Active investing has picked up significant interest from investors and asset managers alike. However, not every active ETF is created equal. Putting the right strategy in an active wrapper can offer investors an intriguing investment opportunity, like with the active small-cap ETF AVUV. The Avantis U.S. Small Cap Value ETF (AVUS), with its active small-cap value approach, stands out in the top five active equity ETFs based on YTD flows.
See more: Taking an Active Stance on Small Caps
The fund has added $1.4 billion in YTD flows. Among active equity strategies, that places it fourth right alongside 2023 standouts like the JPMorgan Equity Premium Income Fund (JEPI). Charging a relatively low 25 basis point fee for an active ETF, AVUV has returned 29% over one year. That has outperformed both its ETF Database Category and FactSet Segment averages.
Of course, flows alone don’t paint a complete picture. Momentum for a strategy can also be found via technical analysis. AVUV’s price currently sits well above both its 50- and 200-day simple moving averages (SMAs), per YCharts. When that occurs, it indicates strong momentum for a security. Intriguingly, the 50-day SMA sits above the 200-day SMA, suggesting that momentum may have some enduring strength to it.
So, what about its active small-cap ETF approach sets it apart in the increasingly popular active ETF landscape? AVUV combines value with its small-cap approach, looking for firms that meet fundamental screens like cash flow, price-to-book value, and more. Its active approach empowers its managers to use those and other factors to find small companies underrated by the market.
Those firms, then, could benefit significantly from rate cuts, whenever the Fed decides to make that call. YTD, however, the active small-cap ETF has done well in both returns and flows, and may appeal to curious investors.
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