CLSE vs FLSP

CLSEBConvergence Long/Short Equity ETF

FLSPAFranklin Systematic Style Premia ETF

In short

CLSE A hedge-fund playbook in an ETF wrapper: Convergence buys the US mid- and large-caps it expects to outperform and shorts the ones it expects to lag, running a strategy that dates back to 2009.

FLSP A hedge-fund style trade in an ETF wrapper. FLSP goes long and short across value, momentum and carry rather than just owning cheap stocks, which makes it the odd one out in a cohort of long-only factor funds.

Stated mandate

CLSE The Fund seeks long-term capital growth through an actively managed portfolio of long and short positions in domestic companies’ equity securities. It generally favors medium- and large-capitalization companies, buying securities expected to outperform and shorting those expected to underperform.

FLSP The fund uses a top-down risk-premia strategy focused on value, momentum, and carry factors, taking both long and short positions.

Why people hold it

• CLSE Works both sides of the market: long the names it expects to outperform, short the ones it expects to lag, all inside a standard 1940 Act fund.
• The strategy dates to 2009, so it is a seasoned book rather than a freshly launched idea.
• Roughly 400 domestic positions across medium and large caps, so no single stock pick decides the outcome.
• Assets run into the hundreds of millions and shares change hands regularly, so entering and exiting is generally straightforward.

• FLSP Runs both long and short positions, so the outcome hinges on the gap between the stocks it likes and the ones it doesn't, not purely on the market's direction.
• Three return sources under one ticker: value, momentum and carry, blended top-down instead of stacked onto a single stock screen.
• Spreads the bet across roughly 300 positions, so no single name carries the fund.
• Live since 2019 and now a multi-billion-dollar fund, with the daily liquidity and transparency of an ETF wrapper around a strategy usually sold in private vehicles.

Worth knowing

• CLSE Pricey by ETF standards at 1.52% a year, against 0.12% for DFAU and 0.15% for AVLC. Shorting and active stock selection carry a real price tag.
• Shorts cut both ways: the sleeve meant to cushion a selloff can also weigh on results when the market climbs.
• Payouts land annually or semiannually. The stated mandate is long-term capital growth, not a steady income stream.

• FLSP At 0.65% a year it costs multiples of plain-vanilla factor peers like VONV (0.06%) and FNDX (0.25%). That is the price tag on the long/short machinery.
• No public index sits behind it, so there is no external yardstick to check it against, and results can look nothing like a US stock index in either direction.
• Distributions land once or twice a year, not on a monthly rhythm.

Full CLSE profile⁠

Full FLSP profile⁠