Avantis ETFs and mutual funds: List, Differences & How to Choose

What Makes Avantis ETFs and Mutual Funds Different?

Avantis sits between two investing ideas that are sometimes incorrectly treated as opposites.

Its portfolios can be:

• broadly diversified,
• relatively low cost,
• systematic,
• relatively low turnover,
• and actively managed.

Avantis does not need to select a tiny group of individual stocks for a fund to be active.

Instead, portfolio managers can make systematic decisions about:

• which eligible securities to own,
• how much weight to give them,
• how valuations affect expected returns,
• how profitability affects expected returns,
• and whether the expected benefit of a trade is worth its cost and risk.

Selected Avantis ETFs and Mutual Funds

Avantis now offers a substantially broader lineup than its original five strategies.

The examples below show different portfolio roles. They are not rankings, recommendations, or a complete catalog.

Avantis Funds Are Active Even When They Look Index-Like

AVUS is a useful example.

It holds a broad collection of U.S. companies across market capitalizations and uses the Russell 3000 Index as its benchmark.

But AVUS does not attempt to replicate the Russell 3000.

Avantis identifies it as an actively managed ETF.

The portfolio managers can make decisions using information such as:

• security prices,
• company financial information,
• valuation,
• profitability,
• trading costs,
• portfolio risk,
• and available alternatives.

This creates an important distinction:

A fund can own more than a thousand stocks and still be actively managed.

Valuation and Profitability Drive Much of the Avantis Approach

Avantis frequently describes its equity strategies in terms of expected returns.

The basic idea is that current market prices and company financial information can help identify differences in expected returns among securities.

These are expectations, not promises.

A company with characteristics associated with higher expected return can still fall sharply.

And an entire style can trail the broader market for an extended period.

AVUS Can Fill a Broad U.S. Equity Role

AVUS is one of the most straightforward places to understand the Avantis approach.

It invests broadly across U.S. large-, mid-, and small-cap companies.

As of its current 2026 fund information, AVUS uses the Russell 3000 Index as its benchmark while remaining actively managed.

The fund's objective is long-term capital appreciation.

Avantis describes the portfolio as seeking to increase expected returns by overweighting securities believed to have:

• lower valuations,
• and higher profitability ratios.

AVUS vs. a plain total-market index fund

Both can provide broad U.S. stock exposure.

But a conventional total-market index fund generally weights securities according to its index methodology.

AVUS retains active discretion over portfolio weights and trading.

Compare:

• portfolio weights,
• size exposure,
• value exposure,
• profitability exposure,
• turnover,
• expenses,
• and long-term tracking differences.

AVUV Is a Deliberate U.S. Small-Cap Value Tilt

AVUV is the Avantis U.S. Small Cap Value ETF.

It invests broadly across U.S. small companies while emphasizing firms Avantis believes are trading at relatively low valuations and have relatively higher profitability.

That is much more specific than simply saying “U.S. stocks.”

AVUV can bring:

• greater small-company exposure,
• greater value exposure,
• greater sensitivity to smaller businesses,
• different sector weights,
• greater volatility,
• and potentially long periods of underperformance relative to large-company growth stocks.

Avantis uses the Russell 2000 Value Index as AVUV's benchmark, but AVUV is actively managed and does not simply replicate that index.

AVUV is usually a portfolio decision, not merely a ticker decision

Before adding it, decide what percentage of the U.S. stock allocation should deliberately receive small-cap value exposure.

If that percentage has not been defined, the investor may simply be buying a fund that recently looked attractive without having a portfolio plan.

AVDE vs. AVDV: Broad International vs. International Small-Cap Value

These two Avantis funds perform very different jobs.

AVDV's benchmark is the MSCI World ex USA Small Cap Index, but the fund is actively managed.

International small-cap investing adds risks involving:

• currency movements,
• country exposure,
• smaller-company liquidity,
• political and regulatory differences,
• and potentially greater volatility.

Avantis Emerging-Market Funds Add Another Layer of Risk

AVEM provides broad emerging-market equity exposure using the Avantis investment approach.

Avantis also offers more specialized emerging-market strategies, including:

• emerging-market value,
• emerging-market small-cap,
• and emerging markets excluding China.

These are not interchangeable.

Emerging-market investing can involve additional risks related to:

• political instability,
• currency movements,
• market access,
• regulatory differences,
• accounting standards,
• liquidity,
• country concentration,
• and governance.

A strategy that excludes China, emphasizes value, or emphasizes smaller companies creates a different portfolio from a broad emerging-market allocation.

AVGE and AVGV Can Build Several Avantis Strategies Into One ETF

Avantis also offers multi-region equity allocation ETFs.

AVGE — Avantis All Equity Markets ETF

AVGE is designed as a broad global-equity allocation using underlying Avantis strategies.

AVGV — Avantis All Equity Markets Value ETF

AVGV takes a more deliberate value-oriented approach across global equity markets.

These funds can simplify implementation, but investors should still look through to the underlying exposure.

Review:

• U.S. allocation,
• international developed allocation,
• emerging-market allocation,
• small-company exposure,
• value exposure,
• underlying fund expenses,
• management-fee waivers,
• and how the allocation is rebalanced.

A one-fund solution can be simpler to maintain, but simplicity does not eliminate the need to understand the portfolio.

Avantis Is Not Only an Equity Fund Company

Although Avantis is best known by many investors for AVUS, AVUV, and AVDV, the current lineup also includes fixed income.

Examples include:

• AVIG — Avantis Core Fixed Income ETF,
• AVSF — Avantis Short-Term Fixed Income ETF,
• AVMU — Avantis Core Municipal Fixed Income ETF,
• and AVGB — Avantis Credit ETF.

Bond funds require a different research process from equity funds.

Compare:

• duration,
• credit quality,
• yield,
• government vs. corporate exposure,
• municipal tax treatment where applicable,
• and the role bonds play in the total portfolio.

Avantis ETFs vs. Avantis Mutual Funds

Avantis offers both ETFs and mutual funds, but the lineup is not identical and access can differ.

ETFs

Avantis ETFs trade throughout the market day through brokerage accounts.

Their market price can trade slightly above or below net asset value, and bid-ask spreads can create trading costs.

Mutual funds

Avantis currently offers institutional-class mutual funds for several strategies.

Examples include:

• AVUSX — Avantis U.S. Equity Fund,
• AVUVX — Avantis U.S. Small Cap Value Fund,
• AVDEX — Avantis International Equity Fund,
• AVDVX — Avantis International Small Cap Value Fund,
• AVEEX — Avantis Emerging Markets Equity Fund,
• AVLVX — Avantis U.S. Large Cap Value Fund,
• AVSCX — Avantis U.S. Small Cap Equity Fund,
• and AVIGX — Avantis Core Fixed Income Fund.

Avantis states that its institutional mutual-fund share classes are available to institutions or other financial intermediaries, subject to the definitions and minimums in the prospectus.

Small-Cap Value Takes Patience

This is the behavioral test behind funds such as AVUV and AVDV.

Imagine an investor reads research supporting small-company and value exposure.

The investor allocates part of the portfolio to small-cap value.

Then large growth companies outperform for several years.

The investor begins asking:

• Is small-cap value dead?
• Did I choose the wrong fund?
• Should I switch back to the recent winner?
• Why am I holding this at all?

That is exactly why the strategy should be defined before the fund is purchased.

If the answer to the last question is no, a simpler broad-market portfolio may be easier to maintain.

Watch for Portfolio Overlap and Double Tilting

Avantis gives investors several ways to add value, size, and profitability preferences.

That flexibility also creates an overlap problem.

Example

An investor owns AVUS as the broad U.S. core.

Then the investor adds:

• AVUV for small-cap value,
• AVLV for large-cap value,
• and AVMV for mid-cap value.

Each fund can make sense individually, but the combined portfolio may contain a much larger value tilt than the investor intended.

The same issue can occur internationally when combining:

• AVDE,
• AVDV,
• AVIV,
• and other specialized Avantis strategies.

Review the combined portfolio, not just each ticker separately.

Use Investment Diversification Explained to evaluate whether additional funds are actually diversifying the portfolio or simply reinforcing an existing exposure.

Compare Avantis Fund Costs Correctly

Avantis is known for comparatively low-cost active strategies, but cost still matters.

Current 2026 examples include:

Those percentages should not be used to choose funds with different jobs.

A 0.15% broad U.S. fund and a 0.36% international small-cap value fund do not compete for the same portfolio role.

First compare the exposure. Then compare the cost.

For fund-of-funds strategies, also check:

• gross expense ratio,
• net expense ratio,
• underlying-fund expenses,
• fee waivers,
• and waiver expiration dates.

Use the Investment Fee Calculator to test how recurring cost differences compound over long holding periods.

Avantis Mistakes Worth Catching

• Calling AVUS a passive Russell 3000 index fund.
• Assuming broad diversification means the fund has no active tilts.
• Expecting value or small-cap exposure to outperform every year.
• Buying AVUV after a strong small-cap value run without defining its portfolio role.
• Selling AVUV or AVDV after a period of style underperformance simply because another style recently won.
• Treating AVDV as a complete international allocation.
• Treating AVEM as equivalent to developed international stocks.
• Adding several Avantis value funds without measuring the combined tilt.
• Assuming AVGE and AVGV have the same value exposure.
• Ignoring the underlying holdings of an Avantis fund-of-funds strategy.
• Assuming every Avantis ETF has a mutual-fund equivalent.
• Assuming an institutional Avantis mutual fund is available in every retail brokerage account.
• Comparing funds only by recent performance.
• Choosing the cheapest ticker without first comparing portfolio roles.

Avantis Fund Research Checklist

1. Define the portfolio role before choosing the ticker.
2. Record the exact fund name and ticker.
3. Determine whether it is an ETF or mutual fund.
4. Confirm that the strategy is actively managed.
5. Identify the fund's benchmark.
6. Review company-size exposure.
7. Review valuation exposure.
8. Review profitability exposure.
9. For international funds, review country exposure and currency risk.
10. For emerging-market funds, review country concentration and market-access risks.
11. For bond funds, review duration and credit quality.
12. Compare overlap with funds already owned.
13. Calculate the combined factor tilt across the entire portfolio.
14. Review gross and net expense ratios.
15. Check fee-waiver expiration dates where applicable.
16. For ETFs, review bid-ask spreads and trading liquidity.
17. For mutual funds, confirm purchase eligibility and minimums.
18. Consider tax consequences before replacing an existing taxable investment.
19. Write down how the position will be rebalanced.
20. Decide what would legitimately justify changing the strategy later.

Build the Allocation Before Picking Avantis

Avantis offers enough variations on U.S., international, emerging-market, value, size, quality, and fixed-income exposure that an investor can easily start collecting funds without building a coherent portfolio.

Reverse that order.

Decide first:

• how much belongs in U.S. stocks,
• how much belongs in developed international stocks,
• how much belongs in emerging markets,
• how much belongs in bonds,
• whether a value tilt is desired,
• whether a small-company tilt is desired,
• and how large those tilts should be.

Then choose the fund that fills the role.

Use Asset Allocation for Beginners to define the stock-and-bond mix, Investment Diversification Explained to check concentration and overlap, and the Investment Fee Calculator to compare recurring costs.

You can also compare Avantis with Dimensional if you want to research another systematic active approach that uses company characteristics to shape portfolio exposure.