BKDV vs TCV

BKDVBBNY Mellon Dynamic Value ETF

TCVDTowle Small-Cap Value ETF

In short

BKDV BNY Mellon's 2024 swing at active value: roughly 90 hand-picked US stocks, priced below what the typical active equity fund charges. A young fund with a very old asset manager behind it.

TCV Towle runs one thing: its own definition of value, chosen stock by stock instead of by screen. The fund's history goes back to 2011, and it is priced like the boutique active manager behind it, not like an index tracker.

Stated mandate

BKDV The fund seeks long-term capital appreciation and invests principally in common stocks.

TCV The Fund seeks long-term capital appreciation. It is an actively managed ETF.

Why people hold it

• BKDV At 0.60% a year, it undercuts the 0.65% median for active US equity funds. Not index-cheap, but you aren't paying a premium for the stock picking.
• Roughly 90 holdings, so every name has to earn its slot. This is a concentrated value book chasing long-term capital appreciation, not a closet index wearing a value label.
• Sits in the top quartile of its active US equity peer group, helped by downside behavior that has been steadier than most rivals over its short life.
• Already a billion-dollar-plus fund despite launching in 2024, backed by one of the oldest names in US asset management.

• TCV Genuinely active, not a rules-based value screen. Holdings come from Towle & Co.'s own definition of value in pursuit of long-term capital appreciation, so you get a house view rather than an index recipe.
• A 2011 inception gives this strategy a track record across several full market cycles, a longer history than most active equity ETFs can show.
• Plain wrapper, no engineering: a standard 1940 Act registered fund holding equities, with no structural flags in our review.

Worth knowing

• BKDV Launched November 2024. The risk picture rests on about a year of live data, and short records tell you less than long ones.
• Systematic peers cost a fraction of this: DFAU charges 0.12%, AVLC 0.15%. The active premium here is several times their fee.
• Moderately traded rather than one of the busiest tickers in the category, so spreads can run wider than on big index products.

• TCV Cost is the trade-off for boutique stock picking: 0.85% a year, above the 0.65% median for active US equity ETFs and many times the 0.12% charged by core peers like DFAU.
• It trades thinly. Spreads tend to be wider than on mega-cap index funds, which makes limit orders and patient execution matter more.
• Distributions land once or twice a year, so this is built around capital appreciation rather than a regular income stream.

Full BKDV profile⁠

Full TCV profile⁠