BDVL vs GLOW

BDVLAiShares Disciplined Volatility Equity Active ETF

GLOWCVictoryShares WestEnd Global Equity ETF

In short

BDVL A global low-volatility fund with an active engine: a quant model picks roughly 500 stocks on low vol, quality and value, scored against MSCI's ACWI Minimum Volatility Index. Fee: 0.39% net of a waiver through June 30, 2028.

GLOW An actively managed, one-ticket global stock fund from Victory Capital's WestEnd team: US and overseas, developed and emerging, in a single line item. The trade-off is the price tag, 2.01% a year, near the top of the global-equity aisle.

Stated mandate

BDVL The Fund seeks risk-adjusted total return through active management of equity exposure, with a focus on managing volatility relative to the broad equity market.

GLOW The Fund seeks long-term capital appreciation.

Why people hold it

• BDVL Costs 0.39% net of a waiver through June 30, 2028, below the median fee among global active equity peers and under sibling fund BFLX at 0.40%.
• Roughly 500 holdings worldwide, so no single stock runs the show. Its holdings build and risk profile rank among the strongest in its peer group.
• Built to hold core equity exposure while leaning toward stocks that have shown smaller price swings than the broad market.ishares.com
• Trading since 2017, a long life for an active equity ETF, and it has gathered billions from investors along the way.

• GLOW One holding covers the world map. The prospectus mandate spans issuers outside the US across developed and emerging regions, with long-term capital appreciation as the stated goal.
• The portfolio has stayed close to the global, all-equity mandate its prospectus describes, so the label matches what you actually own.
• Human stock-picking rather than an index, run by Victory Capital's WestEnd team since the June 2024 launch, with cash paid out quarterly.

Worth knowing

• BDVL A model, not an index, picks the names. Active discretion cuts both ways against the MSCI minimum-volatility benchmark it is measured by.
• The low-vol tilt means lighter exposure to the market's most volatile high-flyers, which shapes how it behaves when those names run.
• Cheaper active options sit in the same category: AVTM at 0.22% and AVGE at 0.23% deliver broad global equity without the volatility focus.

• GLOW The fee is the headline: 2.01% a year, against 0.15% at GSWO and 0.25% at AVGE. That gap comes out of the fund's return every year, in every market.
• Thinly traded on a modest asset base, so spreads can widen at the open and close. Limit orders matter more here than with the giants of the category.
• Launched in 2024, so the risk record is short and covers only one stretch of market weather. Not much history to judge the process by yet.

Full BDVL profile⁠

Full GLOW profile⁠