Avantis Emerging Markets Equity ETF

Avantis Emerging Markets Equity ETF (AVEM) is an actively managed fund from American Century Investments that held nearly 3,900 stocks across emerging markets including Taiwan, South Korea, China and India as of May 31, 2026. Instead of copying an index, it leans toward smaller, more profitable companies whose shares look cheap compared with the value on their balance sheets. Its 0.33% annual expense ratio is far above IEMG's 0.09% but well below EEM's 0.72%.

• Over the year to Nov 2, 2026, AVEM returned +14.1%, 4th of 9 among similar funds.
• Its 5-year annualized return was +9.0%.
• In the 2020 COVID crash it fell 33.2% and regained its old high 5.2 months after the low.
• Its worst full calendar year was 2022 (-18.1%); its best was 2025 (+34.5%).
• The deepest fall in its price history was 36% (Jan 17, 2020 to Mar 23, 2020), recovered by Nov 6, 2020.

As of Aug 31, 2026, the fund held 3,971 securities; the ten largest made up 28.16% of assets.

• Over the three months to Aug 31, 2026, investors added a net $2.58B (creations minus redemptions, per the N-PORT report).
• Monthly total returns reported for that quarter: -0.05%, -6.77%, +5.34%.

AVEM is an actively managed ETF: its managers pick and weight stocks rather than copying an index. It measures itself against the MSCI Emerging Markets IMI Index and generally sticks to that index's countries, such as China, India, Taiwan, South Korea and Brazil (as of September 30, 2025). Under normal conditions, at least 80% of assets go to emerging-market stocks of any company size.

Each stock starts at a weight based on its market value. Managers then tilt toward smaller companies and those with higher profitability (mainly cash from operations relative to book value, a company's accounting net worth) and better value (mainly book value relative to share price). Larger, less profitable, pricier companies are trimmed or left out. Past relative performance, liquidity, trading costs and taxes also count. The managers review the criteria regularly and shrink or drop positions that no longer fit.

The fund may use futures, currency forwards and swaps, for example to keep incoming cash invested, and may lend securities. When big blocks of shares are redeemed for cash, the fund may have to dispose of holdings and realize taxable gains. As of May 31, 2026, the 10 largest positions made up 29.85% of assets, led by SK hynix (7.8%), Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing's two share listings (6.3% and 4.1%) and Samsung Electronics (5.7%).

• AVEM charges 0.33% a year, versus an average of 0.34% for the similar funds below (4th of 9, cheapest first).
• Using the prospectus's standard example, $10,000 invested would cost about $34 in the first year and $419 over 10 years (assuming a 5% annual return).

It spreads money across thousands of stocks in Taiwan, South Korea, China, India and other emerging markets that US-focused portfolios often hold little of.

AVEM adds exposure to economies a US-heavy portfolio may barely touch, but it has not cushioned downturns. It launched in September 2019, so it has no 2008 record. In the 2020 COVID crash it fell 33.2%; from its January 2020 high, the drop reached 36%, its deepest, and recovered by November 2020. In the 2022 bear market it fell 29.3% and did not regain its January 2022 high until May 2024. Its worst calendar year was 2022, a 17.9% loss. Raising cash for spending during those stretches would have locked in losses.

It pays dividends quarterly; its trailing 12-month yield was 2.71% as of October 29, 2026. The expense ratio is 0.33%: in the SEC's standard example ($10,000, 5% yearly return), costs total about $419 over 10 years. Past results don't predict the future, and a plan should look at the whole portfolio, not one fund.

Matched by holdings overlap from the latest N-PORT reports.