Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
AVSC vs SMLF: Differences, Returns & Fees
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, AVSC returned +23.6% to SMLF's +14.8%; 22% of their weight is in the same names.
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Net assets: $2.8bn on May 31, 2026 for Avantis U.S. Small Cap Equity ETF, and $4.2bn on Oct 27, 2026 for iShares U.S. Small-Cap Equity Factor ETF.
Pair scorecard
SMLF costs 0.10 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 8.8 points.
| Measure | AVSC | SMLF |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +23.6% | +14.8% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Below its high | 5.0%, high on Aug 14, 2026 | 5.2%, high on Aug 14, 2026 |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | No index, actively managed | STOXX U.S. Small-Cap Equity Factor Index |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.25% | 0.15% |
| Net assets, AVSC as of May 31, 2026 and SMLF as of Oct 27, 2026 | $2.8bn | $4.2bn |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 22% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 3.4% | 6.4% |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Oct 27, 2026. Method
Risk and return
Jan 21, 2022 to Oct 23, 2026 · 248 weekly returnsSMLF returned more: +72.3% to +62.2%. SMLF swung slightly less: 19.6% to 20.5%. SMLF fell slightly less at its worst: −23.0% to −25.5%.
Full scorecard
9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | AVSC | SMLF | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +62.2% | +72.3% | SMLF | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +10.7% | +12.1% | SMLF | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | +52.9% | +62.5% | SMLF | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 20.5% | 19.6% | SMLF (slight) | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 14.0% | 13.3% | SMLF (slight) | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −25.5% | −23.0% | SMLF (slight) | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.40 | 0.47 | SMLF | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 0.58 | 0.69 | SMLF | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Calmar | 0.42 | 0.53 | SMLF | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 248 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
What they share
By the books each fund has filed, AVSC and SMLF hold 22% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Oct 27, 2026.
half
22% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Side by side
AVSC and SMLF on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
AVSC and SMLF are built for the same job. How do they differ in cost, holdings and results?
- What each follows. AVSC follows No index, actively managed and SMLF follows STOXX U.S. Small-Cap Equity Factor Index.
- Holdings in common. 22% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Oct 27, 2026).
- One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 AVSC returned +23.6% and SMLF +14.8% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 8.8 points.
Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
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Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +23.6% with distributions reinvested, against +14.1% for its benchmark, the Russell 2000.
AVSC is actively managed and tracks no index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.25% 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 1,540 positions, with the top ten at 3.4%. It sat 5.0% below its high of Aug 14, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.
SMLF
SMLF tracks an index. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +14.8% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.15% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 11% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 962 positions, with the top ten at 6.4%. It sat 5.2% below its high of Aug 14, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.
Questions people ask
- Which returned more over the last year, AVSC or SMLF?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, AVSC returned +23.6% and SMLF +14.8%.
- Which is cheaper, AVSC or SMLF?
- SMLF is cheaper, by 0.10 percentage points a year. That is about $10 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, AVSC against SMLF, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/avsc-vs-smlf
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). AVSC against SMLF. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/avsc-vs-smlf
[AVSC against SMLF (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/avsc-vs-smlf)
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