AVEM vs RWEM

AVEMAAvantis Emerging Markets Equity ETF

RWEMCRayliant Wilshire NxtGen Emerging Markets Equity ETF

In short

AVEM Emerging markets taken whole: roughly 3,900 stocks, large down to small, with an active tilt toward cheaper and more profitable companies. Avantis charges about half the typical active EM fee to do it.

RWEM A Rayliant and Wilshire tie-up in active emerging-markets equity: one job, long-term capital appreciation, at a fee below what the typical active EM peer charges. Small and thinly traded, so patience at the order screen comes with it.

Stated mandate

AVEM Seeks long-term capital appreciation by investing in a broad range of companies across emerging-market countries and all market capitalizations.

RWEM The Fund seeks long-term capital appreciation.

Why people hold it

• AVEM Fee is 0.33% a year against a 0.65% median for active emerging-markets funds, so the active tilt starts from a low-cost base.
• Owns roughly 3,900 names across the MSCI Emerging Markets IMI universe, including small caps, rather than a short stock-picker's list.avantisinvestors.com
• Active, but rules-driven: the portfolio leans toward lower valuations and higher profitability instead of relying on manager hunches.
• Running since 2019 and now a multi-billion-dollar, actively traded fund. One of the strongest implementations in its emerging-markets peer group.

• RWEM Charges 0.52% against a 0.65% median for active emerging-markets funds. Modest toll for a stock-picking mandate in the markets where research actually earns its keep.
• Sits in the upper half of a crowded active EM field, and what it owns is its strongest suit: portfolio construction grades better than most of the group.
• The mandate is one line in the prospectus: long-term capital appreciation from emerging-markets equities. No sleeve creep, no side quests.
• Trading since 2021, so there is a multi-year live record to judge rather than a backtest and a brochure.

Worth knowing

• AVEM Emerging-market equity is a bumpy asset class, and returns arrive in dollars, so local currency swings add a second layer of movement.
• The value and profitability tilts are the whole point, which means the fund is built to drift from a plain market-cap EM index, sometimes for long stretches.
• No China carve-out: this one takes the full EM opportunity set. Avantis runs AVXC on the same approach for those who want it without China.

• RWEM Thinly traded and modest in size. Spreads can run wide and larger orders can nudge the price, which quietly eats into the fee advantage.
• Emerging-markets equity swings hard. Currency moves and policy shocks land straight in the price, and this fund's volatility profile sits at the rougher end of its peer group.
• Below median is not the floor. The best-graded funds in the cohort (AVEM, JEMA, AVXC) run 0.33%, so cheaper active EM shelf space exists.

Full AVEM profile⁠

Full RWEM profile⁠