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CWS

GradeCNew York Stock Exchange Arca

AdvisorShares Focused Equity ETF

Active Equity · AdvisorShares · Inception 2016-09-20 · SEC filings

$67.94+0.12 (+0.17%)

As of Sep 23, 2026, 2:02 PM EDT

Intraday session: up, 21 prints from 67.82 to 67.94. Range 67.56 to 67.94. Use the arrow keys to read each point.$67.60$67.70$67.8010 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM
Expense ratio
0.79%
Fund size
$120M
1Y return
−1.0%
Yield · Last 12 months
0.31%
Holdings
27
Volume · 30D
0M sh
NAV per share
$67.91
52W range
low $63.09high $74.05

The ETF.net CWS Grade

C

42/ 100

Rank 55 of 90 in US Active Growth⁠

Confidence High

Six-pillar profile for CWS. Scores out of 100: Cost 19, Risk 57, Mission 66, Tradability 57, Holdings 61, Durability 68. Strongest: Durability (68). Weakest: Cost (19). Leans toward Durability and Mission.
F< 25
D≥ 25
C≥ 40
B≥ 55
A≥ 70

Score 42 of 100 sits in the C band. Bands: A ≥ 70, B ≥ 55, C ≥ 40, D ≥ 25, F < 25; the scale skips E.

  • Cost

    What you pay to own it — the expense ratio plus trading frictions, ranked within its category.
    FScore 19
    Category rank73/90 · bottom quartile

  • Mission

    How faithfully it does the job it claims — tracking its mandate or index with minimal slippage.
    BScore 66
    Category rank17/27 · mid-pack

  • Risk

    How violently it can move — volatility, drawdown depth, and downside capture versus its category.
    BScore 57
    Category rank26/79 · top 33%

  • Tradability

    How cheaply and easily you can get in and out — liquidity, spread, and premium/discount stability.
    BScore 57
    Category rank39/90 · top 43%

  • Holdings

    What it actually owns — the quality, breadth, and concentration of the underlying portfolio.
    BScore 61
    Category rank40/89 · top 45%

  • Durability

    Whether it will still be here — the fund’s assets, age, flows, and issuer staying power.
    BScore 68
    Category rank30/90 · top 33%

Graded as of Sep 22, 2026

Our read on CWS

ETF.net Research

CMost active large-cap funds own hundreds of names and end up shadowing the index. CWS runs a focused book of roughly two dozen US stocks against the S&P 500, so individual picks actually move the needle.

Stated mandate

The Fund seeks long-term capital appreciation through an actively managed, focused portfolio of primarily U.S.-listed equity securities.

Why people hold it

  1. 01Genuine concentration: around 27 holdings, so a manager's best ideas carry real weight instead of being diluted across a 300-name portfolio.
  2. 02Active mandate with a plain scoreboard. The prospectus names the S&P 500 as its reference, so you can see whether the stock picking is earning its fee.advisorshares.com
  3. 03The stock selection blends growth, quality and value rather than riding one style, and it has been doing it in the open since the 2016 launch.advisorshares.com

Worth knowing

  1. 01At 0.79% a year, the fee sits above the typical actively managed US equity ETF. That is boutique-shop pricing, and the picks have to clear it.
  2. 02Concentration cuts both ways. With roughly 27 names, one stumbling holding shows up in results far faster than it would in a 500-stock index fund.
  3. 03A small, thinly traded fund. Spreads can be wider than the mega-cap index crowd, so order type and timing matter more here.

CWS Holdings

As of Sep 20, 2026, 6:06 AM
Asset class
Stocks
Holdings
27
Top-10 weight
51%
Largest holding
FIX7.2%

Sectors

Geography

The fund’s holdings, weight-ordered — page 1 of 2.
#TickerCompanyWeight %SharesMarket valueIn ETFs
001FIXCOMFORT SYSTEMS USA INC7.21%5,247$9M393
002IESCIES HOLDINGS INC6.60%24,625$8M141
003SAICSCIENCE APPLICATIONS INTE5.31%47,897$6M166
004ALSNALLISON TRANSMISSION HOLDING4.78%49,094$6M172
005APHAMPHENOL CORP-CL A4.64%71,919$6M441
006TMOTHERMO FISHER SCIENTIFIC INC4.61%8,498$6M369
007HSICHENRY SCHEIN INC4.53%64,247$5M196
008MCKMCKESSON CORP4.35%5,975$5M356
009CASYCASEY'S GENERAL STORES INC4.35%8,744$5M281
010AWKAMERICAN WATER WORKS CO INC4.20%37,171$5M282
011MLIMUELLER INDUSTRIES INC4.17%83,404$5M215
012FDSFACTSET RESEARCH SYSTEMS INC3.99%16,884$5M230
013ICEINTERCONTINENTAL EXCHANGE IN3.89%30,089$5M309
014MCOMOODY'S CORP3.82%9,804$5M327
015RMDRESMED INC3.78%20,182$5M317

Showing 1–15 of 26 holdings

CWS Performance

Shows how $10,000 changes over the selected period, with cash distributions reinvested at the closing price on each ex-dividend date.

CWS$9,904
SPY tracks large US stocks. It provides market context, rather than representing this fund’s strategy, asset class or investment benchmark.$11,723
Sep 22, 2025 to Sep 22, 2026. CWS $9,904. SPY $11,723. Use the arrow keys to read each point.$9,056$10,509$11,962Sep 2025Mar 2026Sep 2026

Sep 22, 2025 – Sep 22, 2026

Returns run to the Sep 22, 2026 close, with cash distributions reinvested. Each period starts on the same date that many months or years earlier. Periods over one year show the average yearly return.

Trailing total return for CWS. Periods over one year show the average yearly return.
PeriodCWS
Year to date−1.3%
1 month−7.5%
3 months+0.3%
1 year−1.0%
3 years+9.2%per year
5 years+7.8%per year
10 years+10.9%per year

As of the close, with distributions reinvested.

Calendar-year total return with cash distributions hypothetically reinvested at the ex-dividend date’s closing price. The current year shows year to date.

Annual total returns for CWS
YearReturn barCWS
2026 YTD−1.3%
2025+6.4%
2024+9.8%
2023+25.1%
2022−10.4%
2021+22.2%
2020+17.1%

CWS in the news

ETF.net Research hasn’t filed on CWS yet — coverage lands here as it’s written.

CWS Dividends

Adds up every distribution paid per share over the last 12 months, divided by the last completed close. Distributions are counted by ex-date. Data through Sep 22, 2026.
0.31%Last 12 months
Payout per share
$0.21Last 12 months
Last payment
$0.21 per share
Paid on
Shares bought on or after this date do not qualify for this distribution.
Frequency
Annual

Distribution history

2017–2026

One bar per payment. 9 payments from 2017 to 2026 YTD. Dec 27, 2017 $0.09; Dec 27, 2018 $0.75; Dec 27, 2019 $0.15; Dec 24, 2020 $0.12; Dec 23, 2021 $0.08; Dec 23, 2022 $0.24; Dec 26, 2023 $0.15; Dec 23, 2024 $0.38; Dec 22, 2025 $0.21. Use the arrow keys to read each point.2017201820192020202120222023202420252026YTD
Ex-datePay dateAmount per share
Dec 22, 2025Dec 29, 2025$0.21
Dec 23, 2024Dec 30, 2024$0.38
Dec 26, 2023Dec 29, 2023$0.15
Dec 23, 2022Dec 30, 2022$0.24
Dec 23, 2021Dec 31, 2021$0.08
Dec 24, 2020Dec 31, 2020$0.12
Dec 27, 2019Dec 31, 2019$0.15
Dec 27, 2018Dec 31, 2018$0.75
Dec 27, 2017Dec 29, 2017$0.09
Dec 23, 2016Dec 30, 2016$0.009

CWS Risk

How much the fund’s monthly returns vary, scaled to a year.
14.8%
Annualised · 36 months to Aug 2026
How it’s calculated: standard deviation

The sample standard deviation of monthly total returns, multiplied by the square root of 12.

Uses up to 36 complete months, with at least 12 required. Total returns include reinvested distributions.

Return above 3-month US Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
0.39
vs 3-month T-bills · to Aug 2026
How it’s calculated: Sharpe ratio

Subtract each month’s Treasury-bill return from the fund’s monthly total return.

Divide the average of those excess returns by their sample standard deviation, then multiply by the square root of 12.

Uses up to 36 complete months, with at least 12 required. Each month uses the Treasury yield quoted at the end of the previous month.

The largest fall from a peak to the low that followed.
−24.9%
Trough Jun 2022
How it’s calculated: maximum drawdown

The largest percentage decline from an earlier peak, using total returns with reinvested distributions.

Uses up to five years through the last close, with at least 12 months required.

How strongly the fund’s returns move with its asset-class index.
0.92
vs its asset-class index
How it’s calculated: beta

The beta figure is supplied by FMP. The comparison index depends on the fund’s broad asset class.

CWS Cost

Expense ratio0.79%
  • The middle half of US Active Growth funds
  • Median 0.56%

71 of the 89 US Active Growth funds charge less.

CWS costs $79.00 a year on $10,000. The median US Active Growth fund costs $56.00.