AVMC vs FFSM

AVMCAAvantis U.S. Mid Cap Equity ETF

FFSMBFidelity Fundamental Small-Mid Cap ETF

In short

AVMC The forgotten middle of the US market, run the Avantis way: roughly 600 mid-cap names tilted toward cheaper stocks with stronger profits, at 0.18% a year. Systematic active management priced like an index fund.

FFSM Fidelity's stock pickers turned loose on the Russell 2500. Small and mid caps are the corner of the US market where research still digs up overlooked names, and this one charges 0.43% a year to go looking.

Stated mandate

AVMC Seeks long-term capital appreciation through a broad portfolio of U.S. mid-cap companies, emphasizing securities with lower valuations and higher profitability ratios.

FFSM The fund seeks long-term capital growth. It normally invests in equity securities of companies with small to medium market capitalizations.

Why people hold it

• AVMC 0.18% a year, against a 0.65% median for active US equity funds. Index-fund pricing on an active mandate.
• Spreads the value-and-profitability tilt across roughly 600 mid-caps, so it leans on the screen rather than a handful of concentrated picks.avantisinvestors.com
• One of the strongest implementations in our active US equity group, sitting with large-cap sibling AVLC and the Dimensional core funds.
• Pure mid-cap exposure with a quarterly distribution, filling the gap most portfolios leave between mega-caps and small caps.

• FFSM 0.43% a year undercuts the 0.65% median for active US equity ETFs, and it is the cheapest of the three funds measured against the Russell 2500 (CGMM runs 0.51%, NBSM 0.75%).
• Stays in its declared lane: the prospectus commits it to equity of small and medium-cap companies, so there is no quiet drift up into mega caps.
• Rare shape for active small-mid: a multi-billion-dollar fund that trades regularly, so the usual small-cap-active worry about thin markets is smaller here.
• Scores as one of the stronger builds in a crowded active US equity field, with high confidence in the underlying evidence.

Worth knowing

• AVMC Trades lighter than the giant index ETFs, which can mean wider bid-ask spreads at the moment you transact.
• Launched in 2023, so the live record is short. There's no published index behind it either: outcomes come from Avantis' own valuation and profitability rules.
• All mid-cap, no mega-cap ballast, plus a tilt away from expensive names. Both can put it out of step with a market led by the largest growth stocks.

• FFSM Small and mid caps move harder than large caps in both directions, and this fund holds that exposure straight up, with no hedge or buffer.
• Cheap for active, not cheap outright. Systematic peers such as DFAU (0.12%) and AVLC (0.15%) charge a fraction as much for broad US equity.
• Launched in 2021, so the record behind the stock picking is short by fund-history standards. Payouts land quarterly, not monthly.

Full AVMC profile⁠

Full FFSM profile⁠