Avantis Investors' Avantis U.S. Core Equity ETF AVUC overlaps a fund it already runs

Two firms listed active equity ETFs this week. Avantis Investors listed —AVUC on NYSE Arca on Tuesday, Oct. 13, and the portfolio overlaps a U.S. fund the firm already runs. William Blair Investment Management listed the William Blair Emerging Markets Equity ETF WBEM and the William Blair International Equity ETF WBIE on Thursday, Oct. 15, at net fees above the large Avantis funds already in those markets.

The new fund overlaps one Avantis already runs

Holdings dated Oct. 16 put two funds from iShares on top of —AVUC: the iShares Russell 1000 Growth ETF BIWF at 7.2% and the iShares Russell 1000 Value ETF AIWD at 5.7%, together 12.9%. The fund also held stocks directly, 1,588 positions in all, with $363.7 million in assets.

Avantis Investors' Avantis U.S. Equity ETF AAVUS has traded since Sept. 24, 2019, and it held $14.8 billion as of Oct. 16. The two funds share 1,163 stocks. Counting each shared stock at the smaller of the two weights, the overlap is 55.7%.

That figure counts only securities that appear in both funds. The iShares positions are not holdings of AAVUS, so the 12.9% sits outside it. The count stops at the ETF shares and does not include the stocks inside them.

The growth fund's largest holdings, Nvidia, Apple, and Alphabet, are stocks AAVUS already owns.

The shared names are not held at the same sizes. For the median shared stock, the weight in —AVUC was 0.118 times the weight in AAVUS.

—AVUC's fund page posted a 0.17% gross and net expense ratio as of Oct. 13, against 0.15% for AAVUS as of Jan. 1. On those two figures, the new fund costs 2 basis points more.

American Century Investments, which established Avantis, lists —AVUC at 0.15% in its 2026 ETF guide, with data as of Sept. 30. American Century's statement of additional information dated May 5 lists 0.15% as well. The same guide lists AAVUS at 0.15%, and it gives both funds the Russell 3000 Index as a benchmark.

The guide says —AVUC is designed to overweight lower-valuation, higher-profitability stocks while generally keeping sector weights in line with the broad U.S. market. The Jan. 1 prospectus for AAVUS describes that fund with the same kind of emphasis: smaller companies, higher profitability, and value characteristics.

William Blair's funds cost more than the large active funds

Both new William Blair funds are actively managed, and both listed on NYSE Arca. Fund pages dated Oct. 14 show a 0.65% net expense ratio and a 0.90% gross for WBEM, and 0.55% net and 0.80% gross for WBIE. The net figures depend on contractual fee waivers that run through April 30, 2028.

WBEM's page says the fund focuses on large- and mid-cap emerging-market stocks with above-average quality and growth, and names the MSCI Emerging Markets Index as its benchmark. A William Blair brochure says the portfolio will typically hold 70 to 125 stocks.

Avantis Investors' Avantis Emerging Markets Equity ETF AAVEM charges 0.33% as of Jan. 1 and held $27.6 billion as of Oct. 16. It has traded since Sept. 17, 2019. It invests across company sizes, with an emphasis on valuation and profitability, and its June 30 fact sheet names the MSCI Emerging Markets IMI as its benchmark.

J.P. Morgan's JPMorgan ActiveBuilders Emerging Markets Equity ETF AJEMA charges 0.33%, gross and net, on a fact sheet dated Sept. 30, when it held $1.75 billion. That sheet says the fund seeks to outperform the MSCI Emerging Markets Index while keeping similar risk, across styles and all market capitalizations.

The iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF AIEMG, from iShares, charges 0.09% in the current prospectus and held $154.5 billion as of Oct. 16. It tracks large, mid, and small emerging-market stocks.

Not every active fund is cheaper. Matthews Asia's Matthews Emerging Markets Equity Active ETF DMEM lists a 0.79% gross expense ratio, and it had $50.1 million as of Oct. 15. That is 14 basis points above WBEM's net fee.

WBIE is the international fund. Its page, also dated Oct. 14, says it invests in developed and emerging markets outside the United States, looks for above-average growth, profitability, and quality, and uses the MSCI ACWI ex-USA Index as its benchmark.

Avantis Investors' Avantis International Equity ETF AAVDE charges 0.23% as of Jan. 1 and held $19.4 billion as of Oct. 16. Its stated benchmark is the MSCI World ex USA IMI Index, not the index WBIE uses. On the posted net fees, WBIE costs 32 basis points more.

The Dimensional International Core Equity Market ETF ADFAI, from Dimensional, shows a 0.18% gross and net expense ratio on the firm's fund list. It held $18 billion as of Oct. 16, and it leans toward smaller companies, lower valuations, and higher profitability.

The iShares Core MSCI Total International Stock ETF AIXUS, from iShares, charges 0.07% in the current prospectus and held $57.8 billion as of Oct. 16. It tracks the MSCI ACWI ex USA IMI Index of large, mid, and small companies in developed and emerging markets.

On those fees, WBIE costs more than the active funds and the index fund already covering stocks outside the United States.