AVEM vs VEM

AVEMAAvantis Emerging Markets Equity ETF

VEMCVirtus Emerging Markets Dividend 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.

VEM Most emerging-market funds sell you the growth story. This one flips the order: current income first, capital appreciation second, in a compact actively run portfolio priced below the typical active EM fee.

Stated mandate

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

VEM The Fund seeks current income and, secondarily, long-term capital appreciation. It invests at least 80% of its assets in dividend-paying securities economically connected to emerging-market countries.

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.

• VEM Costs 0.49% a year against a 0.65% median for active emerging-market funds, so less of the dividend stream gets skimmed on the way to you.
• The income mandate is written into the prospectus: at least 80% of assets in dividend payers economically tied to emerging markets. Yield is the stated goal, not a byproduct.
• About 60 names, run actively against the MSCI Emerging Markets Index rather than replicating it. Real selection, not a sliver of everything.

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.

• VEM Young, small and thinly traded. Spreads can be wide on funds at this size, which makes limit orders and a glance at the bid/ask worth the extra second.
• Cheaper broad EM funds exist: AVEM at 0.33% and DFEM at 0.39%. Neither leads with income, so the fee gap buys you a different job.
• Distributions arrive annually or semiannually, so the income lands in lumps rather than a monthly drip.

Full AVEM profile⁠

Full VEM profile⁠