These 3 New ETFs Are Turning Heads—Are They Worth Buying?

Key Points

• Three recently launched ETFs, PBOG, GARY, and EPAI, have shown strong performance momentum.
• PBOG, a global energy ETF focused on oil and gas exploration, has returned about 56% since launch, aided by elevated crude prices and the Iran conflict.
• GARY and EPAI are actively managed funds with higher expense ratios, returning 34% and 25% respectively since launch.

While it's easy to be swayed by the flashiness of a new exchange-traded fund (ETF), it's important to keep in mind that newly launched funds aren't necessarily better investments just because of their novelty. Still, a new fund may offer exposure to a unique strategy, or to emerging industries or companies, and the opportunities to benefit alongside a growing fund.

On the other hand, the lack of a proven track record, low liquidity, elevated bid-ask spreads, or even the chance that a fund could close are all dangers for investors.

The funds below are all on the newer side, having launched in the last year. Each has established a performance record in its first few months of trading that suggests strong momentum. Of course, investors should continue to think about spreads, liquidity, expense ratio, asset base, and other factors that might make these ETFs more or less appealing. Still, they stand out in a crowded field of recently launched ETFs, at least in terms of performance.

A Specialized Oil Fund Navigating a Crowded Field

Returning about 56% since its launch and close to 53% year to date (YTD), the Portfolio Building Block Integrated Oil and Gas and Exploration and Production Index ETF NASDAQ: PBOG has distinguished itself in a short period of time.

The fund's focus is on the global energy sector, looking to developed markets to find companies in the crude oil and natural gas exploration, extraction, and development spaces. Energy ETFs more broadly have benefited from the Iran conflict and elevated crude prices this year, creating an opportune environment for PBOG's launch.

PBOG's global focus helps it to stand out compared to some energy funds that are focused specifically on North American names. At the same time, it has a targeted strategy aimed exclusively at the upstream portion of the industry.

There is certainly no shortage of oil and gas ETFs, and despite quickly ballooning to about half a billion dollars in managed assets, PBOG is neither the largest nor the cheapest means of building exposure. Still, the fund's expense ratio of 0.13% is highly competitive, and its niche focus may appeal to some investors with particular geographic or industry-specific goals.

Strong Returns for GARY, But at What Cost?

Toward the opposite end of the expense ratio spectrum is the Mango Growth ETF NASDAQ: GARY, an actively managed fund costing 0.77% per year. The fund has returned 34% since launching in the final days of 2025, although it is down about 3% in the last month.

Like many actively managed growth funds, GARY is essentially a bet on the fund managers' stock selections. In this case, the portfolio of three dozen names is made up of firms across industries with momentum across revenue, earnings, and cash flow performance.

The portfolio selection process includes a quantitative component that evaluates large-cap companies across multiple factors before ranking those names in a way to determine both portfolio eligibility and position sizing.

The resulting basket of stocks leans toward tech names but also includes health care, financials, and other sectors. No position represents more than about 5% of the total portfolio. Still, because many of the companies here are popular investments, holders of GARY should be careful to monitor overlapping positions for concentration risk.

As is often the case with actively managed funds, investors must assess whether the benefits of manager-selected names outweigh the higher costs. GARY's returns have far outpaced the broader market since launch, but don't necessarily make it one of the very best-performing funds in the last year. Still, its early success may signal the strength of its methodology.

EPAI Is an Emerging Choice in the AI Space, But Risks Remain

The Harbor AI Inflection Strategy ETF NYSEARCA: EPAI is an example of a fund that is responding to developing themes across the market. The ETF takes a fairly broad strategy, seeking companies that could benefit from AI developments but which remain overlooked more broadly and, therefore, more reasonably valued.

EPAI's asset base is the lowest of these three funds, despite having launched around the same time as GARY. The fund has only about $5 million in managed assets and a vanishingly low trading volume. At the same time, its momentum is modest—EPAI has returned about 25% since launch, which is still impressive but less so than either of the funds above.

EPAI also has a high expense ratio of 0.88%, which is to be expected of an actively managed fund. Given how quickly the AI landscape is changing, investors may be willing to spend a bit more for the flexibility that comes with this approach.

Still, many of the fund's 38 holdings can be found in other similarly focused ETFs with longer track records and lower costs.