AVMC vs MGMT

AVMCAAvantis U.S. Mid Cap Equity ETF

MGMTDBallast 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.

MGMT A boutique, hand-picked take on US small and mid caps. Ballast's managers hunt companies they judge underpriced against their growth, in a corner of the market where cheap index trackers do most of the volume.

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.

MGMT The fund seeks long-term growth by investing primarily in equity securities of small and midsize U.S. companies that the adviser considers underpriced relative to their expected growth.

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.

• MGMT Genuinely active, not an index in disguise. The mandate is stock-by-stock: US small and midsize companies the adviser considers underpriced relative to their expected growth.
• Different lane from its category's heavyweights. The largest active US equity ETFs (DFAU, DFAC, AVLC) sit in large-cap core; MGMT works the smaller, less-covered end of the market.
• Live since December 2020, so it carries a multi-year record through a full rate cycle inside a standard 1940 Act ETF wrapper.

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.

• MGMT Costs 1.10% a year, roughly double the typical active US equity ETF. That is a real annual hurdle the stock picking has to clear.
• Small fund, light tape. It trades thinly next to the category's giants, so spreads can widen and limit orders matter more than they would in a mega-fund.
• No index to grade it against. Results ride on the manager's judgment about what is underpriced, which is harder to monitor than a rules-based portfolio.

Full AVMC profile⁠

Full MGMT profile⁠