AVDS vs INEQ

AVDSAAvantis International Small Cap Equity ETF

INEQBColumbia International Equity Income 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.

INEQ Columbia's active take on investing abroad for a paycheck and growth at the same time. It has been running since 2016 and charges less than the typical active international stock fund.

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.

INEQ The Fund seeks total return through both current income and capital appreciation.

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.

• INEQ Costs 0.45% a year, under the 0.60% median for active international equity ETFs. Below-average toll for an overseas stock picker.
• The mandate is written down: total return from current income and capital appreciation. Income is half the job, not the whole job.
• Distributes quarterly and has been on the tape since 2016, a real track record for an active international fund.
• Rates in the upper tier of its active international peer group on our review, with no structural red flags in how it is built.

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.

• INEQ Thinly traded. Spreads can run wider than on the category's giants, and bigger orders may take patience to fill.
• A small fund by category standards, which matters for both trading friction and long-run staying power.
• Broad international rivals such as AVDE, DFIC and JIRE charge roughly half the fee, so the active income tilt has to earn its keep.

Full AVDS profile⁠

Full INEQ profile⁠