CFA vs USMV: Grades, Fees and Holdings Compared

VictoryShares US 500 Volatility Wtd ETF

CFACNasdaq

iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF

USMVACboe

Overlap

28.1%by weight

Expense ratio

USMV −0.20pt a year

CFA0.35%USMV0.15%

Avg volume · 30D

USMV 330.8×the volume

CFA5.74KUSMV1.9M

10Y return · a year

CFA +1.0pt

CFA+11.8%USMV+10.8%

CFA vs USMV Performance

Oct 29, 2021 – Oct 30, 2026

+44.4%CFA+44.0%USMV

Expense ratio: CFA 0.35%; USMV 0.15%, better
Fund size: CFA $535M; USMV $24B
1Y total return: CFA +13.8%, better; USMV +12.1%
Yield (12M): CFA 1.21%; USMV 1.37%, better
Holdings: CFA 501; USMV 177
Avg volume (30D): CFA 5.74K sh; USMV 1.9M sh, better
NAV per share: CFA $101.04; USMV $102.90
52W range

ETF.net Grade

Pillar letters and Scores for CFA, USMV, with each pillar’s weight
Pillar	CFA	USMV
Cost30% weight	F7	A70Higher
Mission25% weight	A92Higher	A83
Risk15% weight	C47	B66Higher
Tradability15% weight	C40	A89Higher
Holdings10% weight	A88Higher	B57
Durability5% weight	C54	A87Higher

Rank among US Low Volatility Index funds

How we build Categories ›

Same Category. CFA and USMV are both graded against the same 16 US Low Volatility Index funds, so their Grades compare head to head.

US Low Volatility Index⁠

Category · 16 funds

See all 16 ›

USMV ranks 3rd and CFA 10th of 16 funds in the US Low Volatility Index Category.

Rank 1ALGLVState Street SPDR US Large Cap Low Volatility Index ETFScore 78
Rank 2AQLVNorthern Trust US Quality Low Volatility ETFScore 76
Rank 3AUSMViShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETFScore 75
Rank 4BSMLVState Street SPDR US Small Cap Low Volatility Index ETFScore 68
Rank 9BVFMVVanguard U.S. Minimum Volatility ETFScore 55
Rank 10CCFAVictoryShares US 500 Volatility Wtd ETFScore 49
Rank 10CESMViShares ESG Optimized MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETFScore 49

Our read on each fund

ETF.net Research

CFACVictoryShares US 500 Volatility Wtd ETF

USMVAiShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF

In short

CFA CFA puts its low-volatility tilt in the weighting rather than a screen: roughly 500 US large caps, each sized by its own volatility instead of its market value. A 2014-vintage take on the factor.

USMV The household name in low-volatility investing. Since 2011 USMV has tracked an MSCI index built around U.S. stocks with calmer price behavior, holding roughly 160 names for 0.15% a year.

Stated mandate

CFA The fund aims to track the performance of the CEMP US Large Cap 500 Volatility Weighted Index before accounting for fees and expenses.

USMV The fund seeks to track an index targeting U.S. stocks with lower-volatility characteristics.

Why people hold it

CFA Sizes positions by volatility instead of market value, so the market's largest companies don't automatically become the fund's largest holdings.
Holds about 500 large caps rather than narrowing to a short list, so the calm-down effect comes from position sizing, not from what gets cut out.
Tracks its stated index closely, and the portfolio matches what the name advertises: broad US large-cap, volatility-weighted.
Running since 2014, with a monthly distribution cadence rather than the quarterly rhythm of most equity funds.

USMV Costs 0.15% a year, below the typical fee in its low-volatility peer group.
A multi-billion-dollar fund that trades actively, so getting in and out is rarely the hard part.
Running since 2011 on a published MSCI rulebook, with one of the stronger implementations among U.S. low-vol funds.ishares.com
Straightforward plumbing: index-tracked U.S. stocks, quarterly distributions, no derivatives layer to decode.

Worth knowing

CFA At 0.39% a year it costs roughly double the typical US low-volatility fund. Rivals like LGLV and QLV charge a fraction of that for the same broad idea.
Thinly traded next to the giants of the category, which can mean wider bid-ask spreads at the moment you transact.
Volatility weighting reshuffles risk, it doesn't remove it. The fund stays fully invested in large-cap stocks and moves with them in a selloff.

USMV Not the cheapest ticket in the aisle. QLV and LGLV both undercut it on fee.
"Minimum volatility" describes how the index picks and weights stocks, not a floor under losses. This is still a fully invested equity fund.
Roughly 160 holdings is a far narrower slice than a total-market fund, so results can drift from the broad U.S. index in either direction.

Full CFA profile⁠

Full USMV profile⁠

CFA vs USMV Holdings

How CFA and USMV differ

Overlap by weight

28.1%

Shared holdings make up 87.8% of USMV and 32.1% of CFA.

Level by level

Holdings152 in both28.1%
Sector11 Sectors71.7%
Countryby domicile97.0%
Asset classEquity100%

Sector

Sector weights in CFA and USMV, widest gap first
Sector	More in CFAMore in USMV	CFA	USMV
Technology	USMV +19.3 points	13.6%	32.9%
Industrials	CFA +11.2 points	17.6%	6.4%
Financials	CFA +5.9 points	19.2%	13.3%
Consumer Discretionary	CFA +5.0 points	9.9%	4.9%
Consumer Staples	USMV +3.3 points	6.5%	9.8%
Materials	CFA +2.8 points	3.9%	1.1%
Health Care	USMV +2.6 points	11.6%	14.2%
Real Estate	USMV +2.1 points	0.3%	2.4%
Utilities	CFA +2.1 points	8.7%	6.6%
Energy	CFA +1.3 points	5.5%	4.2%
Communication	USMV +1.0 points	3.2%	4.2%

Country, concentration and asset class

Country by domicile

Country weights in CFA and USMV, widest gap first
Country	More in CFAMore in USMV	CFA	USMV
United States	CFA +2.7 points	99.0%	96.3%
Canada	USMV +1.3 points	0.0%	1.3%
Switzerland	USMV +1.0 points	0.5%	1.5%
Other countries (4)	USMV +0.4 points	0.5%	0.9%

Concentration

Weight in the 10 largest Holdings

CFA4.1%
USMV15.1%

Securities held

CFA500
USMV174

Asset class

CFA: Equity
USMV: Equity

Holdings

Only in CFA348
In both152
Only in USMV22

Only in CFA

348 securities, 67.6% of CFA by weight

Evergy Inc0.41%
Alliant Energy Corp.0.40%
Firstenergy Corp.0.39%
Aflac Inc0.39%
Centerpoint Energy Inc.0.39%
Nisource Inc.0.39%
Dte Energy Co.0.36%
Public Service Enterprise0.36%
Chubb Limited0.34%
New Linde PLC0.34%
Markel Group Inc0.34%
Exelon Corp.0.34%
Wr Berkley Corp.0.33%
Everest Group Ltd0.33%
Sempra Energy0.33%
Cincinnati Financial Corp0.32%
Pfizer Inc.0.32%
Kinder Morgan Inc0.32%
Entergy Corp.0.31%
Ecolab Inc.0.31%
Labcorp Holdings Inc0.31%
Principal Finl Group Inc0.30%
Reinsurance Group of Ame0.30%
Veralto Corp0.30%
Hilton Worldwide Hld0.30%
Otis Worldwide Corp0.30%
Csx Corp.0.30%
Eversource Energy0.30%
Snap-On Inc.0.29%
Illinois Tool Works Inc0.29%
Idex Corp0.29%
East West Bancorp Inc.0.29%
American Intl Group Inc.0.29%
Assurant Inc.0.29%
Cintas Corp.0.29%
Reliance Inc0.28%
Globe Life Inc0.28%
Pnc Finl Services Group0.28%
M&T Bank Corp0.28%
Keycorp0.28%
Metlife Inc0.28%
Ametek Inc.0.28%
Renaissancere Holdings Lt0.28%
Us Bancorp0.28%
Medtronic PLC0.28%
Nordson Corp0.28%
Quest Diagnostics Inc.0.28%
Unum Group0.27%
Prudential Financial Inc0.27%
Dt Midstream Inc0.27%

Only in USMV

22 securities, 12.0% of USMV by weight

Chubb1.54%
Welltower1.46%
Waste Connections1.32%
Accenture PLC Class A1.00%
Gilead Sciences0.98%
Linde PLC0.65%
Realty Income Reit0.59%
Snowflake0.51%
Cloudflare Class A0.47%
Centene Corp0.47%
Aon PLC Class A0.41%
Willis Towers Watson0.36%
Mercadolibre0.32%
Elevance Health Inc0.31%
Alphabet Class C0.30%
Dominion Energy0.24%
Vylor0.24%
Take Two Interactive Software0.23%
Sun Communities Reit Inc0.19%
Ventas Reit0.15%
Medtronic PLC0.14%
Weyerhaeuser Reit0.11%

Weight gaps

The 100 widest of 152 Holdings in both funds.

Holding weights in CFA and USMV, widest gap first
Holding	More in CFAMore in USMV	CFA	USMV
Microsoft CorpMSFT	USMV +1.41 points	0.18%	1.59%
Amphenol Corp. - Class AAPH	USMV +1.37 points	0.13%	1.50%
Exxonmobil Holdings CorpXOM	USMV +1.34 points	0.27%	1.61%
Motorola Solutions Inc.MSI	USMV +1.26 points	0.24%	1.50%
Mckesson Corp.MCK	USMV +1.25 points	0.22%	1.47%
NVIDIA Corp.NVDA	USMV +1.23 points	0.15%	1.38%
Merck & Co Inc.MRK	USMV +1.23 points	0.22%	1.45%
Vertex PharmaceuticalsVRTX	USMV +1.22 points	0.22%	1.44%
Johnson & JohnsonJNJ	USMV +1.14 points	0.33%	1.47%
Cisco Systems Inc.CSCO	USMV +1.11 points	0.16%	1.27%
Cencora IncCOR	USMV +1.07 points	0.20%	1.27%
Verizon CommunicationsVZ	USMV +1.06 points	0.22%	1.28%
Mastercard Inc. - Class AMA	USMV +1.06 points	0.29%	1.35%
Berkshire Hathaway Inc BBRK.B	USMV +1.04 points	0.46%	1.50%
Waste Management Inc.WM	USMV +1.03 points	0.34%	1.37%
Republic Services Inc.RSG	USMV +1.00 points	0.36%	1.36%
Duke Energy Corp.DUK	USMV +1.00 points	0.41%	1.41%
Southern CoSO	USMV +0.99 points	0.38%	1.37%
Roper Technologies IncROP	USMV +0.97 points	0.23%	1.20%
Coca-Cola Co/TheKO	USMV +0.97 points	0.35%	1.32%
Salesforce IncCRM	USMV +0.95 points	0.11%	1.06%
Palantir Technologies IncPLTR	USMV +0.90 points	0.10%	1.00%
Consolidated Edison Inc.ED	USMV +0.87 points	0.40%	1.27%
Visa Inc Class AV	USMV +0.78 points	0.30%	1.08%
Procter & Gamble Co.PG	USMV +0.77 points	0.35%	1.12%
Eli Lilly & CoLLY	USMV +0.72 points	0.21%	0.93%
Broadcom IncAVGO	USMV +0.70 points	0.12%	0.82%
Servicenow IncNOW	USMV +0.69 points	0.07%	0.76%
Apple IncAAPL	USMV +0.69 points	0.27%	0.96%
T-Mobile Us IncTMUS	USMV +0.68 points	0.18%	0.86%
Mcdonald's CorpMCD	USMV +0.68 points	0.33%	1.01%
Marsh & Mclennan Cos IncMRSH	USMV +0.67 points	0.25%	0.92%
Lockheed Martin CorpLMT	USMV +0.66 points	0.24%	0.90%
Cme Group Inc.CME	USMV +0.65 points	0.26%	0.91%
Teledyne TechnologiesTDY	USMV +0.65 points	0.25%	0.90%
Bank of New York MellonBNY	USMV +0.65 points	0.26%	0.91%
Tjx Cos Inc.TJX	USMV +0.64 points	0.31%	0.95%
Colgate-Palmolive CoCL	USMV +0.63 points	0.29%	0.92%
Yum! Brands Inc.YUM	USMV +0.61 points	0.27%	0.88%
Texas Instruments Inc.TXN	USMV +0.61 points	0.16%	0.77%
Advanced Micro DevicesAMD	USMV +0.60 points	0.10%	0.70%
Micron Technology Inc.MU	USMV +0.59 points	0.07%	0.66%
Monster Beverage CorpMNST	USMV +0.58 points	0.24%	0.82%
Analog Devices Inc.ADI	USMV +0.58 points	0.20%	0.78%
AT&T IncT	USMV +0.55 points	0.20%	0.75%
Palo Alto Networks IncPANW	USMV +0.54 points	0.13%	0.67%
Fortinet IncFTNT	USMV +0.54 points	0.11%	0.65%
AbbVie Inc.ABBV	USMV +0.53 points	0.28%	0.81%
Autozone Inc.AZO	USMV +0.53 points	0.22%	0.75%
Pepsico Inc.PEP	USMV +0.52 points	0.29%	0.81%
Verisign Inc.VRSN	USMV +0.52 points	0.22%	0.74%
Travelers Companies IncTRV	USMV +0.51 points	0.32%	0.83%
Abbott LaboratoriesABT	USMV +0.51 points	0.21%	0.72%
Autodesk Inc.ADSK	USMV +0.49 points	0.16%	0.65%
Progressive Corp.PGR	USMV +0.48 points	0.24%	0.72%
Walmart Inc.WMT	USMV +0.48 points	0.28%	0.76%
Cboe Global Markets IncCBOE	USMV +0.46 points	0.20%	0.66%
Workday IncWDAY	USMV +0.46 points	0.11%	0.57%
Intuit IncINTU	USMV +0.45 points	0.11%	0.56%
ConocophillipsCOP	USMV +0.45 points	0.24%	0.69%
Mondelez InternationalMDLZ	USMV +0.45 points	0.27%	0.72%
Ptc Inc.PTC	USMV +0.45 points	0.22%	0.67%
O'reilly Automotive Inc.ORLY	USMV +0.45 points	0.23%	0.68%
Ge Vernova LlcGEV	USMV +0.41 points	0.12%	0.53%
Adobe IncADBE	USMV +0.40 points	0.13%	0.53%
Wec Energy GroupWEC	USMV +0.40 points	0.43%	0.83%
Applied Materials IncAMAT	USMV +0.39 points	0.09%	0.48%
Kroger Co/TheKR	USMV +0.39 points	0.25%	0.64%
Chevron CorpCVX	USMV +0.38 points	0.29%	0.67%
Arista Networks IncANET	USMV +0.37 points	0.10%	0.47%
Te Connectivity PLCTEL	USMV +0.37 points	0.18%	0.55%
Atmos Energy CorpATO	CFA +0.36 points	0.42%	0.06%
Philip Morris Int'l Inc.PM	USMV +0.37 points	0.24%	0.61%
Keurig Dr Pepper IncKDP	USMV +0.34 points	0.28%	0.62%
Ppl Corp.PPL	CFA +0.31 points	0.36%	0.05%
Allstate Corp/TheALL	USMV +0.31 points	0.25%	0.56%
Marvell Technology IncMRVL	USMV +0.31 points	0.07%	0.38%
International Business MaIBM	USMV +0.31 points	0.13%	0.44%
F5 IncFFIV	USMV +0.31 points	0.15%	0.46%
Church & Dwight Co IncCHD	USMV +0.30 points	0.30%	0.60%
Cognizant Tech SolutionsCTSH	USMV +0.29 points	0.15%	0.44%
Northrop Grumman CorpNOC	USMV +0.28 points	0.23%	0.51%
Alnylam PharmaceuticalsALNY	USMV +0.28 points	0.09%	0.37%
Arch Capital Group LtdACGL	CFA +0.28 points	0.33%	0.05%
First Citizens Bcshs -ClFCNCA	USMV +0.25 points	0.26%	0.51%
Incyte PharmaceuticalsINCY	USMV +0.25 points	0.19%	0.44%
Newmont CorpNEM	USMV +0.25 points	0.11%	0.36%
American Water Works Co.AWK	CFA +0.25 points	0.30%	0.05%
Neurocrine Biosciences InNBIX	USMV +0.23 points	0.18%	0.41%
United Therapeutics CorpUTHR	USMV +0.22 points	0.23%	0.45%
UnitedHealth Group Inc.UNH	USMV +0.22 points	0.18%	0.40%
Seagate Technology HoldSTX	USMV +0.21 points	0.07%	0.28%
Liberty Media Corp-CFWONK	USMV +0.21 points	0.24%	0.45%
Nextera Energy Inc.NEE	CFA +0.21 points	0.31%	0.10%
General Dynamics Corp.GD	CFA +0.20 points	0.27%	0.07%
Synopsys IncSNPS	USMV +0.20 points	0.16%	0.36%
Corning Inc.GLW	USMV +0.20 points	0.07%	0.27%
First Solar IncFSLR	USMV +0.20 points	0.10%	0.30%
Crowdstrike Holdings Inc-CRWD	USMV +0.20 points	0.12%	0.32%
Cms Energy Corp.CMS	CFA +0.19 points	0.37%	0.18%

All 502 CFA holdings⁠All 174 USMV holdings⁠

How we measure overlap

Each holding counts at its smaller weight in the two funds, summed over the full Holdings. Sector, country and asset class use the same rule on each fund’s split. Cash, FX and derivative lines stay out of the counts. Two bond funds get no overlap figure.

CFA vs USMV Cost

Overpaying CFA vs USMV

$3,989

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

CFA 0.35%
$7,126
USMV 0.15%
$3,137

Amount$10,000

Years30 years

Cost over time

CFA 0.35%
USMV 0.15%
Overpaying

Year by year

Year	CFA	USMV	Overpaying
10	$634	$274	$360
20	$2,454	$1,071	$1,383
30	$7,126	$3,137	$3,989

Expense ratio

0.35%CFA
0.15%USMV, cheaper

USMV0.15%CFA0.35%

0.08%0.35%

Middle half of US Low Volatility Index funds
Median 0.20%

USMV 5th cheapest of 16 funds

CFA 14th cheapest of 16 funds

CFA vs USMV Dividends

Last 12 months to Oct 30, 2026

Yield (12M): CFA 1.21%; USMV 1.37%, better
Payout (12M): CFA $1.22; USMV $1.41
Last payment: CFA $0.10; USMV $0.33
Ex-dividend: CFA Oct 8, 2026; USMV Sep 15, 2026
Paid on: CFA Oct 9, 2026; USMV Sep 18, 2026
Frequency: CFA Monthly; USMV Quarterly

Distribution history

Per share, 2023 to 2026, same scale for both

CFAMonthly · 46 paymentsAll CFA payments⁠

USMVQuarterly · 15 paymentsAll USMV payments⁠

CFA vs USMV Risk

Fall from peak · 5 years

CFA
USMV

Risk facts

VolatilityStd dev, 3 years: CFA 12.0%USMV 9.9%, better
Return per unit of riskSharpe ratio, 3 years: CFA 1.00, betterUSMV 0.99
Worst fallMax drawdown, 5 years: CFA −20.9%USMV −17.9%, better
Market sensitivityBeta, 5 years: CFA 0.86USMV 0.48; Market = 1

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