What Avantis Investors does

Avantis Investors is a global investment management firm founded in September 2019 and operated as a subsidiary of American Century Investments, the $306 billion Kansas City-based asset manager ultimately owned by the Stowers Institute for Medical Research. The firm offers a systematic, valuation-driven suite of actively managed ETFs and mutual funds across U.S., international developed, emerging, and global equity markets, plus target-date retirement solutions, with 44 strategies distributed in the United States, Canada (via a CIBC Asset Management alliance), Europe (UCITS ETFs listed on the London, Frankfurt, and Zurich exchanges), and Australia. Its core methodology is an "Expected Return Framework" that screens securities on current market prices, book equity, and expected future profits to identify higher-expected-return names, combining the diversification, tax efficiency, and low fees of indexing with daily active oversight and profitability-aware value screens. The firm explicitly differentiates itself from traditional value strategies by targeting high-quality, profitable companies at attractive prices rather than simply "cheap" balance sheets.

Revenue is generated through ongoing management fees on ETF and mutual fund assets, with disclosed expense ratios of 0.25% (AVUV), 0.36% (AVDV), and comparable levels across the product family. Avantis reached $100 billion in assets under management on December 9, 2025 and $150 billion on June 26, 2026—just over 6.5 years after launching its first strategy—making it the fourth-largest active ETF issuer in the United States and a top-five active ETF issuer overall by AUM, serving more than 4,000 financial advisors and institutional clients. Distribution is intermediated through financial advisors, institutional consultants, and strategic channel partners rather than direct-to-consumer, with thought-leadership marketing (the Behavioral Divide podcast, the Monthly Field Guide newsletter, and academic-perspective articles authored by academics including Hal Hershfield and Meir Statman) targeting professional buyer personas.

Name

Avantis Investors

Legal name

American Century Proprietary Holdings, Inc.

Website

https://avantisinvestors.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Avantis Investors is the systematic, valuation-driven ETF and mutual fund subsidiary of American Century Investments, serving financial advisors and institutional clients with 44 active strategies across the U.S., Canada, Europe, and Australia, managing $150 billion in AUM as of June 2026.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Active Asset Management

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940), Open-End Investment Funds (525910)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

International/Ex-U.S. Developed Equity (Active) (FSAAAIAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Fixed Income ETFs & Index/Portfolio Trading (FSACAEAK), Real Assets & Infrastructure ETFs (REITs, Infrastructure, Natural Resources) (FSAAAFAH), Index Mutual Funds (Non-ETF) (FSAAAEAE)

Keywords

• Active ETF management
• Factor-based investing
• Small cap value strategies
• Mutual fund solutions
• Systematic equity investing

Headquarters

HQ city

Los Angeles

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices9 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. ETF Management Fees: Avantis generates revenue through management fees charged on its ETF products. ETF expense ratios include 0.25% for AVUV (U.S. Small Cap Value ETF), 0.36% for AVDV (International Small Cap Value ETF), with fees deducted from fund assets under management.
2. Mutual Fund Management Fees: Revenue generated from management fees on mutual fund products offered across equity, fixed income, and real asset strategies. These are ongoing fees based on assets under management.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Avantis Investors is a global investment management firm that offers actively managed ETFs, mutual funds, and target-date retirement strategies built on a valuation-driven, financial science-based framework. The firm combines the low fees, broad diversification, and tax efficiency of indexing with daily active oversight, targeting higher expected returns through systematic security selection based on company valuations and profitability. Products are distributed globally to financial advisors, institutions, and consultants across the U.S., Canada, Europe, and Australia.

Product overview

Avantis Investors is a global investment offering from American Century Investments that delivers value-added investment solutions at low fees through a platform of ETFs and mutual funds. The product lineup includes U.S. equity ETFs (AVUV, AVTM, AVUS), international equity ETFs (AVDE, AVDV, AVEU, AVPE), emerging markets ETFs (AVEM, Avantis CIBC Emerging Markets ETF), and global/all-equity strategies (AVGV). The firm offers over 40 investment strategies across the United States, Australia, Europe (UCITS), and Canada, spanning equity, fixed income, and real asset categories. Investment vehicles include exchange-traded funds (ETFs), mutual funds, and target date retirement solutions. The strategies share a common investment approach combining financial science-based philosophy with expert implementation aimed at increasing expected returns and managing risks.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Avantis U.S. Small Cap Value ETF (AVUV) An actively managed ETF targeting over 500 cheap, profitable small-cap U.S. stocks with approximately $23.5 billion in net assets and a 0.25% annual expense ratio. Designed for financial advisors and institutional clients seeking small-cap value factor exposure.
• Avantis Emerging Markets Equity ETF (AVEM) An actively managed ETF providing diversified exposure to emerging market equities through a systematic value and profitability approach. Has surpassed $25 billion in assets and is one of Avantis's largest strategies.
• Avantis International Small Cap Value ETF (AVDV) An actively managed international small-cap value ETF with approximately 1,700 holdings, using systematic selection based on price-to-book ratios and profitability measures, with a 0.36% expense ratio.
• Avantis International Equity ETF (AVDE) An international developed markets equity ETF holding over 3,000 international stocks across developed markets including UK, Japan, France, Switzerland, and Germany, using a multi-factor value/quality approach.
• Avantis All Equity Markets Value ETF (AVGV) A global value ETF delivering global value exposure through six underlying ETFs with a focus on U.S., developed ex-U.S., and emerging markets, having outperformed the ACWI benchmark by 2% annualized since inception.
• Avantis Total Equity Markets ETF (AVTM) A total equity markets ETF expanding Avantis's active ETF lineup to help investors pursue their investment goals across broad equity markets.
• Avantis America Equity UCITS ETF (AVUS) An actively managed UCITS ETF trading on the London Stock Exchange aiming for long-term capital appreciation across U.S. equity markets, combining indexing diversification with active portfolio management.
• Avantis Europe Equity UCITS ETF (AVEU) An actively managed UCITS ETF trading on the London Stock Exchange targeting long-term capital appreciation across European equity markets, combining indexing benefits with active portfolio management.
• Avantis Pacific Equity UCITS ETF (AVPE) An actively managed UCITS ETF trading on the London Stock Exchange targeting long-term capital appreciation across Pacific equity markets, combining indexing benefits with active portfolio management.
• Avantis Mutual Funds Low-cost, diversified mutual fund solutions designed to fit seamlessly into investors' asset allocations, offered alongside ETFs to provide choice of optimal investment vehicles across equity, fixed income, and real asset categories.
• Target Date Strategies (Retirement Trust Series) Target date retirement strategies through the Retirement Trust Series, designed to help investors save for retirement with appropriate asset allocation that adjusts over time.
• Avantis CIBC Emerging Markets ETF An actively managed emerging markets ETF offered through the Avantis-CIBC partnership, trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange and providing Canadian investors access to Avantis's emerging markets strategy.
• Avantis CIBC ETFs (Canadian and U.S. Equity) Four ETFs covering Canadian and U.S. equity mandates launched in partnership with CIBC Asset Management, trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange and providing Canadian investors access to Avantis strategies.
• Avantis Australian Active ETFs (AVTS, AVTE, AVTG) Australian active ETFs listed on the Australian Securities Exchange covering global small cap value, emerging markets equity, and global equity exposures, with Equity Trustees Limited as the responsible entity.

Quantifiable outcome

• AVUV returned 82% over five years versus 33% for Russell 2000 benchmark
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• CIBC Asset ManagementcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 25 November 2025Strategic alliance announced November 2025 to launch eight Avantis CIBC ETFs in Canada. The partnership brings Avantis strategies to the Canadian market through CIBC's distribution network. ETFs cover Canadian, US, emerging markets, and global equities. As of late February 2026, the CAMI-Avantis partnership surpassed $125 billion in combined assets under management. The Avantis CIBC Emerging Markets ETF began trading on the TSX on March 31, 2026.
• American Century InvestmentscoreOthersAvantis Investors is a global investment offering from American Century Investments. American Century provides institutional-quality investment management platform with $306 billion in AUM, client care, stewardship, and stability. Through American Century's relationship with the Stowers Institute for Medical Research, 40% of profits are directed to fund innovative medical research. American Century has approximately 1,400 employees and offices worldwide.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• WisdomTree: WisdomTree is a focused factor ETF issuer using proprietary methodology around dividends and quality factors. Its active and fundamentally weighted ETF offerings overlap with Avantis's value/profitability emphasis, particularly in international and small-cap strategies.
• Dimensional Fund Advisors: Dimensional Fund Advisors is the closest direct peer to Avantis — both apply academically grounded, valuation-driven systematic investing in ETFs and mutual funds across global equities. Their overlap in factor-tilted active products and the recent hire of Joseph Chi (DFA's former Co-head of Portfolio Management) by Avantis underscore how directly competitive the two firms are in advisors' model portfolios.
• ProShares: ProShares is one of the largest active and leveraged ETF issuers and competes against Avantis in advisor and self-directed channels. Its expansion into active equity factor ETFs (e.g., ProShares S&P 500 Ex-Top Holdings, dividend/factor themes) places it in direct competition for the active factor allocation.
• Invesco: Invesco QQQ and Invesco factor/sustainable ETF suites overlap with Avantis's active ETF lineup for advisors and institutional clients. Invesco is also a top-10 active ETF issuer, competing for the same distribution shelf space as Avantis with comparable equity-focused active products.

Broad incumbents

• iShares by BlackRock: iShares is the largest ETF issuer globally and offers competing active and factor ETFs (e.g., BLACKROCK FUTURE ETF, value/factor suites). With BlackRock's institutional reach and pricing flexibility, iShares is the broad incumbent that Avantis must differentiate against in the actively managed ETF category where Avantis is now a top 5 issuer.
• Fidelity Investments: Fidelity offers a deep lineup of active equity ETFs and mutual funds, including factor products (e.g., Fidelity High Dividend, factor ETFs), serving the same advisor and institutional channel as Avantis. Its scale, brand, and crossover between mutual fund and ETF vehicles make it a meaningful broad incumbent competitor for fund selection.
• Goldman Sachs Asset Management: Goldman Sachs Asset Management runs a substantial active ETF platform (including active equity ETFs) targeting institutional and advisor channels with brand-driven credibility. As an established bulge-bracket asset manager entering the active factor ETF category, GSAM competes for advisor mindshare and institutional mandates overlapping Avantis's positioning.
• State Street SPDR ETFs: State Street's SPDR franchise competes directly with Avantis in factor and international ETFs (e.g., SPY, SPDR portfolio international ETFs). Its institutional reach and scale serve overlapping advisor and institutional clients evaluating active factor allocations.
• Charles Schwab Investment Management: Schwab offers factor-tilted and low-cost ETFs (e.g., SCHD, FNDE) targeting the same financial-advisor channel as Avantis. Its distribution strength through Schwab's brokerage and ultra-low fee model make it a direct competitor in advisor-discretionary active ETF selection.
• Vanguard: Vanguard is the largest ETF issuer globally and competes directly with Avantis in low-cost factor-tilted active ETFs (e.g., VSMAX, VIOV). Vanguard's scale, advisor relationships, and brand make it the dominant incumbent against which Avantis must win incremental factor allocations in financial-advisor portfolios.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/avantisinvestor
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@avantisinvestors
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/avantisinvestors

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles18 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Avantis Investors