Avantis Inflation Focused Equity ETF

Avantis Inflation Focused Equity ETF (AVIE) is an actively managed American Century fund of mostly US stocks in industries that have tended to do better when inflation rises, such as oil and gas, mining, health care, consumer staples and financial services. It favors smaller, more profitable, cheaply valued companies. It costs 0.25% a year, against a 0.09% average for similar funds, and held just $12.9 million as of August 31, 2026.

• Over the year to Oct 27, 2026, AVIE returned +32.4%, 2nd of 9 among similar funds.
• Its worst full calendar year was 2023 (+4.2%); its best was 2025 (+11.4%).
• The deepest fall in its price history was 12.4% (Nov 29, 2024 to Apr 8, 2025), recovered by Nov 11, 2025.

As of Aug 31, 2026, the fund held 364 securities; the ten largest made up 30.9% of assets.

By sector

• Over the three months to Aug 31, 2026, investors added a net $1.5M (creations minus redemptions, per the N-PORT report).
• Monthly total returns reported for that quarter: +1.74%, +3.91%, +4.39%.

AVIE is actively managed: it does not track an index, and its managers decide what to buy and sell. They focus on US industries that have historically done better, or are expected to, when inflation rises. In the prospectus filed December 29, 2025, those were financial services, oil and natural gas, metal and non-metal mining, health care and consumer staples. At least 80% of assets go into stocks under normal conditions.

Within those industries, each stock starts at a weight based on its market value. The managers then hold more of smaller companies and those with higher profitability and value traits, and less or none of larger, less profitable, pricier ones. “Value” mainly means a low share price relative to book value, a company's net worth on its balance sheet. Profitability mainly means cash from operations relative to book value. The managers review the criteria regularly and may sell a stock that no longer fits. It trades little: portfolio turnover was 3%.

The fund may lend its stocks to other investors, which risks loss if a borrower fails to return them. It may also create and redeem shares for cash rather than by exchanging stocks directly (“in kind”). That can force sales that realize taxable gains, making it potentially less tax-efficient than ETFs that work in kind.

• AVIE charges 0.25% a year, versus an average of 0.09% for the similar funds below (9th of 9, cheapest first).
• Using the prospectus's standard example, $10,000 invested would cost about $26 in the first year and $319 over 10 years (assuming a 5% annual return).

It is a stock fund built to favor industries that have tended to do better when inflation rises, though it stays fully exposed to stock market losses.

AVIE could add stocks picked for their link to inflation, led by health care, energy and consumer staples. It is still a stock fund, and the prospectus warns its returns may not track inflation. It launched in September 2022, so its record misses the 2008 crisis, the 2020 crash and most of the 2022 bear market. Its worst full calendar year was a 4.2% gain in 2023, but its deepest drop was 12.4%, from November 2024 to April 2025; it regained its peak about seven months after that low. A retiree selling then would have sold below the prior high. Over the 12 months to October 27, 2026, it yielded 1.43%, paid quarterly. It costs 0.25% a year: $319 over 10 years on $10,000 in the SEC's standard example.

Past results don't predict future ones, and a plan should look at the whole portfolio, not one fund.

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