Skip to content
etf.net

Launched

AXS Knowledge Leaders ETF

KNONYSE ArcaAXS InvestmentsC

$63.63+0.55 (+0.88%)

As of Nov 2, 2026, 2:59 PM ET

C41/ 100

Rank 19 of 30 in Disruptive Innovation

C41/100Rank 19 of 30inDisruptive Innovation
Intraday session: up, 61 prints from 63.08 to 63.63. Range 63.08 to 64.17. Use the arrow keys to read each point.63.2063.4063.8064.0064.2010 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM
Expense ratio
0.75%
Fund size
$43M
1Y total return
+26.1%
Yield · Last 12 months
0.88%
Holdings
86
Avg volume · 30D
628 sh
52W range
low $48.97high $65.24
Launched

The ETF.net KNO Grade

C

Score 41 out of 100

Category
Disruptive Innovation⁠
Rank
19 of 30
Six-pillar profile for KNO. Scores out of 100: Cost 22, Risk 92, Mission 55, Tradability 8, Holdings 65, Durability 55. Strongest: Risk (92). Weakest: Tradability (8). Leans toward Risk.

Score 41 of 100 falls in the C band. A is 70 or higher, B 55 to under 70, C 40 to under 55, D 25 to under 40, F under 25.

  • Cost

    The fund’s net expense ratio, ranked against its category.
    F22 out of 100
    Rank 20 of 30

  • Mission

    Whether the fund did what it promised, tested against its stated mandate.
    B55 out of 100
    Rank 6 of 10

  • Risk

    How the fund held up when markets fell: downside volatility, drawdowns and tail loss.
    A92 out of 100
    Rank 1 of 30

  • Tradability

    How easy the fund is to trade: daily volume, and how far its price strays from net asset value.
    F8 out of 100
    Rank 30 of 30

  • Holdings

    How concentrated the fund is, and how complete and current its disclosed holdings are.
    B65 out of 100
    Rank 12 of 30

  • Durability

    Whether the fund is likely to stay open, judged by its age, its assets and its issuer’s assets.
    B55 out of 100
    Rank 14 of 30

Our read on KNO

ETF.net Research

In short

CMost innovation ETFs buy US tech stories. KNO rebuilds the books instead, treating R&D, brand and training spend as investment, then buying the developed-market companies that rank highest on that knowledge capital.

Stated mandate

The Fund seeks long-term capital appreciation by investing primarily in equities of highly innovative knowledge-leader companies. It uses a proprietary quantitative screen emphasizing intangible-adjusted innovation intensity, financial strength, profitability, research and development, earnings growth, and operating cash flow.

Why people hold it

  • The mechanism is the point: spending on R&D, advertising, brand and employee training is treated as capital, not expense, surfacing innovators the usual tech screens miss.axsinvestments.com
  • All-sector and global by design, spanning North America, Europe and Asia, which is unusual in a category that leans heavily on US technology names.axsinvestments.com
  • Innovation is not the only test. The screen also weighs profitability, financial strength, earnings growth and operating cash flow.
  • Live since 2015 under its original Knowledge Leaders name before AXS took it over in 2024, so this is a long-running approach, not a freshly minted theme.prnewswire.com

Worth knowing

  • The 0.75% fee sits above the category median across the 31 innovation funds we track, and above peers like KOMP at 0.20% and XT at 0.46%.
  • Among the smaller and more lightly traded funds in its group, which can mean wider bid-ask spreads and more price impact on bigger orders.
  • Actively managed on a proprietary screen and measured against a broad equal-weighted world index, so the portfolio can look nothing like a US tech fund.sec.gov

KNO Performance

Launched Jul 7, 2015

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

KNO$12,608
SPY tracks large US stocks. It provides market context, rather than representing this fund’s strategy, asset class or investment benchmark.$11,199
Oct 31, 2025 to Oct 30, 2026. KNO $12,608. SPY $11,199. Use the arrow keys to read each point.$10,000$11,000$12,000$13,000Oct 2025Apr 2026Oct 2026

Oct 31, 2025 – Oct 30, 2026

Returns run to the Oct 30, 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 KNO. Periods over one year show the average yearly return.
PeriodKNO
Year to date+23.0%
1 month+0.8%
3 months+0.8%
1 year+26.1%
3 yearsper year+21.3%
5 yearsper year+6.9%
10 yearsper year+10.1%

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 KNO
YearReturn barKNO
2026 YTD+23.0%
2025+19.8%
2024+5.1%
2023+17.5%
2022−23.2%
2021+13.6%
2020+16.8%

KNO in the news

KNO 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 Oct 30, 2026.
0.88%Last 12 months
Payout per share
$0.55Last 12 months
Last payment
$0.55 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 26, 2017 $0.23; Dec 24, 2018 $0.29; Dec 23, 2019 $0.36; Dec 23, 2020 $0.26; Dec 22, 2021 $0.23; Dec 21, 2022 $0.66; Dec 20, 2023 $0.56; Dec 23, 2024 $0.68; Dec 23, 2025 $0.55. Use the arrow keys to read each point.2017201820192020202120222023202420252026YTD
Ex-datePay dateAmount per share
Dec 23, 2025Dec 26, 2025$0.55
Dec 23, 2024Dec 27, 2024$0.68
Dec 20, 2023Dec 26, 2023$0.56
Dec 21, 2022Dec 27, 2022$0.66
Dec 22, 2021Dec 29, 2021$0.23
Dec 23, 2020Dec 30, 2020$0.26
Dec 23, 2019Dec 31, 2019$0.36
Dec 24, 2018Dec 31, 2018$0.29
Dec 26, 2017Dec 29, 2017$0.23
Dec 27, 2016Dec 30, 2016$0.17
Dec 16, 2015Dec 28, 2015$0.06

$10,000 in KNO 10 years ago paid $1,514 in dividends.

KNO Risk

Risk pillarA92 out of 100Rank 1 of 30 in Disruptive Innovation
How much the fund’s monthly returns vary, scaled to a year.
14.5%
Annualised · 36 months to Oct 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.
1.11
vs 3-month T-bills · to Oct 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.
−33.6%
Trough Oct 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.
1.09
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.

FMP measures it over up to five years of monthly returns.

KNO Cost

Compare KNO and KOMP

Overpaying vs KOMP, cheapest in Disruptive Innovation

$10,327

On $10,000 over 30 years. 7% growth a year before fees, expense ratio only.

  • KNO 0.75%

    $14,482

  • KOMP 0.20% Cheapest

    $4,155

$10,000
30 years

Cost over time

  • KNO 0.75%
  • KOMP 0.20%
  • Overpaying
One line per fund, from year 0 to year 30. Use the arrow keys to read each point.$0$5K$10K$15K051015202530KNO $14,482KOMP $4,155

Year by year

YearKNOKOMPOverpaying
10$1,336$365$971
20$5,078$1,421$3,657
30$14,482$4,155$10,327

Other funds in Disruptive Innovation

See others