AVLC vs MSMR

AVLCAAvantis U.S. Large Cap Equity ETF

MSMRDMcElhenny Sheffield Managed Risk 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.

MSMR A tactical fund that is not built to stay fully invested: two rules-based sleeves, trend following and sector momentum, split roughly 50/50 and expressed through other ETFs. The 1.06% fee sits above the category norm, with no waiver in place.

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.

MSMR The Fund seeks capital appreciation while managing downside risk.

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.

• MSMR Two rules-based sleeves run side by side at roughly 50/50: one follows U.S. equity uptrends, the other rotates toward the highest-momentum segments of the market.sec.gov
• It holds other ETFs rather than individual stocks, so the tactical calls land at the sector and market level instead of the single-name level.sec.gov
• Running since its 2021 launch on the same two-strategy blend, with a stated goal of capital appreciation while managing downside risk.prnewswire.com
• Distributions arrive on a quarterly schedule.

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

• MSMR At 1.06%, with no fee waiver, it costs above the category median and far more than cheap core peers like DFAU (0.12%) and AVLC (0.15%).
• Trend and momentum rules react to prices, so the strategy can step away during weakness and step back after a reversal is already underway.sec.gov
• Thinly traded next to the giants of its category, which is where limit orders and a look at the spread earn their keep.

Full AVLC profile⁠

Full MSMR profile⁠