Morningstar Manager Research’s latest list of overlooked or emerging fund managers and strategies includes five actively managed exchange-traded funds from industry stalwarts Vanguard and Tweedy, Browne.
In our latest Morningstar Prospects report, we added 19 strategies with their strong management teams and reasonable approaches. After further review, we graduated seven strategies to full coverage because of our increased conviction in their future ability to generate positive outcomes for investors. We also dropped two strategies.
The 19 new strategies we added to the January edition of the Prospects list included five actively managed ETFs, two of which were Vanguard fixed-income funds. Venerable value investing boutique Tweedy, Browne also launched its first ETFs and first new strategies in more than a decade. Here’s a closer look at each of active ETFs Morningstar analysts find promising.
Eagle Capital Select Equity ETF EAGL
This ETF mirrors a long-standing separately managed account strategy. This is Eagle Capital’s sole strategy and one of the fastest-growing active ETFs around. From its April 2024 launch through December 2025, the fund’s assets increased to $3.6 billion.
An eight-member investment team, including senior leaders Alec Henry, Adrian Meli, and firm founder Ravenel Curry, applies a patient approach, buying strong businesses below their long-term worth. The managers’ definition of value, however, is flexible, allowing them to invest across sectors, styles, and market caps. Just 25-35 stocks make it into the portfolio, so it courts some risk, but the managers have compiled a strong track record at the SMA.
Tweedy, Browne Insider + Value ETF COPY and Tweedy, Browne International Insider + Value ETF ICPY
These two strategies mark Tweedy, Browne’s first foray into ETFs and the firm’s first new offerings in 15 years. Although these quantitative-driven approaches are different from the firm’s other fundamental, bottom-up strategies, they fit well within its value-oriented circle of competence.
These strategies have compelling, academically backed approaches. Both target stocks with company insider buying and buyback activity that are paired with attractive valuations and other fundamental factors. The global portfolio holds about 150-200 stocks compared with its international sibling’s 125. While broadly diversified, neither has formal sector nor country constraints, which results in differentiated portfolios.
Both ETFs carry below-average fees relative to their respective Morningstar Category peers, which adds to their appeal.
Vanguard Core Tax-Exempt Bond ETF VCRM
This is a relatively new offering from an industry standout. Vanguard launched this ETF in November 2024 and appointed Stephen McFee to lead it. McFee and veteran comanager Mathew Kiselak tap Vanguard’s strong fixed-income sector research team that provides both fundamental and relative-value recommendations.
The team applies a disciplined approach to finding mispriced municipal bonds. It emphasizes investment-grade issues to generate tax-exempt income while maintaining liquidity across the yield curve. To support this approach, the ETF usually stashes at least 40% of its assets in debt rated A or lower and can hold up to 20% in below-investment-grade bonds, though such exposure has generally stayed around 10%.
This ETF is also very reasonably priced; it has just a 0.12% prospectus adjusted expense ratio, which is among the cheapest for any actively managed fixed-income ETF.
Vanguard Multi-Sector Income Bond ETF VGMS
Vanguard Multi-Sector Income Bond ETF launched in June 2025 with proven resources behind it. Michael Chang works with firm veterans Arvind Narayanan and Daniel Shaykevich; they have extensive experience in investment-grade corporates and emerging-market debt, which serves them well here.
The team’s approach is disciplined. It focuses on independent credit assessment through a proprietary scoring framework and evaluates each issuer across nine qualitative and quantitative criteria. While the ETF’s track record is still short, it’s a promising offering from a standout firm. Plus, its 0.30% prospectus adjusted expense ratio is relatively cheap compared with rivals.