AVLC vs HCMT

AVLCAAvantis U.S. Large Cap Equity ETF

HCMTFDirexion HCM Tactical Enhanced US 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.

HCMT A market-timing model in ETF form. HCMT follows the HCM-BuyLine signal: leveraged exposure to a broad basket of US stocks when the trend is on, cash when it flips off. An all-in-or-all-out design few active US equity funds attempt.

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.

HCMT The Fund seeks capital appreciation and enhanced returns across market cycles broadly correlated with U.S. equities. Its model shifts assets between U.S. equity securities and cash, using derivatives for leveraged exposure when allocated to equities.

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.

• HCMT One ticker, one decision rule. The HCM-BuyLine momentum signal moves the fund between derivative-boosted US equity exposure and cash, instead of leaving the timing call to you.
• The equity sleeve is broad, roughly 500 US stocks, so the leverage rides the whole market rather than a handful of names.
• Conventional 1940 Act fund wrapper: a standard 1099 rather than a K-1, with distributions paid 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

• HCMT The 1.18% expense ratio sits well above the typical active US equity ETF, and far above broad index-style peers like DFAU and DFAC that charge a fraction of it.
• Leverage magnifies losses as well as gains, and a model that steps to cash can be late in both directions: into the decline and out of the rebound.
• Launched in 2023 and thinly traded, so the live record is short and bid-ask spreads can run wider than the category's heaviest-volume names.

Full AVLC profile⁠

Full HCMT profile⁠