VictoryShares US 500 Volatility Wtd ETF

VictoryShares US 500 Volatility Wtd ETF (CFA) tracks the Nasdaq Victory US Large Cap 500 Volatility Weighted Index. That index holds about 500 large, profitable US companies and gives steadier stocks bigger weights than jumpier ones. Money is spread thinly: its 10 largest positions made up just 3.92% of assets as of June 30, 2026. At 0.35% a year, it costs more than equal-weight peers such as RSP (0.20%) and EUSA (0.09%).

• Over the year to Oct 27, 2026, CFA returned +11.2%, 8th of 9 among similar funds.
• Its 5-year annualized return was +7.7% and its 10-year +11.8%.
• In the 2020 COVID crash it fell 37.7% and regained its old high 7.5 months after the low.
• Its worst full calendar year was 2022 (-11.4%); its best was 2019 (+30.1%).
• The deepest fall in its price history was 37.7% (Feb 19, 2020 to Mar 23, 2020), recovered by Nov 5, 2020.

As of Jun 30, 2026, the fund held 501 securities; the ten largest made up 3.92% of assets.

By sector

• Over the three months to Jun 30, 2026, investors withdrew a net $23.7M (creations minus redemptions, per the N-PORT report).
• Monthly total returns reported for that quarter: +4.87%, +0.66%, +2.54%.

CFA follows a rules-based index run by Nasdaq, Inc., which is not affiliated with the fund or its adviser, Victory Capital. The index starts with all publicly traded US stocks. It keeps only companies with positive earnings over the last twelve months, then picks the 500 largest by market value. As of September 30, 2026, those companies ranged from $4.0 billion to $5.5 trillion in market value.

The weighting is what sets the fund apart. The index measures each stock's volatility, meaning how much its price swung day to day over the last 180 trading days. Calmer stocks get more weight and more volatile stocks get less. A typical index weights companies by size, so the biggest firms dominate. Here, utilities and steady businesses rise to the top instead. As of June 30, 2026, the largest holdings were Alliant Energy, Berkshire Hathaway, Loews, WEC Energy and Palo Alto Networks, each about 0.4% of assets.

The index is rebuilt every March and September using data from the prior month-end. No single sector can exceed 25%. The fund tries to hold every stock in the index, and portfolio turnover was 29%. It is not actively managed, so it makes no defensive moves when markets fall.

• CFA charges 0.35% a year, versus an average of 0.27% for the similar funds below (6th of 9, cheapest first).
• Of that, 0.3% is the management fee; the rest covers other fund expenses.
• The fee includes a 0.03% waiver from the adviser, which may end.
• Using the prospectus's standard example, $10,000 invested would cost about $36 in the first year and $477 over 10 years (assuming a 5% annual return).

It offers broad, diversified exposure to about 500 profitable US large companies, with a tilt toward steadier stocks rather than a narrow or leveraged strategy.

CFA leans toward calmer stocks. Its one-year beta was 0.59 as of October 27, 2026, which means it has moved less than the overall market. That tilt has not prevented deep losses. In the 2020 COVID crash it fell 37.7% between February 19 and March 23, 2020, and took about 7.5 months to recover. In the 2022 bear market it fell 20.8% and needed 16 months, until January 29, 2024, to get back. Its worst calendar year was 2022, at −11.28%. The fund launched in 2014, so it has no record from 2008.

Anyone who had to sell during those stretches would have locked in losses. The fund yielded 1.22% over the 12 months to October 27, 2026, paid monthly. It costs 0.35% a year, or $477 over 10 years in the SEC's $10,000 example. Past results don't predict the future, and a plan should look at the whole portfolio, not one fund.

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