AVLC vs PFDE

AVLCAAvantis U.S. Large Cap Equity ETF

PFDEBPathfinder Disciplined US 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.

PFDE A US stock fund run on a risk budget: how much risk each factor, sector and stock is allowed to consume gets capped first, and the stock picking happens inside those limits. It opened at the end of 2025, so the record is still short.

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.

PFDE The Fund seeks long-term capital appreciation. It is actively managed and normally invests at least 80% of net assets in equity securities of companies listed on a U.S. exchange, using factor-, sector-, and stock-level risk budgeting.

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.

• PFDE At 0.59%, it comes in under the typical actively managed US equity fund, so the active bet starts from a lower cost hurdle.
• Risk budgets at the factor, sector and stock level decide how much risk any position may consume. At least 80% of net assets stays in US exchange-listed equities.
• A plain 1940 Act equity fund, actively managed and US-only: no index to drift from, no exotic wrapper to explain at tax time.
• Arriving late into a crowded active US equity field, it still lands in the upper half of that peer group on cost, trading and portfolio construction.

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

• PFDE Systematic rivals do factor-aware US equity for a fraction of the fee: DFAU at 0.12%, AVLC at 0.15%, DFAC at 0.17%, DYNF at 0.26%.
• It launched on the last day of 2025, so risk and behavior readings rest on a brief history rather than a full market cycle.
• Small, not one of the heavily traded names in its category, and distributions arrive only once or twice a year rather than monthly.

Full AVLC profile⁠

Full PFDE profile⁠