Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
AVLV vs ESGU: Differences, Returns & Fees
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, AVLV returned +29.6% to ESGU's +13.6%; 29% of their weight is in the same names.
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Net assets: $22.4bn on Oct 27, 2026 for Avantis U.S. Large Cap Value ETF, and $18.3bn on Oct 28, 2026 for iShares ESG Aware MSCI USA ETF.
Pair scorecard
Both cost 0.15% a year; their one-year returns differ by 16.0 points; AVLV is 1.2 times larger.
Points (pts) are percentage points.
| Measure | AVLV | ESGU |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +29.6% | +13.6% |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | No index, actively managed | MSCI USA Extended ESG Focus Index |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.15% | 0.15% |
| Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 | $22.4bn | $18.2bn |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 29% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 26.8% | 36.9% |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Oct 27, 2026. Method
Risk and return
Oct 1, 2021 to Oct 23, 2026 · 264 weekly returnsEach against its own benchmark: AVLV against IWD, Oct 1, 2021 to Oct 23, 2026; ESGU against MLRG, Dec 16, 2016 to Oct 23, 2026.
AVLV returned more: +100.3% to +78.2%. AVLV swung slightly less: 16.0% to 16.5%. AVLV fell less at its worst: −18.3% to −25.6%.
Full scorecard
19 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | AVLV | ESGU | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +100.3% | +78.2% | AVLV | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +14.7% | +12.1% | AVLV | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | +84.5% | +67.1% | AVLV | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 16.0% | 16.5% | AVLV (slight) | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 11.2% | 11.1% | Tie | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −18.3% | −25.6% | AVLV | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Upside capture | 108.3% | 97.1% | Share of its benchmark's rise caught in the weeks it rose. | |
| Downside capture | 100.6% | 97.7% | Share of its benchmark's fall taken in the weeks it fell. Lower is better. | |
| Beta | 1.06 | 0.97 | Not an edge | How far it moves for each 1% its benchmark moves. |
| R squared | 0.91 | 0.97 | Not an edge | Share of its weekly moves its benchmark explains. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.69 | 0.54 | AVLV | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 0.99 | 0.80 | AVLV | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Treynor | 0.104 | 0.130 | Return above Treasury bills per unit of beta. | |
| Calmar | 0.80 | 0.47 | AVLV | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
| Against the benchmark | ||||
| Benchmark | IWD | MLRG | The ETF each fund is measured against. | |
| Alpha | +2.0% a year | +0.7% a year | Not significant | Yearly return beyond what its beta to the benchmark predicts. |
| Alpha t-stat | 0.94 | 0.78 | Not an edge | How sure the alpha is. Below 2, it could be chance. |
| Alpha range | −2.2% to +6.1% | −1.1% to +2.6% | Includes zero | The 95% range for the yearly alpha. |
| Information ratio | 0.52 | 0.12 | Return against its benchmark per unit of tracking error. | |
| Tracking error | 4.8% | 3.0% | Not an edge | How far weekly returns stray from the benchmark, annualized. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 264 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
What they share
By the books each fund has filed, AVLV and ESGU hold 29% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Oct 27, 2026.
half
29% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Side by side
AVLV and ESGU on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
AVLV and ESGU do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?
- What each follows. AVLV follows No index, actively managed and ESGU follows MSCI USA Extended ESG Focus Index.
- Holdings in common. 29% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Oct 27, 2026).
- One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 AVLV returned +29.6% and ESGU +13.6% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 16.0 points.
Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
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Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +29.6% with distributions reinvested, against +27.5% for its benchmark, the Russell 1000 Value.
AVLV is actively managed and tracks no index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.15% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 84% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 298 positions, with the top ten at 26.8%.
ESGU
ESGU tracks an index. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +13.6% with distributions reinvested, against +13.6% for its benchmark, the MSCI USA Index. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 97% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 268 positions, with the top ten at 36.9%.
Questions people ask
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, AVLV against ESGU, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/avlv-vs-esgu
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). AVLV against ESGU. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/avlv-vs-esgu
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