AVLC vs THEQ

AVLCAAvantis U.S. Large Cap Equity ETF

THEQCT. Rowe Price Hedged 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.

THEQ Most hedged equity funds hand you a fixed buffer and a cap that resets on a calendar. THEQ skips that rulebook: an analyst-picked US stock portfolio with a discretionary derivatives overlay aimed at softening drawdowns.

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.

THEQ The fund seeks long-term capital growth. It combines an actively managed equity portfolio with futures, forwards, swaps, and index options intended to reduce volatility and mitigate losses during equity-market drawdowns.

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.

• THEQ The hedge runs on judgment, not a calendar. Futures, forwards, swaps and index options are dialed up or down to damp volatility and cushion equity drawdowns, with no outcome-period resets.troweprice.com
• The stock sleeve isn't an index clone. Most of it sits in T. Rowe's analyst-driven US Equity Research ETF (TSPA), which targets S&P 500-like characteristics through bottom-up picks.troweprice.com
• One all-inclusive fee at the fund level covers investment management plus ordinary recurring operating expenses, so wrapper costs stay in a single number.troweprice.com

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

• THEQ At 0.73%, it runs above the 0.65% median for active US equity ETFs and well above cheap active core peers like FELC (0.18%) and DFAU (0.12%).
• Young and thinly traded since its March 2025 debut, with a small asset base. Spreads can run wider than at long-established rivals.
• The overlay is a trade-off: hedges cost money in calm markets, there's no defined floor or promised protection level, and distributions arrive once or twice a year.troweprice.com

Full AVLC profile⁠

Full THEQ profile⁠