ACT vs VALAX Fund Comparison

A comparison between ACT and VALAX based on their expense ratio, growth, holdings and how well they match their benchmark performance.

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Minafi's Take on ACT vs VALAX

Here's an in depth look at the differences between AdvisorShares Vice ETF ($ACT) and Al Frank Fund Class Advisor ($VALAX).

To start off, here's a look at the basics of each fund. Keep an eye on the FI Score. That's a custom score from 0 to 100 that we generate based on how good this fund is for the casual investor. Most investors only need a handful of total funds in their portfolio. The higher the score, the more likely this is one of those few. Score alone isn't enough! Keep reading on to see how different (or perhaps similar) these two funds are.

  • act
  • ETF
  • Allocation
  • Other

AdvisorShares Vice ETF

Expenses: 0.99% (Better than 0% of similar funds)

This is a bad choice for a Other Allocation fund. See why »

23% FI Score
  • valax
  • Mutual Fund
  • US Stocks
  • Large Value

Al Frank Fund Class Advisor

Expenses: 1.24% (Better than 0% of similar funds)

This is a bad choice for a Large Value US Stocks fund. See why »

$ACT is classified as an ETF while $VALAX is classified as a Mutual Fund. Even though one of these is a mutual fund and the other is an ETF, that doesn't matter too much for their holdings. Both ETFs and mutual funds are just containers to hold lots of investments inside of them.

The biggest differences between these two is where they may be offered. ETFs are more widely availble from a larger number of investment apps and websites. Mutual funds, on the other hand, are generally offered by the platform they're issued by (Fidelity funds on Fidelity, Vanguard funds on Vanguard). Usually 401(k)'s will offer both ETFs and Mutual Funds. If you're investing outside of a 401(k), I'd recommend you verify the fees associated with ETF and mutual fund transactions. Some platforms charge an additional fee to purchase a mutual fund.

To learn more about the difference between these two, you can read about the difference between ETFs and Mutual Funds.

When evaluating a fund, the first things I look at are:

  • What it invests in
  • How much it charges in fees
  • How large the fund is

Let's look into these criteria one by one and see if either of these funds stands out.

Fund Holdings Comparison

Minafi's FI Score algorithm takes into account the category and market. The more niche a fund is, the lower the score. This doesn't mean it's a worse fund, but it does mean you should stop and make sure this a fund you need to diversify your portfolio.

ACT VALAX
Market Score 0.4 /10 1.8 /10
Category Score 0.0 /10 8.0 /10
Total 0.4 9.8

A score of 10 means this is a solid market and category that almost every investor will want to have investments in. The lower the score, the more specific the investment. These scores are based on when most investors would add these funds to their portfolio. A score of 10 means that this fund (or one like it) belongs in a three-fund portfolio. The lower the score, the farther down in your portfolio a fund would go.

Winner: $VALAX

Fee Comparison

Fees are one of the biggest killers of portfolio growth. The difference between a 2% fee and a 0.04% fee over 30 years can result in your portfolio having half the total value!

If you're just getting started investing and learning how fees impact your portfolio, I'd encourage you to read through my free investment course (specifically '2.2 - All About Fees') where I go over all the different types of fees you can be charged and how to lower them.

For these two funds, ACT has an expense ratio of 0.99% while VALAX has an expense ratio of 1.24%. In this case, both of these funds have a similar fee.

Winner: $ACT (barely)

Fund Size Comparison

Both ACT and VALAX have a similar number of assets under management. ACT has 10.4 Million in assets under management, while VALAX has 59.1 Million.

Minafi categorizes both of these funds as small funds. Fund size is a good indication of how many other investors trust this fund. A large fund by itself doesn't mean it's a good fund, but it is one thing to consider when figuring out how to choose the right fund.

Winner: tie

Which Should You Choose? ACT or VALAX?

Comparing these two funds isn't an apples to apples comparison. ACT is a Allocation Other fund, while VALAX is a US Stocks Large Value fund.

If you're aiming to build a diversified, low-fee, tax-optimized portfolio you likely won't be choosing between these two funds since they're different enough.

Running both of these funds through Minafi's FI Score algorithm, gives ACT a score of 2 and VALAX a score of 23.

Winner: Neither, I'd research more funds if you're looking to invest for retirement.

$ACT

AdvisorShares Vice ETF

2

Read More
Ratings
Rating Type Rating
Diversification Score 0 /10
Expense Ratio Score 0 /10
Expense Rating 0 /10
Market Score 0 /10
Category Score 0 /10
Overview
Overview Details
Fund Type ETF
Exchange NASDAQ
Expense Ratio 0.990%
Net Assets 10.4 Million
Yield 2.70%
Holdings
Description Info
Market Allocation
Category Other
Sectors
  • Basic Materials 3.45%
  • Communication Services 0.00%
  • Consumer Cyclicals 16.53%
  • Consumer Defensive 45.73%
  • Energy 0.00%
  • Financial Services 0.00%
  • Healthcare 34.28%
  • Industrials 0.00%
  • Real Estate 0.00%
  • Technology 0.00%
  • Utilities 0.00%
Regions
  • Europe Developed 12.33%
  • Latin America 1.67%
  • North America 80.07%
  • United Kingdom 5.94%

$VALAX

Al Frank Fund Class Advisor

23

Read More
Ratings
Rating Type Rating
Expense Ratio Score 3 /10
Expense Rating 0 /10
Market Score 2 /10
Category Score 8 /10
Overview
Overview Details
Fund Type Mutual Fund
Inception Date Jan-2-1998
Exchange NMFQS
Expense Ratio 1.240%
Net Assets 59.1 Million
Yield 1.70%
Holdings
Description Info
Market US Stocks
Category Large Value
Sectors
  • Basic Materials 4.00%
  • Communication Services 7.92%
  • Consumer Cyclical 7.86%
  • Consumer Defensive 7.28%
  • Energy 2.12%
  • Financial Services 14.09%
  • Healthcare 15.04%
  • Industrials 13.16%
  • Real Estate 4.17%
  • Technology 24.23%
  • Utilities 0.14%
Regions
  • Asia Developed 2.13%
  • Europe Developed 1.25%
  • North America 96.62%

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