BUSA vs WTV

BUSACBrandes U.S. Value ETF

WTVAWisdomTree U.S. Value Fund

In short

BUSA Brandes has run Benjamin Graham-style value money since 1974. BUSA is that half-century discipline in an ETF wrapper: about 60 US large caps, actively picked, measured against the Russell 1000 Value.

WTV Most value funds shop for low price tags. WTV shops for cash coming back to shareholders: dividends plus net buybacks, filtered for quality and profitability. Actively run, priced like an index fund at 0.12%.

Stated mandate

BUSA The Fund seeks long-term capital appreciation through an actively managed portfolio invested primarily in U.S. company equity securities. It generally targets companies with market capitalizations above $5 billion.

WTV The fund seeks income and capital appreciation through primarily U.S. equities selected for high total shareholder yield and favorable relative quality characteristics.

Why people hold it

• BUSA Brandes was founded in 1974 by a student of Benjamin Graham and has run value portfolios ever since. BUSA, launched in 2023, is that house discipline in an ETF.brandes.combrandes.com 2
• About 60 US names, chosen against the Russell 1000 Value. The mandate generally targets companies above $5 billion in market cap, so this is large-cap territory.
• The portfolio is the strongest part of the package: a focused, genuinely active book rather than an index clone with an active fee stapled on. Distributions run quarterly.

• WTV Charges 0.12% a year, under a quarter of the 0.55% typical for active US value funds, and less than every same-benchmark rival in its group (JAVA 0.44%, CGVV 0.33%, TEQI 0.54%).
• "Value" here means cash returned: dividend yield plus net buyback yield, with quality and profitability screens, rather than a plain low price-to-book sort.wisdomtree.com
• About 160 US stocks, a multi-billion-dollar asset base, and a live track record dating to 2007. Distributions land quarterly.

Worth knowing

• BUSA At 0.60% it sits above the typical fee in its value cohort, and systematic rivals like AVLV (0.15%) and WTV (0.12%) charge a fraction of that. Stock picking costs.
• Thinly traded next to the giants of US value, so spreads can run wider and order size matters more than it would in a household-name fund.
• Roughly 60 holdings means individual names carry real weight, and a value book can look nothing like the broad market for long stretches, in either direction.

• WTV Full equity with no downside cushion, and a value tilt that can lean into a handful of sectors. Risk is the least polished part of the profile.
• Rules-based active, not an index tracker, so results can diverge from the Russell 1000 Value in either direction.
• Buybacks supply much of the shareholder yield, and companies can scale repurchases back more easily than they cut dividends.wisdomtree.com

Full BUSA profile⁠

Full WTV profile⁠