AVLC vs VPX

AVLCAAvantis U.S. Large Cap Equity ETF

VPXCVariant Perception Cycle Aware 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.

VPX A macro research shop's take on US large caps: own quality names, then let a macro-risk model decide how much of the portfolio sits in cash instead. Most active large-cap funds stay fully invested. This one has a dial.

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.

VPX The Fund seeks long-term capital appreciation with reduced downside risk through a systematic strategy investing primarily in large-capitalization U.S. equity securities, with cash and cash equivalents also permitted.

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.

• VPX The dial is the point. As its macro risk reading rises, more of the fund shifts into cash and short-term government paper; as risk falls, it moves back toward stocks.etfarchitect.com
• The stock side is systematic, not hunches: US large caps above $5 billion in market value, ranked on a proprietary read of quality and behavioral factors.etfarchitect.com
• One flat 0.75% management fee. The fee table shows no 12b-1 charge and no separate other-expenses line stacked on top.sec.gov

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

• VPX 0.75% sits above the typical active US equity fund's 0.65%, and it is many times what systematic rivals like DFAU (0.12%) and AVLC (0.15%) charge.
• Cash cuts both ways. The prospectus notes that holding cash, even strategically, can leave the fund behind rivals that stay fully invested.etfarchitect.com
• Launched in 2026, still small and lightly traded: a short record to judge, and wider bid-ask spreads than the giants of the category.

Full AVLC profile⁠

Full VPX profile⁠