AVUV vs VBR: Which Should You Pick?
AVUV or VBR for small-cap value? A refined active value + profitability screen vs cheap index beta. Whether the extra ~18 basis points buys you anything.
AVUV and VBR both give you U.S. small-cap value, the corner of the market with the strongest long-run premium evidence. VBR is the cheap index version; AVUV is an active fund that screens harder for value and profitability. The question is whether the extra refinement is worth the extra fee.
Quick answer
Pick VBR for cheap, broad small-cap value beta at 0.07%. Pick AVUV if you want a more concentrated, deeper value tilt with a profitability screen, and you accept paying 0.25% and tracking a custom process rather than an index. Both are defensible. Whether AVUV’s ~18 basis points of extra cost buys enough extra premium to come out ahead is unknowable in advance, so size the tilt to your conviction, not to a back-test.
| AVUV | VBR | |
|---|---|---|
| Approach | Active, systematic screen | Index (CRSP US Small Cap Value) |
| Expense ratio | 0.25% | 0.07% |
| Holdings | ~700 | ~840 |
| Value depth | Deeper: cheaper + more profitable | Lighter: broad index value |
| Profitability screen | Yes, explicit | No |
| Cap focus | Smaller-cap tilt | Broader, leans more mid-cap |
| Tracking risk | Custom process; can diverge from index | Tracks its index closely |
Avantis and Vanguard fund documents. Expense ratios as of early 2026.
How much tilt are you really adding?
A small-cap value sleeve only helps if it changes your portfolio. This tool shows how much factor exposure a tilt adds on top of your core and how much it overlaps what you already own, so you can size AVUV or VBR deliberately.
How much AVUV and AVDV do you actually own?
AVGV holds AVUV and AVDV inside it, so some of your small-cap value tilt is already there before you buy a share of either one directly. Enter your holdings to see your true exposure, your blended fee, and whether you are stacking the tilt without realizing it.
Total portfolio, used to convert the weights below into dollars.
Fund-of-funds: ~18% of it is AVUV, ~9% is AVDV, ~10% is AVES.
Held directly, on top of anything inside AVGV.
Held directly, on top of anything inside AVGV.
Effective U.S. small value
11.8%
$59,100 total: $50,000 direct + $9,100 inside AVGV.
Effective intl small value
8.9%
$44,600 total: $40,000 direct + $4,600 inside AVGV.
Blended fee on the tilt
0.28%
Across $140,000 in AVUV, AVDV, and AVGV. Total small value tilt: 20.7% of the portfolio.
You hold AVGV and direct AVUV/AVDV together.
Of your $50,000 in AVGV, $9,100 is already AVUV and $4,600 is already AVDV (plus $5,200 of AVES emerging-markets value). That is fine if you want a heavier small value tilt on purpose. It is a problem only if you thought the direct holdings were separate exposure. They stack.
Direct holdings vs what is already inside AVGV
Educational tool, not investment advice or a forecast. AVGV sleeve weights are from its published holdings as of June 11, 2026 (AVUV ~18%, AVDV ~9%, AVES ~10%) and change over time; expense ratios are as of January 1, 2026. AVES inside AVGV is emerging-markets value across all market caps, not small-cap value, so it is shown as context rather than counted in the small value tilt.
Who should pick which
Pick AVUV if you
- Want a deeper, screened value + profitability tilt.
- Believe the refinement earns its fee over time.
- Have a long horizon and can hold through tracking error.
Pick VBR if you
- Want the cheapest small-cap value exposure.
- Prefer a simple, broad index you can trust to track.
- Do not want to bet on an active process.
The full reasoning
For the evidence behind the small-cap value premium and how deep a tilt is reasonable, read The Case for Small-Cap Value: Decades of Evidence, Years of Pain.
Want to see how this fits your whole portfolio?
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