AVDS vs FRGN

AVDSAAvantis International Small Cap Equity ETF

FRGNDHorizon International Equity ETF

In short

AVDS Avantis casts a wide net: roughly 3,000 non-US developed small caps, weighted with an eye on price, profitability and how much cash companies plow back in. Active management that looks a lot like an index fund with its thumb on the scale.

FRGN One ticker for developed and emerging markets, steered by quant models instead of an index, with put spreads layered on top. Horizon's international entry launched in December 2025, so the record is still being written.

Stated mandate

AVDS The ETF seeks long-term capital appreciation by investing in a broad group of non-U.S. small-cap companies and considering valuation, profitability, and investment levels when selecting and weighting securities.

FRGN The fund seeks capital appreciation through active management and quantitative models allocating across developed and emerging markets. It also uses put spreads tactically to enhance total-return potential.

Why people hold it

• AVDS Charges 0.30% a year, about half the typical fee in its active international peer group. Cheap is a durable edge in a corner of the market where fees usually run high.
• Roughly 3,000 holdings, so no single stock or country steers the outcome. This is small-cap breadth, not a concentrated stock-picking bet.
• The tilts are the whole design: valuation, profitability and investment levels shape both what it owns and how much of each, measured against MSCI World ex USA Small Cap.avantisinvestors.com
• Sits among the strongest builds in a crowded field of active international equity funds. Broad, systematic, low-fee: the boxes that tend to stay ticked.

• FRGN Developed and emerging markets ride in one actively managed wrapper, so the manager sets the mix rather than an index committee.horizoninvestments.com
• Stock picking runs through multi-factor screens: value, quality, momentum and low volatility. Rules do the ranking, not hunches.horizoninvestments.com
• Put spreads are used tactically alongside the stock book, an options overlay most plain international funds simply do not carry.horizoninvestments.com
• Roughly 250 names across two market tiers, so no single stock or country dominates the outcome.

Worth knowing

• AVDS Thinly traded compared with the big international names. Limit orders and a look at the spread earn their keep here.
• Launched in 2023, so the live record is short even though the approach behind it is not new.
• Costs more than Avantis' broad international fund AVDE (0.23%). Small caps abroad are pricier to research and trade, and they swing harder.

• FRGN 0.75% a year sits above the norm for active international funds and far above index-plus rivals such as AVDE (0.23%) and DFIC (0.22%).
• It opened in December 2025, so there is no long history to judge the models or the options overlay against.
• Trading is light so far, which can mean wider bid-ask spreads, and distributions land once or twice a year rather than monthly.

Full AVDS profile⁠

Full FRGN profile⁠