ETF Education Report: ALPHA ARCHITECT INTERNATIONAL QUANTITATIVE VALUE ETF (IVAL)

What this ETF is trying to do

The ALPHA ARCHITECT INTERNATIONAL QUANTITATIVE VALUE ETF (ticker: IVAL) is an exchange-traded fund listed on the NASDAQ. While the specific investment strategy details are not provided in this data, ETFs like this generally aim to provide exposure to international stocks based on specific mathematical rules.

What the numbers show

When looking at an ETF, it is important to understand the difference between "price return" and "total return."

• Price Return: This measures only how much the share price has changed.

• Total Return: This includes both the change in share price and any cash distributions (dividends) paid out to investors.

For IVAL, the numbers show growth in both areas:

• Year-to-Date (YTD): The price return is approximately 14.20%, while the total return is higher at approximately 16.69%.

• One Year: The price return is approximately 17.40%, and the total return is approximately 21.09%.

• Three Years: The price return is approximately 58.48%, and the total return is approximately 75.00%.

To visualize the price change, we can look at an estimated price from roughly one year ago. The price was approximately $30.60, and the current price is $35.93.

Income and distribution explanation

Some investors look for ETFs that pay out cash, known as distributions. IVAL has a distribution yield of approximately 2.91%. This means the cash paid out is about 2.91% of the ETF's price.

The data shows that IVAL usually pays distributions quarterly, and it has made 4 payments over the last 12 months. It is important to remember that a distribution yield is not the same as total return. A high yield does not guarantee that your original investment will stay the same value.

NAV erosion explanation

"NAV erosion" is a term used to describe when the value of the underlying assets in an ETF decreases significantly over time. StockValueFinder uses an "erosion score" to measure this risk.

For IVAL, the erosion score is 100, which is labeled as "No price erosion detected." The erosion severity is rated as "good," and there is no severe erosion-risk flag present. This indicates that the fund has not shown signs of significant price deterioration according to these measurements.

Pros

• The ETF has shown positive price returns and total returns over the one-year and three-year periods.

• The erosion-risk measurements are currently rated as "good."

Cons

• The data provided does not list any specific Top Holdings, so the exact companies held by the fund are unknown from this report.

Beginner takeaway

When studying IVAL, notice that the total return is higher than the price return. This happens because the total return accounts for the cash distributions paid to investors. Always distinguish between the movement of the share price and the total amount earned through both price changes and distributions.