KAT vs WTV

KATDScharf ETF

WTVAWisdomTree U.S. Value Fund

In short

KAT A concentrated take on value: roughly 40 quality names, US and international, bought at discounts to what Scharf's team thinks they're worth. This is the firm's long-running mutual fund strategy, now in an ETF wrapper.

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

KAT The Fund seeks long-term capital appreciation. It primarily invests in equity securities, principally those of mid- and large-capitalization companies, while retaining authority to invest in fixed-income securities and other assets.

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

• KAT Genuinely concentrated and genuinely active: about 40 holdings, so each pick carries real weight, unlike index value funds spread across hundreds of names.
• The mandate travels. US and international equities, mid- and large-cap, with prospectus authority to hold fixed income and other assets when the manager wants dry powder.
• Not a blank-slate launch. The strategy converted over from Scharf's mutual fund with a record dating to 2016, and reached the ETF market at several hundred million in size.etftrends.com

• 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

• KAT Active pricing: 0.75% a year, above the 0.55% median for its active value peers and several times the 0.15% at AVLV or 0.12% at WTV.
• Thinly traded for its category, so bid-ask spreads tend to run wider and fills less tidy than in the value aisle's giants.
• Concentration cuts both ways. With about 40 names and one team's judgment behind them, results can wander a long way from broad value benchmarks.

• 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 KAT profile⁠

Full WTV profile⁠