FlexShares Morningstar Developed Markets ex-US Factor Tilt Index Fund (TLTD) is an exchange-traded fund that seeks investment results corresponding generally to the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of the Morningstar Developed Markets ex-US Factor Tilt Index. The underlying index measures the performance of stocks in developed markets outside the United States, with increased exposure to small-capitalization and value stocks through overweighting small cap and small value securities relative to a traditional market-capitalization-weighted benchmark; large cap and growth stocks receive underweighting. The fund invests at least 80% of its total assets in securities comprising the index or American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) and Global Depositary Receipts (GDRs) based on such securities, providing broad exposure to equities across diversified sectors in developed markets including Europe, Japan, and the Pacific region; top holdings as of recent data include Toyota Motor Corp., Shell PLC, HSBC Holdings PLC, ASML Holding NV, and SAP SE.
Launched on September 25, 2012, and domiciled in the United States, TLTD is issued by FlexShares Trust, a subsidiary of Northern Trust Asset Management headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. The fund targets investors seeking a core international equity allocation with a factor tilt toward the long-term growth potential of smaller cap and value segments in developed ex-US markets, categorized under Foreign Large Value by Morningstar with an expense ratio of 0.39% and assets under management around $492.66 million.
In recent developments, FlexShares, as part of Northern Trust Asset Management, announced a brand transition in 2025, with existing FlexShares ETFs including TLTD planned for renaming to Northern Trust ETFs in 2026 without changes to investment processes or portfolio management; this follows the August 2025 launch of new fixed income ETF suites under the Northern Trust ETFs brand. The firm has also managed portfolio optimizations, including liquidations of select underperforming funds such as the FlexShares Dividend Index Fund (DE) in January 2025 and FlexShares Real Asset Allocation Index Fund (ASET) in October 2025, while TLTD itself has seen increased institutional interest with 73 hedge funds holding positions totaling approximately $476 million in Q2 2025.