BDVL vs INFL

BDVLAiShares Disciplined Volatility Equity Active ETF

INFLCHorizon Kinetics Inflation Beneficiaries ETF

In short

BDVL A global low-volatility fund with an active engine: a quant model picks roughly 500 stocks on low vol, quality and value, scored against MSCI's ACWI Minimum Volatility Index. Fee: 0.39% net of a waiver through June 30, 2028.

INFL Most equity funds chase an index. INFL chases purchasing power: a hand-picked book of roughly 50 stocks built around one question, what holds up when prices rise. Active since 2021, with no benchmark to hide behind.

Stated mandate

BDVL The Fund seeks risk-adjusted total return through active management of equity exposure, with a focus on managing volatility relative to the broad equity market.

INFL The Fund targets long-term capital appreciation after accounting for inflation.

Why people hold it

• BDVL Costs 0.39% net of a waiver through June 30, 2028, below the median fee among global active equity peers and under sibling fund BFLX at 0.40%.
• Roughly 500 holdings worldwide, so no single stock runs the show. Its holdings build and risk profile rank among the strongest in its peer group.
• Built to hold core equity exposure while leaning toward stocks that have shown smaller price swings than the broad market.ishares.com
• Trading since 2017, a long life for an active equity ETF, and it has gathered billions from investors along the way.

• INFL The mandate is unusually specific: long-term capital appreciation after accounting for inflation, not simply beating a stock index. That framing drives value-led, bottom-up stock picking.
• About 50 names across US and developed international markets. Concentrated enough that individual picks actually move the portfolio, which is the point of hiring an active manager.
• Trades well for a niche active fund. Liquidity and spreads sit near the top of its global active equity peer group, so getting in and out is rarely the expensive part.
• Launched in 2021 and since grown past the billion-dollar mark, giving it an operating history and a scale most thematic launches never reach. Pays quarterly.

Worth knowing

• BDVL A model, not an index, picks the names. Active discretion cuts both ways against the MSCI minimum-volatility benchmark it is measured by.
• The low-vol tilt means lighter exposure to the market's most volatile high-flyers, which shapes how it behaves when those names run.
• Cheaper active options sit in the same category: AVTM at 0.22% and AVGE at 0.23% deliver broad global equity without the volatility focus.

• INFL At 0.85% a year, it costs more than the typical global active equity fund. Broad index peers like GSWO and DFAW charge a fraction of that.
• No index to grade it against. This is a manager's book of inflation beneficiaries, so the process and the holdings, not tracking error, are what you are judging.
• A concentrated, theme-driven portfolio moves on its own schedule. It can look nothing like the broad market for long stretches, in either direction.

Full BDVL profile⁠

Full INFL profile⁠