Natixis Vaughan Nelson Select ETF

Natixis Vaughan Nelson Select ETF (VNSE) is an actively managed fund in which manager Vaughan Nelson picks 20 to 40 stocks, mostly of mid-size and large companies, using a value-oriented process. As of June 30, 2026, it held 28 stocks and just $14.1 million in assets, with 55% in its 10 largest, led by NVIDIA and Taiwan Semiconductor. It charges 0.80% a year, above the 0.48% average of funds with similar holdings.

• Over the year to Oct 27, 2026, VNSE returned +7.2%, 3rd of 9 among similar funds.
• Its 5-year annualized return was +8.1%.
• Its worst full calendar year was 2022 (-16.8%); its best was 2023 (+22.5%).
• The deepest fall in its price history was 24.4% (Nov 19, 2021 to Oct 14, 2022), recovered by Dec 19, 2023.

As of Jun 30, 2026, the fund held 28 securities; the ten largest made up 55.44% of assets.

By sector

• Over the three months to Jun 30, 2026, investors withdrew a net $402.00 (creations minus redemptions, per the N-PORT report).
• Monthly total returns reported for that quarter: +11.83%, +2.58%, -0.58%.

VNSE does not track an index. Natixis Investment Managers sponsors the fund, and subadviser Vaughan Nelson Investment Management picks the stocks, aiming for long-term growth. Starting with the whole U.S. stock market, Vaughan Nelson uses fundamental analysis (studying each company's finances and business) to narrow it to 20 to 40 holdings, typically companies worth $5 billion or more. It may also own preferred stocks and REITs (real estate investment trusts, which own income-producing property).

The approach is bottom-up and value-oriented: the manager judges companies one by one, looking for shares that seem cheap based on discounted cash flow models, which estimate what future cash is worth now. It favors out-of-favor or misunderstood businesses with positive, stable or improving returns on capital (profit relative to money invested), prices below their asset value, or dividends it sees as sustainable, though not every holding has these traits. A stock is usually dropped when it reaches the manager's price target or its outlook weakens.

As a non-diversified fund, it can put more money into one company than a diversified fund can. The prospectus summary gives no weighting formula or rebalancing schedule, so position sizes are the manager's call. Turnover, the share of the portfolio replaced in a year, was 72%. As of June 30, 2026, it held 28 stocks and no derivatives.

• VNSE charges 0.8% a year, versus an average of 0.48% for the similar funds below (8th of 9, cheapest first).
• Of that, 0.66% is the management fee; the rest covers other fund expenses.
• The fee includes a 1.07% waiver from the adviser, which may end.
• Using the prospectus's standard example, $10,000 invested would cost about $82 in the first year and $1,908 over 10 years (assuming a 5% annual return).

As a concentrated, non-diversified fund of 20 to 40 stocks with a 0.80% fee and a record dating only to 2020, it fits the role of a smaller add-on beside broader funds rather than a portfolio's core.

VNSE adds concentrated, manager-picked stock exposure, but its record is short: launched in September 2020, it missed the 2008 crisis and 2020 COVID crash. In the 2022 market downturn it fell 22.4% from January 3 to October 12, and it lost 16.6% that calendar year, its worst. Its deepest drop, 24.4% from its November 2021 peak, bottomed in October 2022 and took about 14 months to recover. Anyone drawing cash from it then would have been cashing out shares at depressed prices.

Income is minimal: its yield over the past 12 months was 0.2% as of October 27, 2026, paid twice a year. It costs 0.80% a year, above the 0.48% average of funds with similar holdings; the SEC's standard example puts costs at $1,908 over 10 years on $10,000. Past results don't predict future ones, and a plan should weigh the whole portfolio, not one fund.

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