At a glance
BKWO charges 0.5% a year, above the 0.33% average of the 8 funds most like it (the 6th cheapest of 9). It has $16.9M in assets, the 9th largest of that group. Over the past year it returned −0.2% with distributions reinvested (S&P 500: +11.5%), 8th of those 9 funds; over three years it returned +16.7% a year. Its ten largest positions make up 50.5% of the fund, out of 48 in all.
The short version
BNY Mellon Women's Opportunities ETF (BKWO) is an actively managed fund of mainly U.S. stocks. Its sub-adviser picks from companies it rates well on gender-equitable workplaces or on products that help women meet work and family needs. In practice, its biggest positions are the tech giants NVIDIA and Microsoft, about 19% of assets as of August 29, 2025. It charges 0.50% a year, against a 0.33% average for funds with overlapping holdings.
Price history
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BKWO -0.2% over the year to Oct 27, 2026, total return with distributions reinvested.
How it has behaved
| YTD | 1 yr | 3 yr | 5 yr | 10 yr | Since start | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BKWO official prospectus, to Dec 31, 2024 | — | +20.68% | — | — | — | +22.16% |
| S&P 500® Index (reflects no deductions for fees, expenses or taxes) index, same period | — | +25.02% | — | — | — | +26.46% |
| BKWO price data to Oct 27, 2026 | -0.2% | -0.2% | +16.7% | — | — | +12.6% |
- Over the year to Oct 27, 2026, BKWO returned -0.2%, 8th of 9 among similar funds.
- Its worst full calendar year was 2025 (+10.2%); its best was 2024 (+20.8%).
- The deepest fall in its price history was 21.4% (Feb 18, 2025 to Apr 8, 2025), recovered by Jun 27, 2025.
Show as a table
| Year | Price data |
|---|---|
| 2025 | +10.2% |
| 2024 | +20.8% |
| 2008 financial crisis stocks fell Oct 9, 2007 – Mar 9, 2009 | Before this security existed |
|---|---|
| 2020 COVID crash stocks fell Feb 19, 2020 – Mar 23, 2020 | Before this security existed |
| 2022 bear market stocks fell Jan 3, 2022 – Oct 12, 2022 | Before this security existed |
Dividends and income
Show as a table
| Year | Per share | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $0.2200 | +69.2% |
| 2024 | $0.1300 |
What's inside
As of Aug 29, 2025, the fund held 48 securities; the ten largest made up 50.48% of assets.
| Holding | Weight | |
|---|---|---|
| NVIDIA Corp | 10.51% | |
| Microsoft Corp | 8.92% | |
| Amazon.com Inc | 6.52% | |
| Apple Inc | 4.60% | |
| JPMorgan Chase & Co | 4.52% | |
| Meta Platforms Inc | 4.36% | |
| Mastercard Inc | 3.11% | |
| AbbVie Inc | 3.02% | |
| Boston Scientific Corp | 2.57% | |
| Trane Technologies PLC | 2.35% | |
| Intuit Inc | 2.20% | |
| Shopify Inc | 2.13% | |
| Bank of America Corp | 2.12% | |
| Procter & Gamble Co | 1.75% | |
| Bright Horizons Family Solutio | 1.69% |
By country
United States 91.45%United Kingdom 2.57%Ireland 2.35%Canada 2.13%Switzerland 0.91%By asset type
Stocks 99.4%By sector
Sectors of the companies held, for the 83.6% of the fund in companies that have a stock page here; other holdings and cash aren't classified. Source: N-PORT holdings report as of Aug 29, 2025. Cash, money-market funds and derivatives are shown separately from the securities list.What changed recently
- Over the three months to Aug 29, 2025, investors added a net $0.00 (creations minus redemptions, per the N-PORT report).
- Monthly total returns reported for that quarter: +5.24%, +2.49%, +0.45%.
How it works
BKWO is actively managed. It doesn't track an index. Instead, its sub-adviser, Newton Investment Management North America (NIMNA), picks stocks in two steps. First, it scores companies on workplace gender practices: women in management and on the board, employee satisfaction and equality policies, and benefits like family leave and flexible work. Companies in the top half of their peer group qualify. A lower-scoring company can also qualify if it has at least one woman on its board and sells products or services that help women, such as women's health care, infant nutrition, or child and elder care.
Second, NIMNA researches the eligible companies. It favors those with strong growth in revenue, profit and free cash flow (cash left after expenses and investment). It also looks for shares it judges undervalued on measures like the price-to-earnings ratio. It can buy companies of any size. It sells when a business weakens, a company's support for women slips, or the price looks too high.
The prospectus sets no weighting formula or rebalancing schedule. The fund is non-diversified, so it can hold big positions in a few companies. As of August 29, 2025, it held 48 stocks. The top 10 were about half of assets, and NVIDIA alone was 10.5%. Annual turnover (the share of holdings replaced) was 44%. Trading costs come on top of the 0.50% fee.
What it really costs
- BKWO charges 0.5% a year, versus an average of 0.33% for the similar funds below (6th of 9, cheapest first).
- Using the prospectus's standard example, $10,000 invested would cost about $51 in the first year and $628 over 10 years (assuming a 5% annual return).
| Cost of $10,000 (SEC example) | 1 yr | 3 yrs | 5 yrs | 10 yrs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BKWO | $51 | $160 | $280 | $628 |
In a retirement portfolio
BKWO is a small, non-diversified theme fund with no income and a record that starts in May 2023, so it fits better as a modest add-on than as a portfolio's foundation.
BKWO could let a retiree match part of a stock portfolio to gender-equity values while still owning giants such as NVIDIA and Microsoft. Its record is short. It launched May 16, 2023, so it has no history through the 2008, 2020 or 2022 sell-offs. Its deepest drop was 21.4%, from February 18 to April 8, 2025. It recovered by June 27, 2025, about 2.6 months after the low. A retiree who sold during that drop would have locked in losses. It gained in both of its full calendar years: 20.8% in 2024 and 10.2% in 2025.
It paid no distributions in the year to October 27, 2026, so it adds no income. Its expense ratio is 0.50%, above the 0.33% average of similar funds. In the SEC's $10,000 example, that costs $51 in year one and $628 over 10 years. Past results don't predict future returns, and a plan should weigh the whole portfolio, not one fund.
Who it may suit — and who should look elsewhere
May suit
- Investors who want U.S. stocks screened on how companies treat and serve women, and who accept a 0.50% fee for active stock picking.
- Investors comfortable with concentration: NVIDIA, Microsoft and Amazon were about 26% of assets, and the top 10 about half, as of August 29, 2025.
- Long-term investors who don't need income from it and can sit through drops like its 21.4% fall from February to April 2025.
Look elsewhere if
- Cost-focused investors: Vanguard Mega Cap ETF (MGC), with about 39% holdings overlap, charges 0.07% a year versus BKWO's 0.50%.
- Those who need regular income: BKWO made no distributions in the year to October 27, 2026, and its stated goal is capital growth.
- Investors who prefer bigger, longer-tested funds: launched in May 2023, BKWO had $16.9 million in assets as of August 29, 2025, smallest among similar funds.
Close alternatives
Matched by holdings overlap from the latest N-PORT reports.
| Fund | Overlap | Cost | Net assets | 1 yr | 3 yr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BKWO this fund | — | 0.5% | $16.9M | -0.2% | +16.7% |
| XLG Invesco S&P 500® Top 50 ETF | 44% | 0.2% | $10.56B | +6.9% | +25.3% |
| PJFG PGIM Jennison Focused Growth ETF | 39% | 0.75% | $140.3M | +3.6% | +25.2% |
| MGC Vanguard Mega Cap ETF | 39% | 0.07% | $10.90B | +13.5% | +26.0% |
| SCHG Schwab U.S. Large-Cap Growth ETF | 38% | 0.04% | $63.03B | +2.2% | +23.0% |
| PGRO Putnam Focused Large Cap Growth ETF | 38% | 0.56% | $212.1M | +3.1% | +24.6% |
| TOPT iShares Top 20 U.S. Stocks ETF | 35% | 0.2% | $657.2M | +12.2% | — |
| IWFG NYLI Winslow Focused Large Cap Growth ETF | 35% | 0.65% | $60.5M | -2.6% | +23.6% |
Questions investors ask
What stocks are in the BKWO ETF?
As of August 29, 2025, BKWO held 48 stocks. The largest were NVIDIA (10.5%), Microsoft (8.9%), Amazon (6.5%), Apple (4.6%), JPMorgan Chase (4.5%) and Meta Platforms (4.4%). The top 10 made up about half the fund. About 91% was in U.S. companies, and most of the rest was in companies from the U.K., Ireland, Canada and Switzerland. Smaller positions included Mastercard, AbbVie, Boston Scientific and Bright Horizons Family Solutions.
Does BKWO pay a dividend?
It paid none in the 12 months to October 27, 2026, so its trailing yield was 0%. That fits its stated goal of long-term capital growth rather than income. For a retiree, any cash from BKWO would have to come from selling shares. That is harder to do on good terms after a drop like the fund's 21.4% fall between February and April 2025.
How has BKWO performed compared to the S&P 500?
It lagged the index in the periods its prospectus reports. BKWO returned 20.68% in the year to December 31, 2024, while the S&P 500 returned 25.02%. From its May 16, 2023, launch through that date, it returned 22.16% a year, against 26.46% for the index. Based on share prices, its 3-year average annual return was 16.7% as of October 27, 2026. That was the lowest among similar funds with a 3-year record. Its strongest quarter was a 14.14% gain in the first quarter of 2024.
What is BKWO's expense ratio?
BKWO's expense ratio is 0.50% a year, all of it management fee, according to the prospectus filed June 27, 2025. In the SEC's standard example, $10,000 invested at a 5% yearly return would cost about $51 over one year, $280 over five and $628 over 10. The 0.50% fee is above the 0.33% average for similar funds. It ranked sixth-cheapest of nine, far above the 0.04% charged by Schwab U.S. Large-Cap Growth ETF.
BKWO vs XLG: what's the difference?
The main differences are approach, cost and size. Invesco S&P 500 Top 50 ETF (XLG) shares more holdings with BKWO than any other similar fund, about 44%. BKWO's managers pick stocks using a women-focused screen. XLG charges 0.20% a year, against 0.50% for BKWO. XLG had about $10.6 billion in assets as of July 31, 2026, while BKWO had $16.9 million as of August 29, 2025. As of October 27, 2026, XLG's 3-year average annual return was 25.3%, compared with 16.7% for BKWO.