AVSC vs SYZ

AVSCAAvantis U.S. Small Cap Equity ETF

SYZBLazard US Systematic Small Cap Equity ETF

In short

AVSC Avantis's whole-field small cap fund: roughly 1,500 US small companies in one ticker, run by the manager's own rules rather than a published index, at 0.25% a year.

SYZ Lazard points automated analysts at the whole US small cap universe and holds 200 to 500 of them. Systematic stock picking at near index breadth, in a strategy that began life in 2021 as a mutual fund.

Stated mandate

AVSC The fund seeks long-term capital appreciation and invests primarily in a diversified group of U.S. small-cap companies across market sectors and industries, with at least 80% of assets normally invested in U.S. small-cap equity securities.

SYZ The Portfolio seeks long-term capital appreciation.

Why people hold it

• AVSC 0.25% a year versus a 0.52% median for active US small-cap funds. Less than half the going rate for a hands-on manager.
• Roughly 1,500 holdings spread across sectors and industries, so one small-cap blowup barely dents the fund.
• One of the strongest all-round implementations in the active US small-cap group on cost, portfolio build and ease of trading.
• Pays quarterly, trades with steady daily volume, and pulled in over a billion dollars since its 2022 launch.

• SYZ Active but wide: the prospectus targets 200 to 500 small caps, so no single name steers the whole fund.sec.gov
• The pitch is machine-run fundamentals. Lazard's automated analysts sweep the small cap universe for valuation and operating shifts instead of a handful of hand-picked bets.lazardassetmanagement.com
• At 0.61%, with no waiver propping that number up, the fee sits near its category median, and the portfolio hews closely to the small cap mandate it advertises.
• Stands in the upper half of a crowded active US small cap field.

Worth knowing

• AVSC Undiluted small-cap equity, kept at least 80% invested in the asset class. It rides the small-cap cycle with deeper swings than a large-cap fund.
• No declared index to check it against. The manager's stock-selection rules are the product, so you are buying a process, not a published benchmark.
• Its sibling AVUV works the value slice of the same universe at the same 0.25%. Own both and you are doubling up on overlapping small-cap names.

• SYZ Cheaper options share the aisle: AVSC runs 0.25% and FESM 0.28%, neither on a waiver.
• Thinly traded and modest in size, so the spread between buy and sell prices can run wider than in the category's giants.
• Short life as an ETF. The strategy ran as a mutual fund from 2021 and only moved into the ETF wrapper in 2025.lazard.com

Full AVSC profile⁠

Full SYZ profile⁠