AVSE vs RISE

AVSEAAvantis Responsible Emerging Markets Equity ETF

RISECPictet Emerging Markets Rising Economies ETF

In short

AVSE Avantis's emerging markets workhorse with a values filter bolted on: the same profitability tilt and thousands-of-stocks build as its flagship EM fund, at the same 0.33% fee, minus the issuers its team flags on ESG grounds.

RISE Pictet's active take on the developing world: a stock-picking emerging markets fund that names its yardstick out loud, the MSCI Emerging Markets Index, and asks to be judged against it over a full market cycle.

Stated mandate

AVSE The fund is an actively managed emerging-markets equity strategy that seeks to identify securities with higher expected returns while excluding issuers that raise concerns under the portfolio team's environmental, social, and governance evaluation.

RISE The Fund seeks long-term capital appreciation. It is actively managed and seeks to outperform the MSCI Emerging Markets Index TR USD, net of fees, over a full market cycle.

Why people hold it

• AVSE Charges 0.33% a year, roughly half the typical fee among actively managed emerging markets funds. The cost drag stays out of the way of the strategy.
• The screen trims rather than concentrates: the portfolio still spans thousands of emerging markets stocks, not a short list of approved names.avantisinvestors.com
• Active in the Avantis sense: a systematic tilt toward more profitable companies, not a manager's hunches about which stocks pop next.
• Priced level with Avantis's mainstream EM funds (AVEM, AVXC) and JPMorgan's JEMA at 0.33%, and one of the stronger builds in the active EM group.

• RISE The mandate is specific: seek long-term capital appreciation and try to beat the MSCI Emerging Markets Index, net of fees, over a full market cycle. Easy scorecard, stated by the fund itself.
• Active, not a tracker. A manager chooses the emerging market names rather than accepting whatever weight the index hands out.
• Plain long-only equity in a standard 1940 Act fund: no leverage, options overlay or structural quirks bolted on top of the emerging market exposure.

Worth knowing

• AVSE Thinly traded next to the index-fund giants of emerging markets, so bid-ask spreads can widen and larger orders need care.
• The ESG exclusions are the portfolio team's own judgment calls, so the holdings and the results will drift from a plain broad EM benchmark.
• Emerging markets equity brings currency swings and country-level political risk, and this fund holds that exposure directly. Pays quarterly.

• RISE The 0.73% fee sits above the typical active emerging markets fund, and well above systematic rivals such as AVEM at 0.33% and DFEM at 0.39%.
• Small asset base and light trading: bid-ask spreads can run wider than in the category's giants, which matters most on large or hurried orders.
• Live history starts in 2026, so there is little track record yet showing whether the stock picking clears the index it targets.

Full AVSE profile⁠

Full RISE profile⁠