AVUQ vs QUAL

AVUQBAvantis U.S. Quality ETF

QUALAiShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF

In short

AVUQ Most quality ETFs screen a large-cap index and call it a day. AVUQ is Avantis running an active, all-cap book of roughly 600 U.S. growth names, judging them on profitability and price together, for 0.15% a year.

QUAL QUAL screens US large and mid caps for high return on equity, low debt and steady earnings, then does it sector by sector, so the portfolio stays spread across the market instead of piling into whichever sector looks healthiest.

Stated mandate

AVUQ Seeks long-term capital appreciation by investing in high-quality U.S. growth companies across all market capitalizations and selecting and weighting them using relative profitability and valuations to seek higher expected returns.

QUAL The fund tracks an index of U.S. large- and mid-capitalization stocks selected for quality characteristics, including high return on equity, stable earnings, and low debt.

Why people hold it

• AVUQ 0.15% a year puts it level with the household names in quality factor investing (QUAL, FQAL) and under a good chunk of the peer group.
• Price is part of the quality test. The fund selects and weights on relative profitability and valuation together, so expensive profit machines get less room.avantisinvestors.com
• All-cap by design: roughly 600 holdings reaching into mid and small companies, where quality index funds usually stop at the large-cap tier.
• Actively managed rather than locked to a benchmark, so the portfolio can be adjusted continuously instead of waiting on a set index reconstitution date.avantisinvestors.com

• QUAL At 0.15%, it undercuts the typical quality-factor fund, where the cohort median sits at 0.29%.
• Sector neutral by design: companies are ranked on return on equity, leverage and earnings variability against rivals in their own GICS sector.msci.comishares.com
• Running since 2013, now a $25B-$100B fund that trades actively, with returns that stay close to its index.

Worth knowing

• AVUQ Launched in 2025, so there is not yet a full market cycle to judge it by. Older rivals in the quality aisle have years of behavior on the tape.
• It measures itself against a growth index (MSCI USA IMI Growth), so the sector mix leans growth rather than the broad market blend some quality funds hold.
• Volume is light next to the category's giants, so limit orders matter more than they would in a heavily traded fund.

• QUAL About 120 large and mid caps, leaning on the same familiar giants as a broad US index fund. This is a tilt on core equity, not new ground.
• Sector neutrality cuts both ways: it keeps a foot in every sector rather than stepping away from ones with weak fundamentals.msci.com
• Cheap, not cheapest. JQUA (0.12%) and VFQY (0.13%) shave a basis point or three off the fee.

Full AVUQ profile⁠

Full QUAL profile⁠