard example, $10,000 invested would cost $978 over 10 years. Past results don't predict future ones, and a plan should look at the whole portfolio, not one fund.

Matched by holdings overlap from the latest N-PORT reports.