RiverNorth Patriot ETF

RiverNorth Patriot ETF (FLDZ) is an actively managed fund whose July 7, 2026 prospectus commits at least 80% of net assets to aerospace and defense stocks. Its adviser gives all its profit from the fund to Folds of Honor, a scholarship charity for military families. Drawbacks: a 0.40% annual fee versus a 0.17% peer average and, as of June 30, 2026, only $4.1 million in assets, with no defense names among its largest holdings.

• Over the year to Oct 27, 2026, FLDZ returned -10.4%, 9th of 9 among similar funds.
• Its worst full calendar year was 2025 (+6.7%); its best was 2024 (+16.0%).
• The deepest fall in its price history was 25.1% (Aug 14, 2026 to Oct 23, 2026), not yet recovered.

As of Jun 30, 2026, the fund held 316 securities; the ten largest made up 6.62% of assets.

• Over the three months to Jun 30, 2026, investors added a net $0.00 (creations minus redemptions, per the N-PORT report).
• Monthly total returns reported for that quarter: +5.94%, -1.01%, +3.06%.

FLDZ, issued by Truemark Group, is actively managed: there is no index, and the adviser picks the holdings. Its prospectus filed July 7, 2026, which calls it the TrueShares Patriot Defense ETF, says that under normal conditions at least 80% of net assets go into aerospace and defense companies, as defined by the Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS), a common system for sorting companies by industry. These include makers of defense electronics and space equipment. The fund can hold common stocks, American Depositary Receipts (ADRs, US-traded shares of foreign companies) and ETFs that own them.

The adviser screens candidates on factors including where a company is based, its industry, size, trading volume and sources of revenue. It generally weights holdings by market value relative to the rest of the portfolio, so larger companies get bigger positions, but it can change weights at any time. The fund is non-diversified, meaning it can put more money in fewer companies, and it concentrates over 25% of assets in one industry.

The holdings report as of June 30, 2026, a week before that prospectus, looked different: 316 US stocks, the 10 largest just 6.62% of assets, led by Humana, Sterling Infrastructure, Centene and UnitedHealth Group rather than defense makers. Past returns may reflect that broader mix.

• FLDZ charges 0.4% a year, versus an average of 0.17% for the similar funds below (8th of 9, cheapest first).
• Using the prospectus's standard example, $10,000 invested would cost about $41 in the first year and $505 over 10 years (assuming a 5% annual return).

Its prospectus concentrates it in one industry, it is non-diversified and very small, and its 0.40% fee is well above similar funds.

Under its July 2026 prospectus, FLDZ could add aerospace and defense exposure, with the adviser's profit going to Folds of Honor. Launched January 3, 2022, it missed the 2008 financial crisis and 2020 COVID crash. In 2022, its worst calendar year, it lost 11.89%, including a 13.94% drop in the quarter ended June 30. Its deepest fall was 25.1%, from August 14 to October 23, 2026, unrecovered as of October 27, 2026; anyone selling then got far less than at the peak. The yield was 1.71% as of October 27, 2026, paid once a year. The 0.40% expense ratio (annual fee) costs $41 in year one and $505 over 10 years on $10,000, in the SEC's standard example.

Past results don't predict future ones, and much of this record may reflect a broader portfolio than the prospectus's defense focus. A plan should look at the whole portfolio, not one fund.

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