AVDE vs IDEQ

AVDEAAvantis International Equity ETF

IDEQBLazard International Dynamic Equity 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.

IDEQ An institutional quant strategy that finally opened its doors. Lazard's International Equity Advantage mutual fund, running since 2015, became this ETF in 2025: multi-factor stock picking outside the US, measured against MSCI ACWI ex USA, at 0.40% a year.

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.

IDEQ The Portfolio seeks long-term capital appreciation. It normally invests at least 80% of its net assets, plus borrowings for investment purposes, in non-U.S. equity securities.

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.

• IDEQ Not a fresh idea in a new wrapper. Lazard's quantitative team has run this portfolio since 2015 as a mutual fund, converting it into an ETF in 2025.lazard.com
• 0.40% a year sits under the 0.60% typical of active international equity funds, one reason it ranks among the stronger implementations in that group.
• Four signals, not one. The proprietary model ranks stocks on value, growth, quality and momentum, then shapes risk exposures against MSCI ACWI ex USA.
• The prospectus commits at least 80% of net assets to non-US equities, so it stays a dedicated overseas sleeve rather than drifting back toward home.

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.

• IDEQ Cheap for active, not cheap outright: systematic rivals AVDE, DFIC and JIRE all price near a quarter of a percent.
• MSCI ACWI ex USA is the yardstick, not the blueprint. The model chooses and weights holdings itself, so the portfolio can sit far from the index.
• Lazard discloses that the strategy can hold a large share of assets in a single country, Japan being its own example, so one market's politics can carry weight.lazard.com

Full AVDE profile⁠

Full IDEQ profile⁠