AVLC vs CGUS

AVLCAAvantis U.S. Large Cap Equity ETF

CGUSACapital Group Core Equity ETF

In short

AVLC Active management with index-fund manners: roughly 900 U.S. large caps, with the dial turned toward cheaper, more profitable companies. Avantis charges 0.15% a year to do it.

CGUS Capital Group's low-key answer to the index fund: an actively managed US core portfolio of roughly 70 stocks chasing both appreciation and dividends, priced at 0.33% while the typical active US equity ETF charges about double.

Stated mandate

AVLC The fund seeks long-term capital appreciation. It invests broadly in U.S. large-capitalization companies while using active decisions to overweight lower valuations and higher profitability.

CGUS The fund seeks long-term capital growth and income by investing mainly in common stocks that the adviser believes offer appreciation potential or dividends. It is actively managed and emphasizes companies viewed as attractively valued long-term opportunities.

Why people hold it

• AVLC 0.15% a year against a 0.65% median for active U.S. equity funds. That is passive-style pricing on an actively run book.
• Holds about 900 names against the Russell 1000, so the value and profitability tilts sit on top of broad market exposure instead of a concentrated bet.avantisinvestors.com
• One of the stronger builds in the active U.S. equity group, priced in the same neighborhood as the Dimensional core funds (DFAU, DFAC) it competes with.
• A multi-billion-dollar fund that trades steadily, so spreads and liquidity are rarely the sticking point. Distributions are paid quarterly.

• CGUS Charges 0.33% a year against a roughly 0.65% median for active US equity ETFs. Rare pricing for a stock-picking mandate rather than an index tracker.
• Real active management, not closet indexing: about 70 names selected for appreciation potential or dividends, with a stated tilt toward companies the adviser views as attractively valued.
• A multi-billion-dollar fund that trades actively, so getting in and out is straightforward rather than a limit-order science project.
• Ranks among the strongest implementations in a crowded active US equity field on our review, and pays out quarterly.

Worth knowing

• AVLC Launched in 2023. The tilt philosophy is well worn at Avantis, but this fund's own live record is still short.
• Active, not index-tracking. The Russell 1000 is a reference point, not a leash, so holdings and weights can drift from it.
• Leaning toward cheaper, higher-profitability companies means stretches where it moves differently from the plain cap-weighted market, in either direction.avantisinvestors.com

• CGUS Cheap for active, not cheap outright. Systematic peers like DFAU (0.12%) and AVLC (0.15%) undercut it if you want core US equity at the lowest possible fee.
• A roughly 70-stock book means individual picks carry real weight, and the portfolio can look meaningfully different from the broad US market in either direction.
• Launched in 2022, so the ETF's own track record is short even though the manager behind it is not new to US equities.

Full AVLC profile⁠

Full CGUS profile⁠