VictoryShares US Small Cap Volatility Wtd ETF

VictoryShares US Small Cap Volatility Wtd ETF (CSA) tracks the Nasdaq Victory US Small Cap 500 Volatility Weighted Index: about 500 profitable small US companies, weighted so stocks with smaller price swings get bigger stakes. As of March 31, 2025, its largest holdings were mostly utilities such as IDACORP and Portland General Electric. The trade-off is cost: its 0.35% annual expense ratio is well above the 0.14% average of eight similar small-cap funds.

• Over the year to Oct 27, 2026, CSA returned 0.0%, 9th of 9 among similar funds.
• Its 5-year annualized return was +1.2% and its 10-year +7.7%.
• In the 2020 COVID crash it fell 40.2% and regained its old high 7.6 months after the low.
• Its worst full calendar year was 2022 (-14.6%); its best was 2021 (+29.9%).
• The deepest fall in its price history was 42.4% (Aug 24, 2018 to Mar 23, 2020), recovered by Nov 23, 2020.

As of Mar 31, 2025, the fund held 500 securities; the ten largest made up 3.94% of assets.

• Over the three months to Mar 31, 2025, investors withdrew a net $10.8M (creations minus redemptions, per the N-PORT report).
• Monthly total returns reported for that quarter: +3.10%, -3.80%, -5.13%.

CSA aims to track the Nasdaq Victory US Small Cap 500 Volatility Weighted Index, run independently by Nasdaq, Inc. The index starts with the smallest 10% of US stocks by market value (the Nasdaq US Small Cap Index). From those, it keeps the 500 largest that earned a profit over the past 12 months. As of September 30, 2024, members ranged from $0.5 billion to $21.1 billion in market value.

Instead of weighting by company size, the index weights each stock by its volatility, meaning how much its price swung day to day over the last 180 trading days. Calmer stocks get bigger weights, and jumpier ones get smaller weights. No sector may exceed 25%, and the list is rebuilt every March and September. As of March 31, 2025, the 10 largest positions totaled just 3.94% of assets, led by IDACORP at 0.42%. Most were utilities such as Portland General Electric and Black Hills.

The fund aims to hold every stock in the index and normally keeps at least 80% of assets in index securities. It uses no leverage or options. As of March 31, 2025, it held 0.72% in cash. Its 49% annual turnover (roughly the share of the portfolio replaced in a year, per the October 2024 prospectus) adds trading costs not counted in the expense ratio.

• CSA charges 0.35% a year, versus an average of 0.14% for the similar funds below (8th of 9, cheapest first).
• Of that, 0.3% is the management fee; the rest covers other fund expenses.
• The fee includes a 0.2% 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 $670 over 10 years (assuming a 5% annual return).

It holds only small US companies and fell more than 40% in early 2020, so it may suit a smaller slice alongside broader core holdings.

CSA could add profitable small US companies with a tilt toward steadier stocks, but its losses have still been deep. It fell 40.2% in the 2020 COVID crash. Its deepest drop, 42.4% from an August 2018 high, was regained by November 23, 2020. In the 2022 bear market it lost 23.3% and did not recover until March 21, 2024. Its worst calendar year was 2022, down 14.6%. It launched in 2015, so it has no 2008 record. Drawing on it in those years would have meant cashing out low.

It made no distributions in the 12 months to October 27, 2026, and its share price showed no change over that span, an unusual pattern worth confirming with Victory Capital. The 0.35% expense ratio is well above the 0.14% average for similar funds. 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.