AVDE vs EPIN

AVDEAAvantis International Equity ETF

EPINDHarbor International Equity ETF (EPIN)

In short

AVDE Active management at almost-index prices: Avantis runs roughly 3,300 developed-market stocks outside the US without tracking a benchmark, for 0.23% a year. One of the strongest implementations in its active international peer group.

EPIN Harbor doesn't pick the stocks here. It hires EARNEST Partners, an employee-owned boutique, to run a concentrated book of roughly 60 companies from developed markets outside the US, delivered in an ETF.

Stated mandate

AVDE Invests in a broad range of stocks of all sizes across non-U.S. developed countries, with active portfolio management rather than replication of a specified index.

EPIN The Fund invests primarily in equity securities, principally common stocks, of companies across developed markets outside the United States.

Why people hold it

• AVDE 0.23% a year, well under half the typical fee in its active international peer group. Active management usually costs more than this.
• Index-like breadth without an index: about 3,300 stocks of all sizes across non-US developed countries, chosen by managers rather than copied from a benchmark.avantisinvestors.com
• A multi-billion-dollar fund that trades actively, so getting in and out tends to be cheap and easy. It pays out quarterly.
• Sits at the top of a crowded field alongside rivals like DFIC and JIRE, priced within a basis point or two of both.

• EPIN Roughly 60 names, not a thousand. A bottom-up, research-driven portfolio where every holding has to earn its slot rather than ride along in an index.harborcapital.com
• Clean mandate: common stocks of companies based in developed markets outside the US. No emerging-market drift, no bond sleeve, no hedging overlay.
• Harbor's whole model is renting talent, curating outside boutique managers instead of running money in-house. EARNEST Partners has been selecting stocks for over 25 years.harborcapital.com

Worth knowing

• AVDE Developed markets only. Emerging markets are a separate purchase if you want them.
• No index to grade the manager against, so results come down to Avantis's own portfolio calls rather than a published benchmark.
• It is all-equity and all-foreign: stock market swings plus currency moves both show up in the price.

• EPIN 0.80% a year sits above the typical active international fund (0.60%), and systematic rivals such as AVDE (0.23%) and DFIC (0.22%) charge a fraction of it.
• Launched in 2025 and lightly traded so far, so there's little live record to judge the process by and spreads can run wider than at the category's giants.
• The subadvisor weighs certain ESG factors when judging company quality, so names can be included or excluded for reasons other than the numbers.harborcapital.com

Full AVDE profile⁠

Full EPIN profile⁠