HCM Defender 500 Index ETF

HCM Defender 500 Index ETF (LGH), from Howard Capital Management, tracks an index the adviser built itself. The index holds large US stocks from the Solactive US Large Cap Index but drops to 70%, 40% or 0% stocks when a trend signal turns negative. The fund may also hold leveraged ETFs. It charges 1.02% a year, against a 0.05% average for similar funds, and it still lost about 27% in 2022.

• Over the year to Oct 27, 2026, LGH returned +6.2%, 9th of 9 among similar funds.
• Its 5-year annualized return was +9.3%.
• In the 2020 COVID crash it fell 29.6% and regained its old high 5.4 months after the low.
• Its worst full calendar year was 2022 (-27.4%); its best was 2021 (+39.9%).
• The deepest fall in its price history was 29.6% (Feb 19, 2020 to Mar 16, 2020), recovered by Aug 26, 2020.

As of Jun 30, 2026, the fund held 419 securities; the ten largest made up 50.64% of assets.

By sector

• Over the three months to Jun 30, 2026, investors withdrew a net $3.3M (creations minus redemptions, per the N-PORT report).
• Monthly total returns reported for that quarter: +6.43%, +7.33%, -2.07%.

LGH aims to track the HCM Defender 500 Index. Howard Capital Management, the fund's adviser, sponsors and maintains that index. Its stocks come from the Solactive US Large Cap Index, which holds 500 large companies listed on US exchanges. The index uses representative sampling, so the fund can own a sample of those stocks rather than all of them. At least 80% of net assets must be in securities that are in the index.

The timing comes from the HCM BuyLine, the adviser's own trend model. If the Solactive index closes 3.5% below the BuyLine, the index shifts to 70% stocks and 30% cash or cash equivalents. At 6.5% below, it moves to 40/60. At 12% below, it goes fully to cash. It buys stocks again once the Solactive index closes above the BuyLine for five trading days in a row. Because the rules act on closing prices, the fund sells only after a fall is underway and buys back only after a rebound has started.

The fund may put up to 20% of its assets in futures, options, swaps, other funds and similar instruments. It may also use leveraged ETFs, which reset daily and magnify losses as well as gains. As of June 30, 2026, about 19.3% of the fund was in a Direxion Daily ETF. Its one-year beta, a measure of how much it moves with the market, was 1.29 as of October 27, 2026. Portfolio turnover was 64%.

• LGH charges 1.02% a year, versus an average of 0.05% for the similar funds below (9th of 9, cheapest first).
• Of that, 0.77% is the management fee; the rest covers other fund expenses.
• Using the prospectus's standard example, $10,000 invested would cost about $104 in the first year and $1,248 over 10 years (assuming a 5% annual return).

LGH combines a market-timing rule, leveraged ETF exposure and a 1.02% fee, so it fits better as a small side position than as a portfolio's base.

LGH adds a rules-based attempt to cut stock exposure during long declines, but its record is mixed. In the 2020 COVID crash it fell 29.6% between February 19 and March 16, 2020, then recovered by August 26, 2020, about 5.4 months later. In the 2022 bear market it fell 29.1% and took 17.2 months to recover, getting back to its peak on March 20, 2024. Its worst calendar year was 2022, at -27.4%. It launched in 2019, so it has no 2008 record. A retiree who needed to sell shares in a year like 2022 would have sold at a deep loss. Income is small: the trailing yield was 0.36% as of October 27, 2026, paid once a year. Under the SEC's example, costs come to about $104 in the first year on $10,000. Past results don't predict future results. A plan should look at the whole portfolio, not one fund.

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