AVDS vs OSEA

AVDSAAvantis International Small Cap Equity ETF

OSEACHarbor International Compounders ETF (OSEA)

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.

OSEA Most international funds hand you hundreds of names. OSEA runs about 30, hunting businesses built to compound quietly for years, and charges less than the typical active fund in its group.

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.

OSEA The Fund seeks long-term growth of capital.

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.

• OSEA About 30 holdings, so every name carries real weight. This is stock picking, not an index with a fee attached.
• 0.55% a year, below the median for its active international peer group. Modest freight for a high-conviction manager.
• Benchmarked to MSCI ACWI ex-US, so the hunting ground spans developed and emerging markets outside the States.
• Live since 2022 and standing in the upper half of its active international cohort.

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.

• OSEA Concentration cuts both ways. With roughly 30 positions, a single company's stumble lands harder than it would in a 500-stock portfolio.
• Index-based rivals go far cheaper: AVDE at 0.23% and DFIC at 0.22%. Here you're paying for a manager's judgment, and results will diverge from the benchmark.
• Payouts come annually or semiannually. The stated goal is long-term growth of capital, not a steady income stream.

Full AVDS profile⁠

Full OSEA profile⁠