The Fund Grade · free · no account needed
What grade does QVAL get?
Morningstar rates funds on what they returned. We grade them on where their money sits today: how much of the book overlaps with the converged buys of the top specialist stock pickers.
Fundprints Fund Grade · as of 2026-10-01
Alpha Architect U.S. Quantitative Value ETF
#222 of 500 graded active funds · value · mid segment peer group
The point · specialist footprint
QVAL puts less of its book behind proven specialists than 77% of graded funds.
Bottom 20%
● Bottom 40%
Middle
Top 40%
Top 20%
That has mattered: over the past 2.7 years, funds with this little specialist backing trailed top-rung funds by about 3.8% per quarter and beat the S&P in only 22% of fund-quarters. If it also charges an active fee, the higher-graded alternatives deserve a look.
10,000+ funds tracked · the graded specialists among them drive every read
You pay 0.28% a year for a B.
The grade scores this fund's specialist share, the slice that overlaps what the top 1% of proven funds are building. We ignore index ballast and names outside our edge on purpose: that slice is small, and it's what decides the outcome.
QVAL vs the Honor Roll · share card ↗Conviction exposure
6.6%
of the book in specialist-converged names
Late-stage weight
26.3%
of the book in Crowded or Fading names
Active share
95.4%
how far it strays from the index
The best grades have beaten the worst by about +5% a year since we began grading. The gap held in 9 out of 10 months. Measured on filings as they were published, no hindsight.
Inside the book: top names by stage · as of 2026-10-20
We email you the day it crosses 50% crowded, and where you stand every month.
Graded monthly from point-in-time filings. A description of where the money sits, not a recommendation. Evidence, not advice.
The read · what to do with it
QVAL earns a B grade at a reasonable 0.28% fee, with specialist investors holding about 6.6% of the fund. The early story here is positions like EAT, DAL, and LW, where specialists are still building. The concern is that UAL, FSLR, DECK, ALSN, and PHM together make up over 10% of the fund and specialists are actively leaving all five.
→ Watch the five fading positions closely, as UAL, FSLR, DECK, ALSN, and PHM together represent meaningful weight with specialists exiting.
→ Higher graded funds exist within the same Alpha Architect family, so compare the grade difference before adding to this position.
Support leaving these positions
Same family, higher grade
Read from today's disclosed book. Evidence, not advice.