AVDS vs TACN

AVDSAAvantis International Small Cap Equity ETF

TACNAT. Rowe Price Active Core 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.

TACN T. Rowe Price's index-aware take on developed international stocks: it shadows the MSCI EAFE benchmark while nudging weights, and the fee is waived to 0.00% through January 30, 2027 (0.20% gross).

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.

TACN The fund's goal is to achieve long-term capital growth.

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.

• TACN Fee waived to zero through January 30, 2027, then the 0.20% gross rate applies. Top-scoring active international peers AVDE (0.23%) and DFIC (0.22%) charge more, with no waiver.troweprice.com
• Built around the MSCI EAFE Index: an optimizer modestly over- and underweights names, targeting tracking error above most passive funds and below most active ones.sec.govtroweprice.com
• Names come from T. Rowe's quant models plus bottom-up fundamental research (valuation, profitability, financial stability, earnings quality), with at least 80% of net assets normally in equities.sec.govtroweprice.com
• Despite being new, it already stands among the strongest-rated funds in a crowded active international equity group, with long-term capital growth as the stated goal.

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.

• TACN Launched December 10, 2025, so the track record is short and assets are still small. Trading is thin, which can mean wider spreads than at big index rivals.
• The zero fee is contractual, not permanent: it runs through January 30, 2027, after which the 0.20% gross expense ratio kicks in.troweprice.com
• Low tracking error is the design, not a bug. The active tilt is deliberately modest, so the portfolio is built to hug EAFE rather than stray from it.sec.gov

Full AVDS profile⁠

Full TACN profile⁠