Had enough of volatile markets? You wouldn’t be alone. Markets have seen major volatility in the last month amid rising concern about tariffs and other U.S. government policy changes. Following such a strong year for key equity securities in 2024, many investors may be looking at portfolios facing serious concentration risk, too. That uncertainty arrives at the same time as active ETF investing has reached new prominence, with RFFC providing one key option.
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The ALPS Active Equity Opportunity ETF (RFFC ), charges a 48 basis point (bps) fee. The active ETF invests in small, mid, and large-cap equities, with at least 75% invested in U.S.-issued securities. RFFC applies a fundamental, bottom-up approach to investing. The fund emphasizes a combination of dividend-paying stocks and securities seen as offering a high and improving return.
That active ETF approach could provide meaningful flexibility at a time when volatility is taking a toll. Where passive funds must follow certain tight index requirements, active funds can adapt more quickly. With its fundamental, bottom-up focus, RFFC emphasizes companies that meet its standards, rather than those firms that help it meet a quota for a given segment.
RFFC has taken that approach and returned 10.5% over the last year per YCharts data. In 2024, RFFC returned 23.3% per SS&C ALPS Advisors data. What’s more, the fund has returned 11.6% since inception as of December 31st. Having recently hit an “oversold” marker according to its Relative Strength Index (RSI), now could be the moment to add that active ETF exposure.
Taken together, the fund’s wide remit and fundamental focus could help find companies prepared to do well in uncertain times. Even amid a notable selloff, opportunities still remain for those funds nimble enough to find them. With its active ETF approach, RFFC could make for a worthwhile add to equity allocations for the rest of 2025.
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