AVDE vs EXUS

AVDEAAvantis International Equity ETF

EXUSDNomura Focused International Core ETF

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.

EXUS An active international fund that earns the word "focused": 35 to 45 stocks picked one by one, with country and factor bets deliberately dialed down so the individual stock calls do the work.

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.

EXUS The fund seeks capital growth and appreciation.

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.

• EXUS Focused is literal. The portfolio targets 35 to 45 international stocks, so every pick carries real weight instead of vanishing into a thousand-name benchmark.macquarie.com
• Macquarie's Global Equity Team takes granular stock-specific risk while working to minimize country and factor tilts. A different engine than the broad systematic funds that lead this group.macquarie.com
• At 0.59%, the fee lands right at the midpoint for actively managed international funds rather than above it.
• The ETF runs the same International Core approach the team already managed in mutual fund form, so the wrapper is newer than the process.macquarie.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.

• EXUS Still roughly double the fee of the group's top-ranked systematic peers: AVDE at 0.23%, DFIC at 0.22%. The stock picking carries that gap.
• Concentration cuts both ways. With 35 to 45 names, one holding's stumble lands harder here than in a sprawling international index fund.macquarie.com
• A small fund that trades lightly next to the category's heavyweights, which can mean wider spreads at the moment of the trade.

Full AVDE profile⁠

Full EXUS profile⁠