Adaptive Alpha Opportunities ETF

Adaptive Alpha Opportunities ETF (AGOX) is an actively managed fund of funds from Adaptive Investments. It mainly owns other ETFs, led by the SPDR S&P 500 ETF and Invesco QQQ Trust, and uses options and cash to raise or lower risk. Two things set it apart. It trades very heavily, with portfolio turnover of 2,621%, based on quantitative signals. And its 1.36% expense ratio is high for a fund whose largest holdings are low-cost index ETFs.

• Over the year to Oct 27, 2026, AGOX returned +9.7%, 7th of 8 among similar funds.
• Its 5-year annualized return was +7.2%.
• Its worst full calendar year was 2022 (-19.2%); its best was 2023 (+19.1%).
• The deepest fall in its price history was 26.9% (Nov 16, 2021 to Oct 14, 2022), recovered by Mar 7, 2024.

As of Aug 31, 2026, the fund held 26 securities; the ten largest made up 104.04% of assets, and 2.36% sat in cash and money-market holdings.

• Over the three months to Aug 31, 2026, investors added a net $4.1M (creations minus redemptions, per the N-PORT report).
• Monthly total returns reported for that quarter: +1.20%, -4.98%, +1.18%.

AGOX does not track an index. Its manager mainly buys ETFs from other fund companies that hold stocks of any size from around the world, including emerging markets. The fund may also own stocks, investment-grade bonds, options and cash directly. A proprietary scoring system decides what to favor. It looks for turning points in economic drivers such as interest rates, inflation and growth. It also scores price trends and "up-down capture," which measures how much of the market's gains and losses an investment has tended to catch. The fund then puts more money into the sectors and stocks that score well, through the stocks themselves, sector ETFs or options.

A separate risk-management layer watches trend signals on stock indexes. When those signals turn negative, the fund can cut its stock exposure, hold a large amount of cash, buy put options (contracts that gain value when prices fall) and use volatility ETFs or inverse ETFs, which are built to rise when markets drop. The prospectus warns that these hedges may fail to prevent losses and can limit gains.

As of August 31, 2026, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF made up 55.1% of net assets, Invesco QQQ Trust 19.3% and Technology Select Sector SPDR 9.0%. The fund also held 82 option positions and 2.4% in cash. Turnover of 2,621% means the portfolio changes constantly. That can raise trading costs and taxes.

• AGOX charges 1.36% a year, versus an average of 0.86% for the similar funds below (8th of 8, cheapest first).
• Of that, 1% is the management fee; the rest covers other fund expenses.
• Using the prospectus's standard example, $10,000 invested would cost about $138 in the first year and $1,635 over 10 years (assuming a 5% annual return).

It moves almost in step with the stock market, trades heavily and costs 1.36% a year, so it fits better as a small tactical position than as a foundation.

AGOX could add a tactical, signal-driven layer on top of a core stock holding, but its record so far looks a lot like the market itself. Its price history doesn't go back to the 2008 crisis or the 2020 COVID crash. In the 2022 bear market it fell about 25% between January 4 and September 30, 2022. Its deepest drop was 26.9%, from November 2021 to October 2022, and it took about 17 months to recover, in March 2024. In its worst calendar year, 2022, it lost 18.45%. Anyone who had to sell shares that year would have locked in losses, even with the risk controls in place. The yield was 2.77% as of October 27, 2026, paid once a year. In the SEC's standard example, $10,000 invested costs $138 in fees in the first year. Past results don't predict future returns, and a plan should look at the whole portfolio, not one fund.

Matched by other buffer (defined-outcome) funds, largest first.