AVEM vs DFAE: Differences, Returns & Fees
AVEM and DFAE hold 56% of their weight in the same names, and AVEM returned +27.6% over the year. Net assets: $28.4bn on Oct 9, 2026 for Avantis Emerging Markets Equity ETF, and $9.5bn on Jul 31, 2026 for Dimensional Emerging Core Equity Market ETF.
DFAE costs 0.04 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 1.6 points.
| AVEM | DFAE | |
|---|---|---|
| Expense ratio | 0.33% | 0.29% |
| Net assets, AVEM as of Oct 9, 2026 and DFAE as of Jul 31, 2026 | $28.4bn | $9.5bn |
| Total return, 1 year | +27.6% | +26.0% |
| What it tracks | No index, actively managed | No index, actively managed |
| Holdings in common | 56% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 29.6% | 30.5% |
| Below its high | 5.4%, high on Jun 22, 2026 | 5.0%, high on Jun 22, 2026 |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Jul 31, 2026 and Oct 8, 2026.
What they hold in common
By the books each fund has filed, AVEM and DFAE hold 56% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Above 50%, holding both is close to holding one of them twice. Holdings dated Jul 31, 2026 and Oct 8, 2026.
half
56% in common
On the same fields
AVEM and DFAE on the fields both publish, as of Oct 9, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
AVEM in plain words
AVEM is actively managed and tracks no index. Over the year to Oct 9, 2026 it returned +27.6% with distributions reinvested, against +17.3% for the S&P 500. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.33% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 8, 2026, 0% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 4,065 positions, with the top ten at 29.6%. It sat 5.4% below its high of Jun 22, 2026 on Oct 9, 2026.
DFAE in plain words
DFAE is actively managed and tracks no index. Over the year to Oct 9, 2026 it returned +26.0% with distributions reinvested, against +17.3% for the S&P 500. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.29% a year. By its holdings filed for Jul 31, 2026, 0% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 6,272 positions, with the top ten at 30.5%. It sat 5.0% below its high of Jun 22, 2026 on Oct 9, 2026.
Questions people ask
- Which returned more over the last year, AVEM or DFAE?
- In the year to Oct 9, 2026, with distributions reinvested, AVEM returned +27.6% and DFAE +26.0%.
- Which is cheaper, AVEM or DFAE?
- DFAE is cheaper, by 0.04 percentage points a year. That is about $4 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
ETFIQ links to the documents behind every figure; a link is not an endorsement. 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.
Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown
ETFIQ, AVEM against DFAE, data as of Oct 9, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/avem-vs-dfae
ETFIQ. (Oct 9, 2026). AVEM against DFAE. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/avem-vs-dfae
[AVEM against DFAE (ETFIQ, Oct 9, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/avem-vs-dfae)
Free to use with attribution for figures ETFIQ computes; issuer data stays under its owner's terms.