Avantis International Small Cap Value ETF

AVDV

Market cap $19.1B

AVDV has returned ~21% since my November Buy. The Japan thesis worked - but the outperformance came from somewhere I did not write about. Japan delivered in line; SCJ actually outran the fund. The breakaway came from a commodity sleeve, mostly gold miners, now cooled. The forward setup has turned. Gold looks rangebound, the Fed is hawkish, and the yen carry gap persists. No currency tailwind, no commodity steam.

The Avantis International Small Cap Value ETF (NYSEARCA:AVDV) gives investors a basket of cheap, profitable small companies from developed markets outside the United States, and it kicks off a modest dividend stream along the way.

International small-cap value and dividend strategies have quietly become two of the better-performing corners of global equity markets, and the two most popular vehicles to capture them are the Avantis International Small Cap Value ETF (NYSEARCA:AVDV) and the WisdomTree International SmallCap Dividend Fund (NYSEARCA:DLS).

American Century Investments has established itself as an innovative player in the ETF space, after launching its first products in January 2018. The index-based American Century US Quality Value ETF (VALQ) and the actively managed American Century Diversified Corporate Bond ETF (KORP) are still trading today.

The Avantis International Small Cap Value ETF (AVDV) is rated a hold due to concerns over its structural alpha and reliance on external sector and regional tailwinds. AVDV's recent outperformance versus benchmarks is attributed to cyclical sector exposure and regional factors, not to security-specific stock selection or fundamental improvements in the underlying holdings. The fund's highly diversified portfolio (~1700 holdings) and systematic selection based on P/B and profitability measures limit its ability to generate meaningful alpha.

The stock market is shifting away from a few dozen tech and mega-cap winners into stocks that have been under-the-radar and left behind.

2026 has seen international equities perform at a healthy clip, building on a strong year in 2025. Ex-U.S. equities continue to offer some of the year's strongest opportunities, diversifying from U.S. uncertainty while also offering exposure to cheaper equities abroad.

Small-cap stocks and ETFs don't get as much spotlight as the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite.

For years, value investing has felt akin to waiting for a train that keeps getting delayed. The market has rewarded unbridled growth at any price going back to the mid-2010s.

This is an example of an ETF that deserves more attention. It offers exposure to international small-cap stocks.