GMOD vs LGH

GMODAGMO Dynamic Allocation ETF

LGHBHCM Defender 500 Index ETF

In short

GMOD GMO's 7-year asset class forecasts, finally wrapped in an ETF. It tilts toward what the firm's valuation models call cheap and away from what they call expensive, shifting between stocks, bonds and alternatives inside one ticker.

LGH A 500-stock US large-cap index with an eject button. HCM's own trend model can cut equity exposure to 70/30, 40/60 or all cash, then waits for the market to close back above the line before buying in again. Fee: 1.00% a year.

Stated mandate

GMOD The Fund seeks positive total return. It allocates among asset classes using GMO's multi-year return forecasts and relative-risk assessments.

LGH The Fund seeks to track the HCM Defender 500 Index before fees and expenses. Its index generally uses large-capitalization U.S. equities but can reduce exposure through 70/30, 40/60, or all-cash positions as market conditions change.

Why people hold it

• GMOD 0.50% all-in, about half the typical fee in its tactical-allocation peer group, and a contractual waiver offsets the fees of the GMO funds it holds so costs are not stacked.sec.gov
• GMO's first multi-asset strategy in an ETF, run by the asset allocation team behind the firm's long-running 7-year asset class forecasts.gmo.com
• The equity dial can swing between 40% and 80% of assets under normal conditions, so the fund handles the reallocating rather than you selling positions to do it.gmo.com
• Sits in the upper tier of a crowded tactical multi-asset group on cost and process clarity.

• LGH The exit ramp is the product. A trend signal, not a manager's gut, decides when the index steps down from full equity to 70/30, 40/60 or all cash, and re-entry requires five straight closes back above the line.howardcm.com
• Self-indexed and founder-run: Howard Capital Management sponsors, builds and maintains the index itself, and the firm's founder has been the portfolio manager since the fund began operations in 2019.howardcm.com
• One of the better-built options in a crowded tactical-allocation field of dozens of funds, with years of live record behind the signal rather than a backtest.

Worth knowing

• GMOD New in 2025 and lightly traded so far, which can mean wider bid-ask spreads than the big allocation ETFs.
• It owns other GMO funds, and the single 0.50% rate leans on a contractual waiver with an expiration date rather than a permanent cap.sec.gov
• Cheaper tactical allocators exist (ENDW at 0.22%, ONOF at 0.39%), though each runs a different process.

• LGH 1.00% a year sits above the category median fee, and well above peers like ENDW at 0.22% or PBL at 0.45%. That is active-manager pricing for a rules-based overlay.
• Trend models move late by design. The index only de-risks after the market has already fallen below the line, and only re-risks after five confirming closes, so it can hold cash while stocks are climbing.howardcm.com
• Equity exposure can come indirectly, through derivatives, other funds and leveraged ETFs, which adds plumbing most plain index funds do not carry.sec.govhowardcm.com

Full GMOD profile⁠

Full LGH profile⁠