Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
AVDV vs GDX: Differences, Returns & Fees
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, AVDV returned +22.8% to GDX's +19.0%, and AVDV charges 0.36% to GDX's 0.51%.
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Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $20.0bn for Avantis International Small Cap Value ETF and $25.6bn for VanEck Gold Miners ETF.
Pair scorecard
AVDV costs 0.15 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 3.8 points; GDX is 1.3 times larger.
| Measure | AVDV | GDX |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +22.8% | +19.0% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Below its high | 5.7%, high on Sep 4, 2026 | |
| Below its all-time high | 27.5%, high on Feb 27, 2026 | |
| Against its benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | No index, actively managed | Gold miners |
| Against its benchmark, 1 year | ahead by 5.6 pts | |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.36% | 0.51% |
| Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 | $20.0bn | $25.6bn |
| Active share vs the S&P 500 | 100% | |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 6% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 6.2% | 60% |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Oct 27, 2026. Method
Risk and return
Oct 4, 2019 to Oct 23, 2026 · 368 weekly returnsGDX returned more: +212.2% to +165.0%. AVDV swung less: 21.1% to 40.2%. AVDV fell less at its worst: −41.8% to −46.5%.
Full scorecard
9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | AVDV | GDX | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +165.0% | +212.2% | GDX | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +14.8% | +17.5% | GDX | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | +115.2% | +187.8% | GDX | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 21.1% | 40.2% | AVDV | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 15.1% | 27.1% | AVDV | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −41.8% | −46.5% | AVDV | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.62 | 0.53 | AVDV | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 0.87 | 0.79 | AVDV (slight) | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Calmar | 0.35 | 0.37 | GDX (slight) | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 368 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
What they share
By the books each fund has filed, AVDV and GDX hold 6% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Oct 27, 2026.
half
6% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Side by side
AVDV and GDX on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
AVDV and GDX do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?
- What each follows. AVDV follows No index, actively managed and GDX follows Gold miners.
- Holdings in common. 6% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Oct 27, 2026).
- One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 AVDV returned +22.8% and GDX +19.0% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 3.8 points.
Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
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AVDV
AVDV is actively managed and tracks no index. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +22.8% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.36% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 0% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 1,732 positions, with the top ten at 6.2%. It sat 5.7% below its high of Sep 4, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.
GDX
By weight, 12% of GDX's portfolio is stocks that are also in the S&P 500; its active share against the S&P 500 is 100%. The top ten holdings are 60% of the fund across 59 positions, as published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 the fund returned +19.0% with distributions reinvested against +13.4% for its benchmark, the MSCI ACWI Index, so a holder was ahead by 5.6 pts. It sits 27.5% below its all-time high of Feb 27, 2026.
Questions people ask
- Are AVDV and GDX in the same category?
- AVDV is a stock ETF and GDX is a thematic ETF, so they do different jobs. The table compares what both publish: return, cost and holdings.
- Which returned more over the last year, AVDV or GDX?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, AVDV returned +22.8% and GDX +19.0%.
- Which is cheaper, AVDV or GDX?
- AVDV is cheaper, by 0.15 percentage points a year. That is about $15 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
Links are sources, not endorsements. A comparison is not a recommendation.
How this is computed
Overlap adds up the smaller of the two weights for each security both funds hold.
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ETFIQ, AVDV against GDX, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/avdv-vs-gdx
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). AVDV against GDX. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/avdv-vs-gdx
[AVDV against GDX (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/avdv-vs-gdx)
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