Avantis Short-Term Fixed Income ETF

Avantis Short-Term Fixed Income ETF (AVSF) is an actively managed fund from American Century Investments. It holds mainly investment-grade (higher-rated) corporate bonds and U.S. Treasury notes, with an average maturity of 2.9 years as of August 31, 2026. It does not track an index. Its managers tilt toward parts of the short-term bond market they expect to pay more. Its 0.15% annual fee is close to the peer average of 0.16% but above VCSH and BSV at 0.03%.

• Over the year to Oct 27, 2026, AVSF returned +1.1%, 8th of 8 among similar funds.
• Its 5-year annualized return was +2.0%.
• Its worst full calendar year was 2022 (-5.5%); its best was 2025 (+6.5%).
• The deepest fall in its price history was 8.8% (Aug 3, 2021 to Oct 20, 2022), recovered by Jul 11, 2024.

As of Aug 31, 2026, the fund held 485 securities; the ten largest made up 10.05% of assets.

The bonds mature in 2.9 years on average (weighted by size), with an average coupon of 4.04%.

• Over the three months to Aug 31, 2026, investors withdrew a net $7.0M (creations minus redemptions, per the N-PORT report).
• Monthly total returns reported for that quarter: +0.10%, -0.10%, +0.21%.

AVSF is actively managed and does not try to match an index. Its managers sort the bonds it can buy into groups by industry, credit rating, duration (a measure of how much a bond's price moves when interest rates change), country and currency. For each group, they estimate the return implied by its yield curve, which is the line showing yields across different maturities. They also weigh yield, duration and option-adjusted spreads (the extra yield over Treasuries after allowing for features like early repayment). They then shift the portfolio's weights toward the groups with higher expected returns.

The prospectus sets the limits. At least 80% of assets go into bonds, mostly investment grade, and the weighted average maturity stays at three years or less. The fund may hold more than 25% in Treasury and agency debt, and it may use futures, swaps and currency forwards. Its August 31, 2026 holdings report showed no derivatives. That report listed 485 holdings: about 77% corporate bonds and 20% Treasuries. The top 10 made up just 10% of the fund. The largest was a 4.13% Treasury note due January 2027, at 1.5%.

There is no fixed rebalancing schedule. The managers trade continually and weigh trading costs and taxes, and portfolio turnover was 57%. The fund may create and redeem shares for cash, so it may be less tax-efficient than ETFs that exchange securities in kind. It also lends out securities.

• AVSF charges 0.15% a year, versus an average of 0.16% for the similar funds below (5th of 8, cheapest first).
• Using the prospectus's standard example, $10,000 invested would cost about $15 in the first year and $192 over 10 years (assuming a 5% annual return).

Its short maturities and mostly investment-grade bonds have kept price swings small, though not as small as cash.

AVSF could steady the bond side of a portfolio: its three-year volatility was 2.2% as of October 27, 2026. It launched in October 2020, so it has no record from the 2008 crisis or the 2020 crash. In the 2022 bear market it fell 7.1% and took about 16 months to recover. Its deepest drop was 8.8%, from August 2021 to October 2022, and it took about 21 months to recover. Its worst calendar year was 2022, at -5.5%. Someone drawing money during that stretch would have sold shares at a loss. The fund pays monthly, with a trailing yield of 4.36% as of October 27, 2026. Under the SEC's standard example, it costs $15 in the first year per $10,000 invested. Past results don't predict the future, and a plan should look at the whole portfolio, not one fund.

Matched by bond funds with the closest average maturity and issuer mix (N-PORT).