AVDE vs SSXU

AVDEAAvantis International Equity ETF

SSXUDDay Hagan Smart Sector International 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.

SSXU An international stock fund with a brake pedal: it owns other managers' overseas ETFs and, when its models read reward-to-risk as poor, can shift up to half the portfolio into cash or Treasuries. The machinery costs 1.19% 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.

SSXU The Fund seeks total return through income and capital appreciation. It actively invests mainly in unaffiliated international equity ETFs and adjusts geographic exposures relative to the MSCI ACWI ex USA 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.

• SSXU Built-in brake: when the models co-developed with Ned Davis Research flag a low reward-to-risk setup, the fund can hold up to 50% in cash, Treasuries or money market funds, or hedge with derivatives.sec.gov
• One ticker, a world map: it holds unaffiliated international equity ETFs and tilts regions over- and underweight against the MSCI ACWI ex USA Index, developed and emerging markets alike.
• Rules over hunches: region-specific quantitative models set the allocation, the same Smart Sector framework Day Hagan has run in this ETF since its 2022 launch.dayhagan.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.

• SSXU Cost is the trade-off: 1.19% a year, above the median for its international peer group and well above DFIC (0.22%), AVDE (0.23%) and TACN (0%, net of a waiver through January 30, 2027).
• Small and thinly traded, so bid-ask spreads can run wider than on giant index ETFs, and payouts arrive once or twice a year rather than monthly.
• The defense cuts both ways: parking up to half in cash or hedges can soften a slide, and it can also leave the fund trailing when overseas markets run hot.sec.gov

Full AVDE profile⁠

Full SSXU profile⁠