ASD vs WRND

ASDDDefiance Autism Impact ETF

WRNDBNYLI Global Equity R&D Leaders ETF

In short

ASD The first US-listed ETF built around the autism ecosystem: roughly 40 developed-market names in therapeutics, diagnostics and specialized education, equally weighted. Defiance pledges the fund's advisory profits to autism causes.

WRND Most innovation funds sell you a story. WRND buys receipts: roughly 200 companies worldwide picked on what they actually spend on R&D and whether that spending earns a return, at a fee well under the thematic norm.

Stated mandate

ASD The fund seeks to track, before fees and expenses, the total return of the VettaFi Autism Impact Index.

WRND The Fund seeks to track, before fees and expenses, the price and yield performance of the IQ Global Equity R&D Leaders Index. Its passive strategy targets innovative companies worldwide based on high research and development spending.

Why people hold it

• ASD Rare mandate: an equal-weighted basket spanning autism therapeutics, diagnostics and assessment tools, and specialized education tech, so no single name dominates.defianceetfs.com
• Defiance has committed to donate 100% of its net advisory profits from the fund for its first two years, and no less than 50% after that, to autism care and research groups.defianceetfs.com
• Conventional plumbing under an unconventional theme: a 1940 Act fund tracking a published index, reconstituted semiannually and rebalanced quarterly.defianceetfs.com

• WRND 0.18% a year against a 0.56% median for its global thematic peers. Innovation exposure without the boutique markup.newyorklifeinvestments.com
• Selection leans on the income statement: R&D intensity paired with return on invested capital, favoring firms that turn research budgets into results.newyorklifeinvestments.com
• Roughly 200 names from a global universe, one of three R&D-screened funds New York Life launched in 2022 rather than a one-off experiment.businesswire.com

Worth knowing

• ASD At 0.79% a year it costs more than the typical global thematic fund; broader peers such as AGNG (0.50%) and FITE (0.45%) charge less for their baskets.
• Launched in 2026 and still small and thinly traded, which can mean wider bid-ask spreads than in the largest thematic funds.
• Roughly 40 names, mostly healthcare, so it moves with drug, diagnostics and behavioral-care sentiment more than with the broad market.

• WRND Small and lightly traded, so bid/ask spreads tend to run wider than on mainstream global index funds.
• Weighting by R&D dollars, with a cap on any single position, tilts the book toward the world's largest research spenders.businesswire.cometfstrategy.com
• Distributions arrive quarterly, but income isn't the mandate; the index screens on research spending, not payouts.

Full ASD profile⁠

Full WRND profile⁠