AVDS vs HDMV

AVDSAAvantis International Small Cap Equity ETF

HDMVDFirst Trust Horizon Managed Volatility Developed International 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.

HDMV An active spin on the calm-stocks trade. Rather than tracking a low-vol index, the managers hand-pick developed-market shares and depositary receipts screened for low expected future volatility.

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.

HDMV The Fund seeks capital appreciation through an actively managed portfolio of developed-market common stocks and depositary receipts selected for low expected volatility.

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.

• HDMV Forward-looking by design: holdings are chosen on expected volatility, not just a backward glance at which stocks were quiet last year.
• Spread across roughly 160 developed-market stocks and depositary receipts, so no single name carries the portfolio.
• Live since 2016, a real-world track record for an active strategy rather than a freshly launched idea.
• Pays on a quarterly schedule, and the mandate is capital appreciation first, not income.

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.

• HDMV At 0.80% a year, the fee sits above the typical international active fund, and index-built rivals like AVDE and DFIC charge closer to a quarter point.
• A small fund that trades lightly. Spreads can widen, so limit orders do more work here than with the giants of the category.
• Low-volatility screens aim to soften the ride, not remove it. The same tilt that damps drops can leave the fund behind in sharp rallies.

Full AVDS profile⁠

Full HDMV profile⁠