ADVE vs VDI

ADVEFMatthews Asia Dividend Active ETF ADVE

VDIBVirtus International Dividend ETF

In short

ADVE A dividend fund that skips the global tour and stays in Asia: roughly 70 actively picked names run for total return with income emphasized. Launched in 2023, it's the regional specialist sitting in a cohort of go-anywhere international dividend funds.

VDI Active international dividend investing at near-index pricing: VDI goes after developed-market payers outside the US, income first and growth second, for well under half the typical fee in its niche.

Stated mandate

ADVE The fund seeks total return while emphasizing current income.

VDI The Fund seeks current income, with long-term capital appreciation as its secondary objective.

Why people hold it

• ADVE Not an index sleeve. About 70 actively chosen Asian holdings, run to a stated mandate of total return with current income emphasized.
• The 0.79% fee lands right at the median for its peer group, and roughly a third of what active peer JHID charges at 2.17%.
• Straightforward plumbing: a 1940 Act fund holding stocks and paying quarterly. No leverage, no options overlay, no K-1.

• VDI Charges 0.39% against a 0.79% median for active international dividend funds, undercutting peers like IDVO (0.65%) and BIDD (0.60%).
• The mandate matches the label: current income is the stated primary objective, capital appreciation secondary, with at least 80% of assets in dividend-paying companies.nasdaqtrader.com
• Spreads across roughly 120 developed-market stocks outside the US, chosen by an active manager rather than pulled from a mechanical yield screen.
• Cost and portfolio construction put it among the stronger builds in the small field of active international dividend ETFs.

Worth knowing

• ADVE Small and thinly traded, which can mean wider spreads and more price impact on size than the bigger names in the category.
• Broader, cheaper routes to international dividends live in the same cohort: VDI at 0.39%, BIDD at 0.60%. Neither is Asia-dedicated.
• It opened in 2023, so the live record is short, and on our review it sits toward the back of its peer group.

• VDI Launched in December 2025, so there is no long record to judge. The case rests on the fee and the mandate, not years of results.
• Small and thinly traded, so bid-ask spreads can run wider than in giant index funds and sizable orders can push the price around.
• Income arrives once or twice a year rather than monthly, and the prospectus does not lock in a payout frequency.

Full ADVE profile⁠

Full VDI profile⁠