Strategas Macro Momentum ETF

Strategas Macro Momentum ETF (SAMM) is an actively managed fund that holds about 20 to 50 mostly U.S. stocks with strong price trends and can shift into Treasury ETFs, gold or cash when market signals weaken. That built-in attempt to limit losses is its defining feature. Its 0.65% yearly expense ratio tops all six similar funds (average 0.35%), and net assets were just $30.4 million as of June 30, 2026.

• Over the year to Oct 27, 2026, SAMM returned +13.2%, 5th of 7 among similar funds.
• Its worst full calendar year was 2025 (+12.0%); its best was 2025 (+12.0%).
• The deepest fall in its price history was 24.1% (Dec 6, 2024 to Apr 8, 2025), recovered by Sep 18, 2025.

As of Jun 30, 2026, the fund held 34 securities; the ten largest made up 35.75% of assets.

By sector

• Over the three months to Jun 30, 2026, investors added a net $4.3M (creations minus redemptions, per the N-PORT report).
• Monthly total returns reported for that quarter: -3.44%, +5.45%, +4.96%.

SAMM, issued by Baird Financial Group, does not track an index. Its adviser picks about 20 to 50 holdings, mainly U.S. stocks, using a macro momentum approach. Macro means a top-down view of the economy, government policy and global events. Momentum is a security's tendency to keep trending up or down over 3 to 12 months, and the fund keeps positions while their uptrends last. As of June 30, 2026, it owned 34 positions. ASML, GE Vernova and CSX led at about 4% each, and the top 10 made up 36%.

Selection relies on price-trend signals. These include moving averages (average prices over periods such as 50 or 200 days), rate of change, new highs and lows, and indicators called RSI and MACD that gauge the speed and direction of price moves. When those signals weaken for the market as a whole, or Treasuries and gold start outperforming, the fund can shift money into Treasury ETFs, gold products or cash. As of June 30, 2026, 98.5% of assets were in stocks.

Trading is heavy. The prospectus reports 233% portfolio turnover, meaning the fund traded more than twice the portfolio's value in a year. That adds trading costs and can create taxable capital gains. Sub-adviser Vident Asset Management handles the trades. The fund does not use leverage or options.

• SAMM charges 0.65% a year, versus an average of 0.35% for the similar funds below (7th of 7, cheapest first).
• Of that, 0.55% is the management fee; the rest covers other fund expenses.
• The fee includes a 0.42% waiver from the adviser, which may end.
• Using the prospectus's standard example, $10,000 invested would cost about $66 in the first year and $1,268 over 10 years (assuming a 5% annual return).

Its concentrated, heavily traded stock portfolio swung more than the market (one-year beta of 1.22 as of October 27, 2026) and has a short record, so it fits a small slice better than a core position.

SAMM could add trend-driven stock exposure that tries to step aside in downturns. Launched April 3, 2024, it has no record from the 2008, 2020 or 2022 downturns. Its only full calendar year, 2025, returned 11.97%. Its deepest drop was 24.1%, from December 6, 2024, to April 8, 2025, and it recovered by September 18, 2025, about 5.4 months after the low. The defensive switch did not prevent that fall, and anyone forced to cash out near the low would have locked in much of it.

It is not built for income: its 12-month yield was 0.91% as of October 27, 2026, paid once a year. Its 0.65% expense ratio is above similar funds. In the SEC's standard example, $10,000 would incur $66 in costs after one year and $1,268 over 10 years. Past results don't predict future returns, and a plan should look at the whole portfolio, not one fund.

Matched by closest holdings overlap from the latest N-PORT reports (no similar fund shares 20% or more of its holdings).