---
title: "The two largest US active value ETFs lagged in the third quarter, and they do not own the same market"
url: "https://etf.net/news/active-value-etfs-lag-third-quarter-2026-10-23"
published_at: "2026-10-23T15:01:35.545Z"
updated_at: "2026-10-23T15:01:35.545Z"
byline: "ETF.net Research"
---

# The two largest US active value ETFs lagged in the third quarter, and they do not own the same market

Technology stocks were the largest contributor to large-cap value, and the largest fund is a small-cap portfolio.

By ETF.net Research. Published Oct 23, 2026.

Avantis U.S. Small Cap Value ETF AVUV and Avantis U.S. Large Cap Value ETF AVLV, the two largest funds in etf.net's US Active Value category, lagged their own benchmarks in the third quarter.

As of Oct. 22 the small-cap fund held $32.1 billion and the large-cap fund held $22.7 billion, together **52%** of the $105.3 billion in the category's 66 funds.

Chart: **AVUV** is the largest US active value ETF

## Technology drove the large-cap value index

Over the 12 months through Sept. 30, the Russell 1000 Value Index, which tracks large-company value stocks, returned 23.8%, and the Russell 1000 Growth Index, the large-company growth benchmark, returned 7.5%, FTSE Russell said. The gap was **16.3 percentage points**.

In the third quarter large-cap value still led, 2.6% to 0.9%, and the Russell 2000 Value Index, which tracks small-company value stocks, declined 4.9%. FTSE Russell reported the figures as of Sept. 30.

In a [July 27 note](https://www.ssga.com/us/en/institutional/insights/mind-on-the-market-27-july-2026), Ginger Perry, an investment research strategist at State Street, and Dane Smith, head of North American investment strategy and research, wrote:

"Value is winning, and not for the reason most investors think."

Through July 21, technology stocks in the Russell 1000 Value Index had returned 71.8% year to date, and technology was the largest contributor to the index's return, while financials had returned roughly 6%, State Street said.

## What the funds returned against their benchmarks

AVLV measures itself against the Russell 1000 Value Index. At Sept. 30 it held 13.6% in information technology, against 20.6% for the index, Avantis reported in its [Sept. 30 fact sheet](https://res.avantisinvestors.com/docs/avantis-us-large-cap-value-avlv-etf-fact-sheet.pdf).

At net asset value, the per-share value of what the fund owns, the fact sheet showed a 26.6% return over the 12 months through Sept. 30, against 23.8% for the index, and a 0.7% decline in the third quarter while the index rose 2.6%.

AVUV selects small U.S. companies for low valuations and higher profitability, and measures itself against the Russell 2000 Value Index. In the third quarter it fell 5.3% at net asset value, against a 4.9% decline in that index. Over the 12 months through Sept. 30 it returned 19.9%, behind the benchmark's 20.8%. Avantis reported the figures in its [Sept. 30 fact sheet](https://res.avantisinvestors.com/docs/avantis-us-small-cap-value-avuv-etf-fact-sheet.pdf).

The fact sheet put information technology at 5.0% of the small-cap fund and 7.3% of the Russell 2000 Value, the index it is measured against. The Russell 1000 Value, the large-company index, held 20.6% in information technology.

JPMorgan Active Value ETF JAVA, run by J.P. Morgan, seeks a style-pure portfolio and chooses attractively valued companies within sectors.

Over the 12 months through Sept. 30 it returned 17.0% at net asset value, against 23.8% for the Russell 1000 Value. In the third quarter it returned 0.6% at net asset value, against 2.6%. J.P. Morgan reported both in its [Sept. 30 fact sheet](https://am.jpmorgan.com/content/dam/jpm-am-aem/americas/us/en/literature/fact-sheet/etfs/FS-JAVA.PDF).

Source: etf.net, https://etf.net/news/active-value-etfs-lag-third-quarter-2026-10-23. Please cite the page URL.