Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
AVEM vs VEA: Differences, Returns & Fees
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, AVEM returned +17.9% to VEA's +17.1%; 6% of their weight is in the same names.
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Net assets: $27.3bn on Oct 27, 2026 for Avantis Emerging Markets Equity ETF, and $231.6bn on Sep 30, 2026 for Vanguard FTSE Developed Markets ETF.
Pair scorecard
VEA costs 0.30 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 0.8 points.
| Measure | AVEM | VEA |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +17.9% | +17.1% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Below its high | 10.2%, high on Jun 22, 2026 | 4.4%, high on Aug 25, 2026 |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | No index, actively managed | FTSE Developed All Cap ex US Index |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.33% | 0.03% |
| Net assets, AVEM as of Oct 27, 2026 and VEA as of Sep 30, 2026 | $27.3bn | $231.6bn |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 6% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 28.7% | 13.6% |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Sep 30, 2026 and Oct 27, 2026. Method
Risk and return
Sep 27, 2019 to Oct 23, 2026 · 369 weekly returnsAVEM returned slightly more: +113.9% to +106.9%. VEA swung slightly less: 18.7% to 19.6%. AVEM and VEA fell about the same at their worst: −34.8% and −34.1%.
Full scorecard
9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | AVEM | VEA | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +113.9% | +106.9% | AVEM (slight) | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +11.3% | +10.8% | AVEM (slight) | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | +79.6% | +68.7% | AVEM | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 19.6% | 18.7% | VEA (slight) | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 14.1% | 13.3% | VEA (slight) | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −34.8% | −34.1% | Tie | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.50 | 0.49 | AVEM (slight) | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 0.70 | 0.69 | Tie | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Calmar | 0.32 | 0.32 | AVEM (slight) | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 369 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
What they share
By the books each fund has filed, AVEM and VEA hold 6% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Sep 30, 2026 and Oct 27, 2026.
half
6% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Side by side
AVEM and VEA on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
AVEM and VEA do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?
- What each follows. AVEM follows No index, actively managed and VEA follows FTSE Developed All Cap ex US Index.
- Holdings in common. 6% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Oct 27, 2026 and Sep 30, 2026).
- Cost. AVEM charges 0.33% of assets a year and VEA 0.03%, a gap of 0.30 points.
Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
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AVEM
AVEM is actively managed and tracks no index. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +17.9% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.33% 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 4,088 positions, with the top ten at 28.7%. It sat 10.2% below its high of Jun 22, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.
VEA
VEA tracks an index of Developed markets ex US. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +17.1% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.03% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer as of Sep 30, 2026, 0% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 3,906 positions, with the top ten at 13.6%. It sat 4.4% below its high of Aug 25, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.
Questions people ask
- Which returned more over the last year, AVEM or VEA?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, AVEM returned +17.9% and VEA +17.1%.
- Which is cheaper, AVEM or VEA?
- VEA is cheaper, by 0.30 percentage points a year. That is about $30 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, AVEM against VEA, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/avem-vs-vea
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). AVEM against VEA. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/avem-vs-vea
[AVEM against VEA (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/avem-vs-vea)
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