AVMC vs KMID

AVMCAAvantis U.S. Mid Cap Equity ETF

KMIDFVirtus KAR 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.

KMID Most active mid-cap funds swing for growth. Virtus KAR Mid-Cap writes something different into its prospectus: buy mid-caps it sees as undervalued against their growth potential, while aiming for less market risk than the Russell Midcap Index.

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.

KMID The Fund seeks long-term capital appreciation by investing in medium-capitalization companies that KAR considers undervalued relative to their future growth potential, while seeking less market risk than the Russell Midcap Index.

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.

• KMID The risk goal is in the prospectus, not the marketing: it seeks long-term capital appreciation while targeting less market risk than the Russell Midcap Index.
• Active stock picking without single-name drama. KAR buys mid-caps it considers undervalued versus future growth, spread across a couple hundred holdings.
• One job, one market: US mid-cap stocks only. No foreign sleeve, no bond ballast, nothing to unpack about what you actually own.

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.

• KMID It charges 0.80%, above the 0.65% median for active US equity ETFs. Systematic peers like DFAU (0.12%) and DFAC (0.17%) cover US stocks for a fraction of that.
• Young and small: it launched in October 2024 and trades thinly, so bid-ask spreads can run wider than at household-name mid-cap funds.
• With a track record this short, the lower-risk mandate has not yet met a full market cycle. Cash also lands only once or twice a year, not monthly.

Full AVMC profile⁠

Full KMID profile⁠