AVLC vs LCAP

AVLCAAvantis U.S. Large Cap Equity ETF

LCAPBPrincipal Capital Appreciation Select 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.

LCAP A concentrated active large-cap fund from Principal that runs about 50 US stocks for long-term capital growth, and charges well under half what the typical active US equity ETF does.

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.

LCAP The Fund seeks long-term growth of capital.

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.

• LCAP 0.29% expense ratio, versus a 0.65% median for active US equity ETFs. Cheap enough to sit near index-style factor funds like DYNF while still running a real stock-picking mandate.
• About 50 holdings, so each pick carries weight. This is a high-conviction book, not a closet index dressed up as active management.
• Plain mandate, plainly stated: long-term growth of capital from US equities, in a standard 1940 Act ETF wrapper. No derivatives overlay, no leverage, no options income machinery.
• Sits in the top quartile of a 234-fund active US equity group on our review, with cost doing much of the heavy lifting.

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

• LCAP Launched in 2025, so there is no long record to judge the manager's stock picking through a full market cycle. Short history means thinner evidence, both ways.
• Thinly traded and modest in size. Use limit orders and expect wider spreads than you would see on the big Dimensional and Fidelity active funds in this category.
• Roughly 50 names means concentration risk cuts both ways: a handful of positions can drive results in either direction, and it will wander from the broad market.

Full AVLC profile⁠

Full LCAP profile⁠