IVAL vs VDV

IVALDAlpha Architect International Quantitative Value ETF

VDVBVanguard Developed Markets Ex-US Value Index ETF

In short

IVAL Most international value ETFs spread a mild tilt across hundreds of names. IVAL goes the other way: about 50 stocks, screened for value by Alpha Architect's own index, running since 2014.

VDV —No data

Stated mandate

IVAL The Fund seeks to track, before fees and expenses, the total return of the Alpha Architect International Quantitative Value Index.

VDV —No data

Why people hold it

• IVAL Concentrated by design. Holding roughly 50 names means the value screen actually shapes the portfolio instead of being watered down across hundreds of positions.
• One rulebook, one shop. Alpha Architect wrote the index it tracks, so the value methodology and the fund come from the same source rather than a licensed third-party screen.
• Launched in December 2014, so this is a live decade-plus record of the strategy in international markets, not a backtest.
• Pays distributions quarterly, the standard cadence for equity funds in this corner of the market.

VDV —No data

Worth knowing

• IVAL The 0.38% fee sits above the typical international value fund, and cheaper options cover overlapping ground: FIVA at 0.18%, DFIV at 0.27%, EFV at 0.31%.
• Thinly traded compared with the big names in its category, so the bid-ask spread is a real part of the cost, particularly on larger orders.
• Concentration cuts both ways. With about 50 holdings, individual stocks and country exposures move results far more than they would in a broad index fund.

VDV —No data

Full IVAL profile⁠

Full VDV profile⁠