AVDE vs MOTI

AVDEAAvantis International Equity ETF

MOTIDVanEck Morningstar International Moat 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.

MOTI The international cousin of the US moat trade: Morningstar's analysts flag companies with durable competitive advantages outside America, and the index only buys the ones trading at attractive prices. Roughly 60 names, zero US exposure.

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.

MOTI The fund seeks to replicate, before fees and expenses, the price and yield performance of the Morningstar Global Markets ex-US Wide Moat Focus Index.

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.

• MOTI Two screens, not one: a company needs Morningstar's wide moat rating and an attractive valuation to enter the index. Quality and value, both advertised up front.vaneck.com
• About 60 stocks, so each holding actually matters. That is a different animal from ex-US index funds carrying hundreds or thousands of names.
• At 0.58% a year it sits just under the median fee in its international peer group, running the same rules-based moat mandate since its 2015 launch.

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.

• MOTI Concentration cuts both ways: with roughly 60 names, one company's stumble lands harder than it would inside a broad international index fund.
• Plain-vanilla rivals cost far less. AVDE and DFIC deliver broad international exposure for under a quarter of a percent.
• One of the less-traded funds in its category, so bid-ask spreads can run wider than on the big international index products.

Full AVDE profile⁠

Full MOTI profile⁠