CASV vs AVUV: the Canadian small-cap value question

Short answer: AVUV is the U.S.-listed Avantis U.S. Small Cap Value ETF, trading in USD on NYSE Arca with a 0.25% expense ratio. CASV is the new Canadian-listed Avantis CIBC Global Small Cap Value ETF, in CAD, with a 0.39% management fee (MER not published yet). They aren’t the same fund in two wrappers. AVUV is U.S.-only; CASV is global. If you want a true wrapper-for-wrapper match to AVUV, the closer comparison is CAUV, the Avantis CIBC U.S. Small Cap Value sleeve. For most Canadians, the higher headline cost on the Canadian funds is the price of avoiding USD conversion, T1135 reporting, U.S. estate tax exposure, and the friction of a USD account.

For years, the only way a Canadian could buy the Avantis small-cap value strategy was AVUV in a U.S.-dollar account. That changed in March 2026, when CIBC and Avantis listed their Canadian lineup, including CASV. So now the question gets asked a lot: just buy AVUV, or use the Canadian-listed version?

The honest answer starts with a correction, because the framing trips people up.

This is not financial advice. I’m sharing what I’ve learned from my own research, and your situation might be different from mine. Fund details change over time, so always check the latest disclosures before making a decision.

They are not the same fund

AVUV and CASV both run the Avantis value-and-profitability methodology, but they cover different markets.

• AVUV is the Avantis U.S. Small Cap Value ETF. It holds U.S. small-cap value companies only. It trades in USD on NYSE Arca, with a 0.25% expense ratio and a long, well-documented track record.
• CASV is the Avantis CIBC Global Small Cap Value ETF. It holds small-cap value companies across global developed markets, not just the U.S. It trades in CAD on the TSX, with a 0.39% management fee and no published MER yet because it’s in its first year.

So a straight “AVUV vs CASV” comparison is partly an apples-to-oranges one: U.S.-only versus global. If you specifically want the Canadian-listed equivalent of AVUV’s U.S.-only mandate, the fund to look at is CAUV, the Avantis CIBC U.S. Small Cap Value sleeve, not CASV. The Avantis CIBC lineup guide lays out which sleeve maps to which.

The cost picture

On headline cost, AVUV is cheaper. But the headline isn’t the whole cost for a Canadian. Buying AVUV means converting Canadian dollars to U.S. dollars (a markup of roughly 1.5% on most platforms unless you use Norbert’s Gambit), running a USD account, and dealing with the reporting and estate-tax considerations below. CASV removes all of that by being Canadian-listed and CAD-denominated. The fee gap is real; whether it’s worth it depends on how much U.S.-dollar friction you’d otherwise carry.

What the Canadian wrapper actually buys you

The reasons a Canadian might pay the higher fee for the Canadian-listed fund are the same ones that apply across the Avantis CIBC lineup:

• No currency conversion. You buy and sell in Canadian dollars. No FX markup on the way in or out, no Norbert’s Gambit gymnastics.
• No USD account to run. One account, one currency, simpler record-keeping.
• No T1135 reporting from this holding. Canadian-listed ETFs don’t count toward the $100,000 cost threshold for the T1135 foreign property form. U.S.-listed AVUV can.
• No U.S. estate tax exposure from this holding. U.S.-situs assets, including U.S.-listed ETFs, can expose larger estates to U.S. estate tax. A Canadian-listed fund sidesteps that question.
• Global scope in one ticker. CASV gives you global small-cap value in a single CAD holding. Replicating that with U.S.-listed funds would mean AVUV plus an international small-cap value fund, in USD.

Where AVUV still makes sense

AVUV is not the wrong answer for everyone:

• You already run a USD account and are comfortable with the conversion mechanics.
• You specifically want U.S.-only small-cap value, not a global mix.
• You value AVUV’s long, real track record over a Canadian fund with no operating history yet.
• Your account is large enough that 0.14% of fee difference outweighs the friction, and you have the estate and reporting situation handled.

Where the Canadian funds win

For most Canadian DIY investors who want this tilt as a satellite, the Canadian-listed route (CASV for global, CAUV for U.S.-only) is the lower-friction choice. The simplicity of one currency, one account, no T1135, and no U.S. estate-tax question is worth more than 0.14% a year to a lot of people, especially in registered accounts where you can’t even recover the U.S. friction.

The deeper question isn’t the wrapper, it’s whether you want a concentrated small-cap value tilt at all. The CASV explainer covers what the strategy is and the honest caveat that it can lag the broad market for a decade. The CAGE vs CASV guide covers whether a satellite tilt belongs in your portfolio in the first place.

Frequently asked questions

Is CASV the Canadian version of AVUV?

Not exactly. AVUV is U.S. small-cap value only. CASV is global small-cap value. They share the Avantis methodology but cover different markets. The true Canadian-listed equivalent of AVUV’s U.S.-only mandate is CAUV, the Avantis CIBC U.S. Small Cap Value sleeve.

Is AVUV cheaper than CASV?

On the headline number, yes: AVUV’s expense ratio is 0.25% versus CASV’s 0.39% management fee. But for a Canadian, AVUV also carries currency-conversion cost, a USD account, possible T1135 reporting, and possible U.S. estate-tax exposure. CASV removes all of that. The all-in comparison is closer than the headline.

Can I hold AVUV in a TFSA or RRSP?

Yes, you can hold a U.S.-listed ETF like AVUV in a TFSA or RRSP, but it requires U.S. dollars, so you’d convert currency to buy it. In an RRSP, U.S. dividend withholding tax is waived under the Canada-U.S. treaty; in a TFSA it isn’t. CASV, being Canadian-listed, avoids the conversion entirely. See the U.S. dividend withholding tax guide for how account type changes the math.

What is the difference between CASV and CAUV?

CASV is global small-cap value. CAUV is the Avantis CIBC U.S.-only small-cap value sleeve. Both are Canadian-listed and CAD-denominated. If you want the Canadian-listed equivalent of AVUV specifically, CAUV is the closer match; if you want global small-cap value in one ticker, CASV is the tool.

Does AVUV have a longer track record than CASV?

Yes. AVUV has years of operating history as a U.S.-listed fund. CASV launched on the TSX in March 2026 and has no meaningful track record yet. The underlying methodology is the same Avantis approach, but the Canadian wrapper itself is new.

Bottom line

This isn’t really an AVUV-versus-CASV decision. It’s two decisions stacked on top of each other.

First: do you want a concentrated small-cap value tilt at all? If you don’t have a firm view on that, neither fund belongs in your portfolio, and a broad all-in-one like XEQT or CAGE is the better default.

Second, if you do want the tilt: U.S.-only or global, and U.S.-listed or Canadian-listed? AVUV is the cheap, proven, U.S.-only, USD route. CASV is the global, CAD, lower-friction route with a higher fee and no track record yet. CAUV sits in between as the Canadian-listed U.S.-only option. Pick based on the friction you’d actually carry, not the headline fee alone.