AGQI vs AVTM

AGQIDFirst Trust Active Global Quality Income ETF

AVTMAAvantis Total Equity Markets ETF 1

In short

AGQI A 2015 European income closed-end fund that shed its old wrapper in 2023 and came back as a global active ETF. Janus Henderson picks roughly 40 dividend payers worldwide, screened on returns, leverage and payout discipline rather than headline yield.

AVTM Avantis' one-ticket world stock market: roughly 1,700 holdings, U.S. names owned directly and the overseas sleeves held through sister Avantis funds, all tilted toward cheaper, more profitable companies.

Stated mandate

AGQI The Fund seeks income together with long-term capital-growth potential, investing primarily in income-producing equity securities.

AVTM Seeks long-term capital appreciation through a broadly diversified total-market equity allocation, using individual securities and Avantis ETFs while emphasizing securities expected to offer higher returns or better risk characteristics than a passive market-capitalization-weighted index.

Why people hold it

• AGQI Born in 2015 as a European income closed-end fund, converted to an ETF in 2023. Shares now create and redeem at NAV, so the old discount-to-NAV gap goes away.sec.govsec.gov 2
• Janus Henderson's income team runs the book: dividend payers screened on return on equity and invested capital, financial leverage and payout ratio, not just fat yields.sec.gov
• Roughly 40 holdings, deliberately tilted toward companies economically tied to countries outside the US. Distributions come quarterly.ftportfolios.com

• AVTM Costs 0.22% net of a fee waiver (0.23% gross), a notch under stablemate AVGE at 0.23% and below the typical fee in its category.
• Owns U.S. companies directly rather than only stacking funds, then uses Avantis ETFs for developed and emerging markets abroad. One ticket, all market caps.sec.gov
• Benchmarked to 85% Russell 3000 and 15% MSCI ACWI ex-US IMI: a deliberately U.S.-heavy world portfolio, not a global cap-weight split.avantisinvestors.com
• One of the stronger builds in a crowded field of actively managed global equity funds.

Worth knowing

• AGQI The 0.85% fee is real active-manager money in a group where broad rivals like GSWO (0.15%) and DFAW (0.24%) cover global equity for a sliver of that.sec.gov
• Thinly traded for its size. Spreads can widen, so limit orders do work that market orders will not.
• Concentrated and global by design: up to 20% of net assets can sit in emerging markets, and currency swings land in your return either way.sec.gov

• AVTM Avantis flags that much of the starting portfolio sits on a low tax basis, so the fund may realize and distribute more capital gains than other ETFs.avantisinvestors.com
• Trades thinly next to the index giants in its category, so spreads and order size matter more here.
• Launched January 2026, so the history is short, and with no index to follow the portfolio reflects Avantis' own valuation and profitability tilts.sec.gov

Full AGQI profile⁠

Full AVTM profile⁠