3 Great Stock ETFs Run by Exceptional Managers

Bryan Armour: Star mutual fund managers originally shunned ETFs in large part because daily portfolio disclosures pulled back the curtain on their management activity. However, star managers have flocked to ETFs in recent years, whether that be due to growing comfort with daily portfolio disclosure or capitulation to investors’ preference for ETFs. After all, active ETFs have brought in nearly $900 billion of new investor money, while active mutual funds have seen over $2.3 trillion in outflows over the past five years.

Either way, active ETFs are here to stay, and star managers are embracing them. Today’s three ETF picks all include a past winner of Morningstar’s Outstanding Portfolio Manager award, including David Giroux from T. Rowe Price, Bill Nygren from Oakmark, and Rob Lovelace and team from Capital Group. These equity ETFs marry the efficiency and transparency of the ETF structure with three portfolio manager greats.

3 Great Stock ETFs Run by Exceptional Managers

1. T. Rowe Price Capital Appreciation Equity ETF TCAF
2. Oakmark U.S. Large Cap ETF OAKM
3. Capital Group New Geography Equity ETF CGNG

The first ETF on my list is Gold-rated T. Rowe Price Capital Appreciation Equity ETF, ticker TCAF. This equity ETF is led by David Giroux, a three-time winner of Morningstar Allocation Manager of the Year for his top-performing Capital Appreciation fund PRWCX. TCAF basically strips out the equity sleeve of that popular allocation fund and draws on the same process for picking stocks.

This ETF begins by identifying companies without major long-term flaws, like poor management teams or unstable business models. It then focuses on those with reasonable valuations and strong potential for earnings growth and risk-adjusted results. This approach has typically led to a tilt toward growth stocks thanks to their better financial health, with a consistent overweighting in the technology sector.

The results over TCAF’s short life have been solid. It beat its average large-blend category peer by 60 basis points since its launch in June 2023 through August of this year. A low fee of 31 basis points adds to the long-term prospects of Giroux’s first foray into ETFs.

The second ETF on my list is Gold-rated Oakmark U.S. Large Cap ETF, ticker OAKM. This strategy taps a talented team from Harris Associates, advisor to the Oakmark fund family, led by legendary value investor Bill Nygren.

This ETF picks up some intriguing features from the Harris team’s two major offerings. The portfolio is a subset of holdings from Oakmark OAKMX, a US mutual fund where Nygren has built an enviable 25-year record finding cheap stocks that become winners over time. Whereas Oakmark typically has 45 to 60 holdings, though, the ETF is likely to have just 30 to 40, and that’s a little more like Oakmark Select OAKLX, which often has just 20 to 25 holdings. Unlike those two older funds, however, the new ETF will stick to larger-cap stocks, as its name suggests. That’s helpful for liquidity and capacity.

So far, Nygren has converted his success to the ETF market. OAKM beat the Russell 1000 Value Index by nearly 5 percentage points from its December 2024 launch through August 2025. This short track record shouldn’t be relied on, but it fits with our assessment of Nygren and team and their process for OAKM.

My last ETF is Gold-rated Capital Group New Geography Equity ETF, ticker CGNG. This ETF rhymes with the long-successful American Funds New World NEWFX mutual fund, including casting the same 11-person team of industry veterans in its multimanager approach.

The managers’ success on the mutual fund stems from its flexible, risk-averse approach. In addition to emerging-markets companies, the managers can invest a share of the portfolio in developed-markets firms that derive at least a fifth of their revenue from emerging economies to achieve a less volatile portfolio than the typical peer. This flexibility affords the manager a larger opportunity set than most emerging-market strategies. For example, its top 10 holdings include US technology giant Microsoft and European aerospace multinational Airbus, among more typical emerging-markets companies like Tencent Holdings.

CGNG edged out its average category peer from its launch in June 2024 through August 2025. Looking forward, its veteran team and unique approach to emerging markets should help it continue to stand out.

Watch New Crypto ETFs Are Coming. Here’s How Investors Can Prepare for more from Bryan Armour.