Special Large Value ETF

Bryant VanCronkhite: Allspring’s fixed income teams recently launched the company's first active ETFs (exchange-traded funds), and we're not letting them have all the fun. So, I'm excited to share that we brought a popular equity strategy of ours to the market as an ETF: the Allspring Special Large Value ETF. ASLV offers investors an ETF version of our Special Large Value strategy that's been in existence for years through our mutual fund, SMA (separately managed account), and separate accounts that have combined assets of more than $2.8 billion. We understand that ETFs are the vehicle of choice for many investors, and we're happy to deliver the strategy in a tax-efficient, cost-effective, transparent, and liquid structure. So, what's so special about the Special Large Value ETF? Well, first of all, like the mutual fund and SMA, ASLV is managed by our Special Global Equity team, a deeply experienced and highly skilled group consisting of 19 investment professionals with an average of 22 years in the industry. What helps set that strategy apart starts with our CPA-based approach to evaluating companies. We've developed a unique process for analyzing a company's balance sheet to understand how they could use their available capital to grow the business in a way that the market isn't currently anticipating. Why this approach? Well, simply, we believe a company's balance-sheet-driven choices, such as acquisitions, capital expenditures, stock buybacks, and dividend payments, are the elements most controlled by a company's management team. But they are often only considered by investors after they happen. As an investor, we want to be ahead of these choices, so we can participate in the stock's upside when they become visible to other investors. The balance sheet analysis we do offers both a distinct and highly effective way for us to uncover and exploit market inefficiencies and differentiated sources of alpha. Our next differentiator is our rigorous bottom-up research. We recognize that successful security selection doesn't just happen without a sound or rigorous research approach. It's the reason teams like ours exist. We leverage a proprietary bottom-up investment process, distinctly focused on companies that possess three key characteristics. Number one, the company must have an asset that provides a durable competitive advantage. Number two, the asset must generate strong and consistent free cash flow. And number three, the company must have that always important balance sheet flexibility that I spoke about earlier. That combination creates a very defensible company with financial freedom that protects downside and provides upside optionality. Now, finally, we use our reward-to-risk decision-making framework to make unemotional and consistent stock choices and position sizing decisions. The team appraises companies for both upside and downside potential, investing in a stock price that adequately compensates us for the level of risk being taken. In other words, we don't make that common Wall Street mistake of only chasing upside—we balance it against our measure of the potential risk involved. The process helps us build a smart and efficient portfolio focused on our unique stock selection approach. So, are you ready to get active with equity ETFs? Consider ASLV to gain access to the Allspring Special Global Equity team’s unique CPA-based approach to value investing.