AVLC vs KONG

AVLCAAvantis U.S. Large Cap Equity ETF

KONGDFormidable Fortress 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.

KONG An actively run book of roughly 60 large- and mid-cap stocks plus REITs, with an options and volatility toolkit written into the mandate. The name is the pitch: pick the companies first, keep hedging instruments on the shelf.

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.

KONG The Fund seeks total return through income and capital appreciation.

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.

• KONG Concentrated on purpose: about 60 large- and mid-cap names plus REITs, chosen by a manager rather than copied from an index.usnews.com
• The mandate allows options and volatility-linked ETFs and ETNs, so risk can be shaped with derivatives instead of only by trimming stock exposure.yahoo.comusnews.com
• Listed in 2021, so the approach has a multi-year run through live markets, including a full bear stretch, not a backtest.
• One mandate, two jobs: it targets total return from both income and capital appreciation, so dividends and REIT payouts are part of the plan.

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

• KONG At 0.89% a year it sits above the typical active US equity fund's 0.65%, and systematic peers like DFAU (0.12%) and AVLC (0.15%) charge a fraction of it.
• A small fund that trades thinly, so spreads can run wider than in the category's giants and order size matters more.
• Non-diversified with a compact holdings list, so single positions carry real weight, and distributions land once or twice a year rather than monthly.yahoo.com

Full AVLC profile⁠

Full KONG profile⁠