Sparkline International Intangible Value ETF

Sparkline International Intangible Value ETF (DTAN) is an actively managed fund that picks stocks of non-US companies, mostly in Japan and Western Europe. Its twist is how it judges whether a stock is cheap: alongside tangible assets, its stock picker, Sparkline Capital, scores hard-to-measure strengths such as brands, patents, skilled staff and large user networks, partly using software that reads text. It costs 0.55% of assets a year and has traded only since September 2024.

• Over the year to Oct 27, 2026, DTAN returned +12.6%.
• Its worst full calendar year was 2025 (+29.5%); its best was 2025 (+29.5%).
• The deepest fall in its price history was 17.6% (Mar 7, 2025 to Apr 8, 2025), recovered by May 19, 2025.

As of Aug 31, 2026, the fund held 108 securities; the ten largest made up 28.92% of assets.

• Over the three months to Aug 31, 2026, investors added a net $357K (creations minus redemptions, per the N-PORT report).
• Monthly total returns reported for that quarter: -4.75%, +5.32%, +3.45%.

DTAN is actively managed, so it does not track an index. Sub-adviser Sparkline Capital LP, the firm that picks the stocks, screens all publicly listed non-US companies and calculates each one's "intangible-augmented intrinsic value," its estimate of a company's true worth. That estimate combines tangible assets with four kinds of intangible value: human capital (talent and culture), brand equity, intellectual property such as patents, and network effects, where a product gains value as more people use it.

Because accounting reports say little about these strengths, Sparkline uses "alternative data," which may include the text of company reports, patent and trademark grants, employee reviews and social media. It reads much of this with natural language processing, a type of machine learning built for text. Each area's score averages several metrics, the five scores are added up, and the fund generally holds the top-scoring companies.

As of August 31, 2026, the fund held 108 stocks and 0.2% cash. Siemens was the largest position at 3.7%, and the top 10 made up 28.9%. Japan and Germany each accounted for about 22%. Portfolio turnover, a gauge of how much of the fund changes over a year, was 46%; trading costs come on top of the 0.55% yearly fee. Currency moves also change what the holdings are worth in dollars.

• DTAN charges 0.55% a year.
• Using the prospectus's standard example, $10,000 invested would cost about $56 in the first year and $689 over 10 years (assuming a 5% annual return).

It holds non-US stocks, mostly from Japan and Western Europe, which can spread risk in a US-heavy portfolio, though its short record and model-driven stock picking point to a supporting role rather than a core one.

DTAN could add non-US stocks such as Siemens and Roche, its two largest holdings as of August 31, 2026, to a US-heavy portfolio. Launched in September 2024, it did not exist during the 2008 financial crisis, the 2020 COVID crash or the 2022 downturn. Its only full calendar year, 2025, returned 29.6%. Its deepest drop, 17.6% from March 7 to April 8, 2025, was regained by May 19, 2025. Retirees cashing out near that low would have locked in losses, and the fund has yet to face a prolonged slump.

It pays dividends quarterly, yielding 1.89% over the 12 months to October 27, 2026, so it is more a growth holding than an income source. Costs run 0.55% a year ($689 over 10 years on $10,000 in the SEC's standard example). Past results don't predict the future, and a plan should weigh the whole portfolio, not one fund.

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

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