Bancreek Capital Advisors is a firm that does not chase headlines. But in a year when volatility and macroeconomic whiplash have become the norm, the actively managed Bancreek International Large Cap ETF (ticker: BCIL) is delivering performance that is difficult to ignore. With a disciplined focus on “institutional endurance” and a systematic approach to identifying high-quality global equities, BCIL has emerged as the top-performing international exchange-traded fund (ETF) in April and a leader year-to-date.
In an interview with The Wealth Advisor’s Scott Martin, Eric Pachman, Chief Analytics Officer at Bancreek, discussed what’s driving BCIL’s standout performance, the firm’s data-driven approach, and why both BCIL and its domestic counterpart, the Bancreek U.S. Large Cap ETF (ticker: BCUS), are built to thrive in complex market conditions.
Precision and Performance: BCIL Takes the Lead
BCIL has quickly climbed to the top of its peer group. In April alone, Pachman notes, it returned 8.5%, outpacing 1,053 active and passive ETFs across the category. Among 626 active peers Bancreek benchmarks itself against, BCIL also ranked number one. Year-to-date, it sits at number five overall and number two when limited to the international developed equity subset. This outcome isn’t a fluke. “It is not out of line with what we would expect given the development of this tool and how much history we have with it,” he explains. Still, that level of performance in a choppy market raises the question: what’s driving the results?
According to Pachman, the answer lies in Bancreek’s core methodology. “Our funds are predicated on finding companies with institutional endurance,” he says. “These are companies that have resilience, durability, longevity, and growth.”
While many managers use those terms loosely, Bancreek quantifies these metrics through rigorous model testing and refinement. The firm uses what Pachman calls a “heart rate monitor” for businesses, screening for vital signs that correlate with long-term strength. “Growth is a core part of the algorithm for us,” he explains. “We are looking for a sustainable model within all the companies that we invest in, where they can continue to recycle cash back into profitable growth.”
The result is a strategy that doesn’t rely on market timing or trend chasing but on structural signals of enduring value—a foundational advantage in unpredictable environments.
Strategy Built for Market Shifts
Much of BCIL’s performance owes to Bancreek’s intentional focus on structural inefficiencies in international equity pricing. When the firm launched the ETF in March 2024, U.S. markets were commanding premium valuations—historically, international equities traded at a three-turn price-to-earnings discount to their U.S. peers. But by early 2024, that gap had widened to eight turns, the most extreme valuation divergence Bancreek had seen in its data history.
That dislocation, paired with early signs of economic decoupling and localized strength, created a perfect entry point. “You had this opportunity for mean reversion,” Pachman says. “Then you had the catalyst, which came in with this new administration, for that to start happening. And now you have fundamentally a much, much better setup for international equities.”
For those allocating globally, the implication is clear: BCIL isn’t necessarily just a bet on valuation mean reversion—it might be a conviction bet on regional leaders capitalizing on macroeconomic realignment.
A Systematic Process with Focused Conviction
Many international ETFs hold hundreds or even thousands of stocks, but Bancreek takes a dramatically different approach. BCIL aims for 30 names—a deliberate decision grounded in extensive portfolio construction research, determining that 30 is the optimal number for balancing return potential with volatility control. “We have our tools, we pick the top 30, and we have a systematic rebalancing process,” Pachman says. “I think you’ll be hard-pressed to find any other active manager that is able to do what we’re doing with just 30 names.”
The concentrated and focused approach stands in contrast to the sprawling holdings of passive benchmarks such as IEFA, the iShares Core MSCI EAFE ETF, which includes nearly 3,000 securities. According to Pachman, that breadth often leads to diluted results. “If I’m going out and investing in 3,000 equities, that’s not the cream of the crop,” he says. “That’s overly diversified, and you’re bringing in a lot of names that are not going to be competitive with their U.S. counterparts.”
Bancreek’s model overcomes the excessive diversification trap by selecting only companies with exceptional fundamentals. The firm seeks to maximize alpha potential while maintaining disciplined risk management through deliberate concentration. Rather than seeking broad beta exposure across entire regions, Bancreek strategically targets only the strongest regional operators—companies with fundamentals robust enough to thrive in increasingly siloed global markets.
Adaptability Without Compromising Growth
Although some investors might equate resilience with just holding ground, Bancreek insists that growth remains paramount. “You can’t compound without growth,” Pachman says. “That’s the reason we highlight resilience, durability, longevity, and growth—but growth is arguably the most important because without it, all you have is a trade.”
An emphasis on sustainable compounding resonates deeply with Bancreek’s origins. The firm was founded to manage capital for families and institutions with generational wealth—investors who measure success over decades, not quarters. That long-term mandate shaped the firm’s philosophy: identify companies capable of reinvesting capital profitably and compounding intrinsic value over time.
Advisors looking to secure enduring growth opportunities outside momentum-driven U.S. sectors may find BCIL aligns well with long-term wealth preservation goals, especially as global economic patterns reset.
Don’t Overlook BCUS
While BCIL is garnering the spotlight, the firm’s BCUS strategy is delivering strong results of its own. Since inception in December 2023, Pachman notes that BCUS is up 21.4%, with significantly lower drawdown than the broader U.S. market during recent volatility. He acknowledges, however, that with U.S. benchmarks performing so well, advisors may question the need for active management domestically—but Bancreek’s process remains consistent.
As with BCIL, BCUS draws from Bancreek’s data engine and aims to select 30 names. “It is still providing diversification and volatility that is comparable to, if not better than, that of the passive indices that have a hundred times the number of stocks that we have,” Pachman explains.
That level of efficiency is rare. Those seeking alpha within the U.S. may find that BCUS presents a concentrated yet disciplined way to help capture companies with high reinvestment potential and long-term growth engines.
Data-Driven Confidence in Long-Term Results
Bancreek’s confidence doesn’t come from a hot streak—it comes from years of deep, relentless testing. “These products don’t get launched out of thin air. We are a data firm,” says Pachman. “We built all this based on billions of model tests over many years, and we see consistent strong performance within our back tests.”
What Bancreek is ultimately betting on isn’t market timing or style drift—it’s endurance. The firm’s models are designed to surface companies with structural strength: businesses that can weather shocks, reinvest at high rates, and compound over time. “When you are looking for factors that we call endurance—again, resilience, durability, longevity, growth—historical data is beneficial in finding these companies, and these don’t go away overnight,” explains Pachman. “It’s very much like our own bodies. If you are training for a marathon for years and years, you don’t wake up one day unable to run a mile.”
That depth of preparation is the foundation of Bancreek’s conviction in uncertain markets. Its results aren’t flukes; they’re the natural outcome of a repeatable system. “The outcome results from the process,” Pachman states. “The outcome is not random when the process is robust and structured.”
A Durable Shift, Not a Temporary Spike
While market trends come and go, Bancreek’s thesis is built on more than short-term catalysts. Pachman points to the changing dynamics of global trade, regional competition, and the rise of companies that dominate their home markets as signs that international equities may be entering a sustained period of outperformance.
“This is not feeling like a windfall,” he says. “It’s feeling very much like a shift in power.” And while some view today’s environment as unstable or even bearish, Bancreek sees opportunity. “If you are focused on international and you have a systematic process that can identify these companies, we’re basically at the start of 2023. We’re in the early stages of a bull market for international equities,” Pachman adds. “This could be the beginning of quite a bit of excitement for international equities and therefore our products as well.”
Bancreek’s ETFs offer tools designed to thrive in the cracks between consensus and disruption. Whether it’s the high-conviction holdings of BCIL or the durable growth orientation of BCUS, Bancreek is positioning itself not as a niche alternative—but as a core solution for the next cycle.
An Open Door to Advisors Seeking Answers
Bancreek isn’t content to let performance numbers speak for themselves. The firm actively encourages investment professionals to look under the hood of its methodology.
“We understand that we launched just about 15 months ago, so we’re relatively new,” says Pachman. But he emphasizes transparency: “We’re an open book. Go to our website, reach out.”
Advisors concerned about capacity or implementation can rest assured—despite being a newer entrant, BCIL offers substantial liquidity. “It’s a large-cap fund,” Pachman notes, “so if you check our implied liquidity, it’s over $80 million daily.”
The firm’s commitment extends beyond just selling products. “We’re looking to help advisors,” he emphasizes. “That’s what we’re here for, whether it is through our products, through U.S. exposure, through active international exposure, or just through enhancing this discussion on these important macro data points—which seem to get more important over time—we’re here to help.”
For those intrigued by the quantitative engine that powers Bancreek’s outperformance, Pachman offers a straightforward invitation: explore the methodology that’s producing category-leading results before everyone else catches on.
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Disclosures
Investors should consider the investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses carefully before investing. For a prospectus or summary prospectus with this and other information about the Fund, please call (855) 973-7880 or visit our website at www.bancreeketfs.com. Read the prospectus or summary prospectus carefully before investing.
The Funds are distributed by Foreside Fund Services, LLC.
Investing involves risk, including loss of principal. A new or smaller fund’s performance may not represent how the fund is expected to or may perform in the long term if and when it becomes larger and has fully implemented its investment strategies. The Fund relies heavily on proprietary quantitative investment selection models as well as data and information supplied by third parties that are utilized by such models. To the extent the models do not perform as designed or as intended, the Fund’s strategy may not be successfully implemented, and the Fund may lose value. If the models or data are incorrect or incomplete, any decisions made in reliance thereon may lead to the inclusion or exclusion of securities that would have been excluded or included had the models or data been correct and complete. Read the prospectus for additional details regarding risks.
Please visit https://bancreeketfs.com/bcus and https://bancreeketfs.com/bcil for more information on the funds and associated risks.
