Siren DIVCON Leaders Dividend ETF

Siren DIVCON Leaders Dividend ETF (LEAD) tracks the Siren DIVCON Leaders Dividend Index. The index is a rules-based list of at least 30 large US companies judged most likely to raise their dividends in the next 12 months. Despite its name, it is not a high-income fund: its trailing yield was 0.74% as of October 27, 2026. Its 0.43% expense ratio is close to the 0.46% peer average but well above Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF's 0.05%.

• Over the year to Oct 27, 2026, LEAD returned +11.4%, 3rd of 8 among similar funds.
• Its 5-year annualized return was +10.0% and its 10-year +14.7%.
• In the 2020 COVID crash it fell 32.2% and regained its old high 2.5 months after the low.
• Its worst full calendar year was 2022 (-18.1%); its best was 2019 (+33.8%).
• The deepest fall in its price history was 32.2% (Feb 20, 2020 to Mar 23, 2020), recovered by Jun 8, 2020.

As of Jun 30, 2026, the fund held 38 securities; the ten largest made up 42.84% of assets, and 16.25% sat in cash and money-market holdings.

By sector

• Over the three months to Jun 30, 2026, investors withdrew a net $120K (creations minus redemptions, per the N-PORT report).
• Monthly total returns reported for that quarter: +10.42%, +1.46%, +6.64%.

LEAD is an index fund run by SRN Advisors. It aims to match the Siren DIVCON Leaders Dividend Index, built by Reality Shares, before fees. The index starts with the 500 largest US companies by market value. It keeps only those that paid a regular dividend and announced a future one in the prior 12 months. A proprietary system called DIVCON then scores each company on seven quantitative factors tied to future dividend changes. It rates each one from DIVCON 1 (most likely to cut its dividend) to DIVCON 5 (most likely to raise it).

The index holds every DIVCON 5 stock or the 30 highest-scoring stocks, whichever is more. Higher scores get bigger weights. The result is a concentrated portfolio. As of June 30, 2026, the fund held 38 stocks, and the top 10 made up about 43% of assets. KLA (8.2%), Quanta Services (5.8%), Lam Research (5.5%), Broadcom (5.5%) and NVIDIA (4.4%) led the list.

The index is rebuilt and rebalanced once a year, as of the first Friday in December. The fund usually buys every stock in the index. It may instead hold a representative sample, or use derivatives such as swaps and futures, but it reported no derivatives as of June 30, 2026. Portfolio turnover was 26% in the latest prospectus.

• LEAD charges 0.43% a year, versus an average of 0.46% for the similar funds below (5th of 8, cheapest first).
• Using the prospectus's standard example, $10,000 invested would cost about $44 in the first year and $542 over 10 years (assuming a 5% annual return).

With only 38 stocks, a heavy tilt toward chipmakers and industrial firms, and a yield under 1%, it fits better as a growth-tilted add-on than as a core or income holding.

LEAD adds a rules-based tilt toward large US companies expected to grow their dividends, but it pays little income. Its trailing yield was 0.74% as of October 27, 2026, paid quarterly. It launched in 2016, so it has no record from the 2008 crisis. It fell 32.2% between February 20 and March 23, 2020, and was back at its old high by June 8, 2020. In the 2022 bear market it dropped 24.4% and took about 14 months, until December 12, 2023, to recover. Its worst calendar year was 2022, at -18.05%. Anyone forced to sell shares during a stretch like that would have locked in losses. Costs are moderate: under the SEC's standard $10,000 example, about $44 for one year and $542 over 10 years. 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.