AVMC vs SMCO

AVMCAAvantis U.S. Mid Cap Equity ETF

SMCOBHilton Small-MidCap Opportunity 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.

SMCO An active small- and mid-cap stock picker in a peer group stuffed with cheap large-cap core index funds. Hilton's sub-adviser runs a proprietary US small/mid process built for long-term capital appreciation, priced under the typical active US equity fund.

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.

SMCO The Fund seeks long-term capital appreciation.

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.

• SMCO Charges 0.55% a year, below the 0.65% median for active US equity funds. Not index-fund cheap, but light for a discretionary stock-picking mandate.
• Hunts US small and mid caps, the ground the cohort's top-scoring giants (DFAU, FELC, DFAC) mostly skip with their large-cap core books.
• The portfolio itself is the strongest part of the package: a diversified US equity book with no structural quirks in the wrapper, and it lands in the upper half of its peer group.

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.

• SMCO Thinly traded. Spreads can run wider than in the category's mega-funds, so order size and timing matter more here than with a household-name index ETF.
• Launched in late 2023, so the record is short and covers one stretch of market weather.
• Small and mid caps swing harder than large caps, and there is no published index to measure the manager against. Outcomes ride on the sub-adviser's process.

Full AVMC profile⁠

Full SMCO profile⁠