AVES vs FDEM

AVESAAvantis Emerging Markets Value ETF

FDEMAFidelity Emerging Markets Multifactor ETF

In short

AVES Avantis starts with the emerging markets universe and tilts it: cheap valuations, profitable companies, roughly 1,800 names from megacaps down to small caps. Broad EM exposure with a deliberate value-and-quality slant, priced under the typical multifactor rival.

FDEM Value, quality, momentum and low-volatility screens run across emerging markets stocks, plus an unusual extra filter: a tilt toward names less correlated with US equities. Fidelity's in-house index, priced under the category median.

Stated mandate

AVES The fund seeks long-term capital appreciation.

FDEM The fund seeks to track, before fees and expenses, the Fidelity Emerging Markets Multifactor Index.

Why people hold it

• AVES Charges 0.36% a year, below the 0.48% median for emerging markets multifactor funds. EM is where fee gaps usually run widest.
• Two screens, not one: it tilts toward cheap valuations and toward high profitability, so the deep-value bucket gets a quality filter on the way in.avantisinvestors.com
• Roughly 1,800 holdings across the MSCI Emerging Markets IMI Value opportunity set, meaning small caps ride along rather than getting screened out.
• Portfolio build sits in the top quartile of its EM multifactor peer group in our review, and the fund is a multi-billion-dollar, regularly traded name.

• FDEM Four factor screens (value, quality, momentum, lower volatility) and then a twist most multifactor rivals skip: the index also leans toward stocks with lower correlation to the US market.sec.gov
• At 0.25% a year, it undercuts the typical fund in the international multifactor group, where the median sits at 0.38%.
• Rules over hunches: normally at least 80% of assets sit in index securities, so the screens drive the portfolio. Live since 2019, with distributions paid quarterly.sec.gov

Worth knowing

• AVES Value in emerging markets means leaning into cheaper, cyclical corners of the market, plus currency swings. A bumpier ride than a plain broad EM index.
• Cost is not the floor here: peer EMGF runs a multifactor EM portfolio for 0.26%, ten basis points less.
• Launched in 2021, so its live record is shorter than the older EM factor funds it lines up against.

• FDEM Selective by design: a couple hundred large- and mid-cap names, not the full emerging markets universe, so results diverge from plain market-cap EM index funds.sec.gov
• Emerging markets carry currency, political and regulatory risk. A low-volatility screen aims to soften the ride relative to the broad EM market, not to remove the risk.sec.gov
• Volume is moderate rather than heavy for the category, so spreads deserve a look on larger orders. The developed-market sibling FDEV runs cheaper at 0.18%.

Full AVES profile⁠

Full FDEM profile⁠