AVUQ vs SPHQ

AVUQBAvantis U.S. Quality ETF

SPHQAInvesco S&P 500 Quality 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.

SPHQ Live since 2005, SPHQ is an elder statesman of quality investing: rank the S&P 500 on profitability, earnings quality and balance-sheet strength, hold the top 100, charge 0.15% net of a waiver through August 31, 2028.

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.

SPHQ The fund seeks exposure to the S&P 500 Quality Index and normally invests at least 90% of assets in common stocks included in that index.

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

• SPHQ 0.15% net of a waiver through August 31, 2028 (0.20% gross), below the median for quality factor funds and level with QUAL and FQAL at 0.15%.
• The rules are published and mechanical: score the S&P 500 on return on equity, accruals ratio and financial leverage ratio, take the top 100, weight by quality score times market cap.spglobal.com
• Universe discipline: candidates come only from the S&P 500, so every holding is an established large cap rather than a smaller name screened in from a broader pool.spglobal.com
• A multi-billion-dollar fund that trades actively, pays quarterly, and has run since 2005. It sits in the stronger tier of quality factor ETFs.

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.

• SPHQ About 100 stocks, weighted by quality score times market cap, so the biggest high-scorers carry real weight. Narrower than owning the full S&P 500.spglobal.com
• The index rebalances semiannually, so a company whose fundamentals slip mid-period stays in the portfolio until the next reshuffle.spglobal.com
• Two peers undercut it on fee: JQUA at 0.12% and VFQY at 0.13%.

Full AVUQ profile⁠

Full SPHQ profile⁠