AVSU vs EFIV

AVSUBAvantis Responsible U.S. Equity ETF

EFIVAState Street SPDR S&P 500 ESG ETF

In short

AVSU Most ESG funds hand you a screened S&P 500. AVSU screens the whole US market, roughly 1,300 names across every size, then leans toward cheaper, more profitable companies. A quant tilt wearing a values filter, at 0.15%.

EFIV A screened S&P 500 that still looks like one. EFIV trims to about 300 names on ESG criteria but holds industry-group weights close to the parent index, for 0.10% a year.

Stated mandate

AVSU Seeks long-term capital appreciation through a broad portfolio of U.S. companies across market capitalizations. The strategy applies ESG exclusions and emphasizes companies with lower valuations and higher profitability.

EFIV The Fund seeks to track an index of securities selected using environmental, social, and governance sustainability criteria while retaining industry-group weights broadly similar to the S&P 500 Index.

Why people hold it

• AVSU At 0.15%, it undercuts the median fee in its US ESG peer group, where the typical fund charges 0.25%.
• Roughly 1,300 holdings measured against the Russell 3000, so mid and small caps ride along, not just the S&P 500 names screened by peers like EFIV and XVV.
• The tilts are written into the mandate, not implied: ESG exclusions plus a stated emphasis on lower valuations and higher profitability.
• The portfolio lines up closely with what the prospectus describes, and it stands in the upper half of a crowded US ESG-and-values field.

• EFIV Charges 0.10% a year, well under the 0.25% typical of its values-screened peer group.
• Keeps industry-group weights broadly similar to the S&P 500, so the screen changes which names you own more than which sectors.
• Tracks its declared index very tightly, one of the cleaner implementations in its cohort.
• Straightforward 1940 Act index fund from SPDR, running since 2020, distributing quarterly.

Worth knowing

• AVSU Thinly traded next to the category's household names, so spreads and order size carry more weight here.
• The value and profitability tilts, plus smaller companies, mean it can behave differently from a screened S&P 500 fund for long stretches, in either direction.
• "Responsible" means Avantis's own ESG exclusion rules, not an industry standard. The fund opened in 2022, so its live record is still young.

• EFIV About 300 stocks, not 500. The screens remove names, so results can diverge from the headline S&P 500.
• Cheaper shelf-mates exist: XVV at 0.08% and ESGV at 0.09% undercut it on fee.
• Mid-size asset base and moderate trading volume, which can mean wider spreads than the mega-cap index giants.

Full AVSU profile⁠

Full EFIV profile⁠