CSM vs VONV

CSMCProShares Large Cap Core Plus

VONVAVanguard Russell 1000 Value ETF

In short

CSM A survivor of the 2009 130/30 craze. CSM runs 130% long a four-factor screen of big U.S. companies and 30% short, so net exposure lands near the market while the factor tilts get turned up.

VONV The plain-vanilla value trade, done cheap: about 900 large US value stocks, full replication of the Russell 1000 Value Index, 0.06% a year. No factor cocktail, no premium price tag, and one of the strongest implementations in its factor peer group.

Stated mandate

CSM The Fund seeks pre-expense investment results that track the UBS 130/30 Index. It uses equity securities and derivatives to maintain exposure to a rules-based, multi-factor portfolio of leading large-cap U.S. companies with 130% long and 30% short exposure.

VONV The fund seeks to track the Russell 1000 Value Index, representing large-capitalization value stocks in the United States. It uses passive indexing and full replication to remain closely aligned with that benchmark.

Why people hold it

• CSM The shorting is the whole point: 130% long, 30% short. Net exposure sits near 100% of the market, but the factor bets carry more weight than a long-only screen allows.
• Four factors in one rulebook (value, growth, momentum, profitability) spread across roughly 300 large U.S. companies, so no single style is steering the whole portfolio.proshares.com
• Long-short mechanics inside an ordinary 1940 Act ETF: no lockups, no accreditation, no K-1. It tracks a published benchmark, the UBS 130/30 Index, rather than a manager's hunches.
• Trading since 2009, which is a long run for a long-short strategy. Most of the 130/30 wave that launched alongside it did not last. Distributions come quarterly.

• VONV 0.06% a year, a fraction of the typical fee among factor ETFs. On a rules-based value index there is little room for cleverness, so cost does most of the work.vanguard.com
• Full replication, not sampling: it owns the index's roughly 900 names and has stayed tightly aligned with the Russell 1000 Value benchmark since launching in 2010.
• Same Russell benchmark as pricier rivals for less: the Goldman MarketBeta version (GVUS) charges 0.12% to track the identical value index.
• A multi-billion-dollar fund that trades actively, among the easiest in its group to get in and out of, and it distributes quarterly.

Worth knowing

• CSM 0.45% a year is toward the high end for large-cap multifactor. Plain-vanilla peers like VONV (0.06%) and IUSG (0.04%) cost a fraction, though neither shorts anything.
• One of the lighter-traded funds in its category, which can mean wider bid-ask spreads than the volume leaders in large-cap factor land.
• The short sleeve cuts both ways: it adds borrow and derivative costs, and it drags when the market's lowest-ranked names are the ones running.

• VONV One screen, one style. Value only, with no quality or momentum overlay, so the ride follows the value side of the market wherever it goes.vanguard.com
• This is the entire value bucket, not a best-ideas portfolio. About 900 holdings means results hug the large-cap value category rather than stray from it.
• Cheaper exists nearby: Vanguard's VYM charges 0.04%, but it screens for dividend yield, a different portfolio than a Russell value index.

Full CSM profile⁠

Full VONV profile⁠