AVSU vs USCL

AVSUBAvantis Responsible U.S. Equity ETF

USCLAiShares Climate Conscious & Transition MSCI USA 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%.

USCL Most ESG index funds work by exclusion. USCL scores roughly 400 US large and mid caps on where they're heading instead: emissions intensity, reduction targets, green revenue. And it charges 0.08% a year to do it.

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.

USCL The Fund seeks to track an index of U.S. large- and mid-capitalization companies selected for their relative positioning on the transition to a low-carbon economy, using climate-related measures such as emissions intensity, reduction targets, green-business revenue, and climate-risk management.

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.

• USCL At 0.08% a year, it matches the cheapest fund in its ESG cohort (XVV) and undercuts ESGV, SNPE, EFIV and ESGU.ishares.com
• The index doesn't just screen out offenders. It selects on transition evidence: emissions intensity, reduction targets, green-business revenue, climate-risk management.ishares.com
• About 400 US large and mid caps, so it reads as core equity exposure with a climate tilt, not a narrow clean-energy sector bet.
• A multi-billion-dollar iShares fund that sticks tightly to the MSCI USA Extended Climate Action Index, one of the cleaner implementations in its peer group.

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.

• USCL Trading is thin for a fund this size, so spreads can widen. Limit orders are the standard tool here.
• Climate scoring reshapes the sector and name mix, so results can diverge from a plain US large-cap index in either direction.
• Launched in 2023, so its history is short next to the older ESG funds it competes with.

Full AVSU profile⁠

Full USCL profile⁠