American Century U.S. Quality Growth ETF

American Century U.S. Quality Growth ETF (QGRO) tracks the American Century U.S. Quality Growth Index. American Century maintains this rules-based index itself, and it holds about 150 to 250 large and mid-sized U.S. companies picked for profitability, momentum and growth. Most growth funds weight stocks by company size, but this one weights them by a growth score and rebalances monthly. That trading drove portfolio turnover of 165%. Its 0.29% expense ratio is close to the 0.30% peer average.

• Over the year to Oct 27, 2026, QGRO returned +0.3%, 8th of 9 among similar funds.
• Its 5-year annualized return was +9.8%.
• In the 2020 COVID crash it fell 32.6% and regained its old high 2.3 months after the low.
• Its worst full calendar year was 2022 (-24.5%); its best was 2020 (+38.0%).
• The deepest fall in its price history was 32.6% (Feb 19, 2020 to Mar 23, 2020), recovered by Jun 2, 2020.

As of Aug 31, 2026, the fund held 187 securities; the ten largest made up 28.34% of assets.

By sector

• Over the three months to Aug 31, 2026, investors withdrew a net $150.4M (creations minus redemptions, per the N-PORT report).
• Monthly total returns reported for that quarter: +1.49%, -3.11%, +3.52%.

QGRO is an index fund. It aims to match the American Century U.S. Quality Growth Index before fees. The index is run by American Century Investment Management, which also manages the fund. It starts with the S-Network US Equity Large/Mid-Cap 1000 Index, a list of 1,000 large and mid-sized U.S. stocks. First it keeps companies with higher profitability, return on assets, return on equity and momentum (recent price strength). Then it gives each stock a growth score based on sales, earnings and cash-flow growth, plus price-to-earnings and price-to-book ratios. Each stock's weight comes from that score, not from its market value.

The fund held 189 stocks as of May 31, 2026, and the 10 largest made up about 31% of assets. Apple (3.9%), TJX (3.2%), NVIDIA (3.2%), Mastercard (3.1%) and Netflix (3.1%) led the list. The weights are reset monthly, and the list of stocks is reviewed quarterly. As a result, portfolio turnover was 165%: the fund traded more than one and a half times its own value in a year. Heavy trading adds costs and can lead to taxable capital gains payouts.

The fund doesn't have to own every stock in the index. It may hold a representative sample instead, put up to 20% of its assets outside the index, and use futures contracts to invest spare cash. It does not switch to a defensive position when markets fall.

• QGRO charges 0.29% a year, versus an average of 0.22% for the similar funds below (7th of 9, cheapest first).
• Using the prospectus's standard example, $10,000 invested would cost about $30 in the first year and $369 over 10 years (assuming a 5% annual return).

It is a concentrated, high-turnover growth fund that has moved more than the market, so it fits better as a smaller tilt than as the base of a portfolio.

QGRO could add a growth tilt next to broader funds, but it has moved more than the market. Its one-year beta was 1.16 as of October 27, 2026, so it tended to rise and fall about 16% more than the market. It launched in September 2018, so it has no record from 2008. In the 2020 COVID crash it fell 32.6% in about a month, then recovered by June 2, 2020. The 2022 drop took longer to heal. The fund fell 29.4% and didn't regain its peak until December 19, 2023, about 18 months later. Its worst calendar year was 2022, at -24.5%. Anyone cashing out shares for spending in a year like that would have done so at low prices. Income is small: the trailing yield was 0.2%, paid quarterly. In the SEC's standard $10,000 example, costs total $30 after one year and $369 after 10. Past results don't predict future ones, and a plan should look at the whole portfolio, not one fund.

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