CAGE vs AVGE: the Canadian wrapper for the Avantis all-equity strategy

Short answer: AVGE and CAGE run the same Avantis all-equity strategy. AVGE is the U.S.-listed original, trading in USD on NYSE Arca with a 0.23% expense ratio. CAGE is the Canadian-listed equivalent that started trading on the TSX in March 2026, with a 0.28% management fee (MER not published yet). For most Canadians, the higher headline cost on CAGE is the price of avoiding U.S.-dollar conversion, T1135 reporting, U.S. estate tax exposure, and the friction of a USD account. If those don’t apply to you, AVGE is the cheaper way to express the same view.

For Canadians who liked the Avantis approach, the only practical option for years was AVGE in a USD account. That changed on March 18, 2026, when CIBC and Avantis listed CAGE.TO on the TSX. Same strategy. Different wrapper.

This guide is for people choosing between the two, or thinking about whether to switch from AVGE to CAGE. If you want the standalone picture of the Canadian fund first, the CAGE ETF guide covers what CAGE.TO holds, its fee, and how the Avantis strategy works.

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.

What’s actually the same

Both funds are run on the same Avantis methodology. Avantis Investors, a unit of American Century, designs and operates the strategy in both wrappers. Eduardo Repetto and the same investment team are behind both products.

That means the underlying logic is identical:

• Value tilt. Cheaper companies on fundamentals (book value, earnings, cash flow) get more weight than they would in a cap-weighted index.
• Size tilt. Smaller companies get more weight than market cap alone would give them. Not “small-cap only,” just less concentration in megacaps.
• Profitability tilt. Reliably profitable companies get included or overweighted. Chronically unprofitable ones get filtered or down-weighted.

Both funds are 100% equity, globally diversified, and structured as fund-of-funds that hold underlying Avantis equity ETFs across U.S., international developed, emerging, and Canadian stocks.

If you believe in the factor thesis, you’d hold either fund for the same reasons.

What’s actually different

Two things: the wrapper and the cost.

The cost gap is about 5 basis points. CAGE is more expensive because the Canadian wrapper has to do its own administration, listing, and disclosure, and because there’s a layer of fees to pay the underlying Avantis funds. Same kind of structure XEQT and VEQT use, just with the factor strategy on top.

What the Canadian wrapper actually buys you

If you compare only the fee, AVGE wins by 5 basis points. But the wrapper friction matters more than the fee for most Canadian investors.

1. No currency conversion. Holding AVGE means buying with USD. That’s either a USD account, repeated FX conversions at the bank’s spread, or Norbert’s Gambit every time you contribute. Most brokerages charge somewhere between 1% and 2% on FX, depending on the broker and the size of the trade. Even a 1% spread on a $10,000 contribution is $100, every time. CAGE removes that friction entirely.

2. No T1135 reporting headache. T1135 is the CRA form Canadians have to file when foreign property held outside registered accounts crosses $100,000 in cost basis at any point in the year. AVGE in a non-registered account is foreign property. CAGE is not. If you’re putting Avantis exposure into a non-registered account and your numbers are getting close to that threshold, the CAD-listed wrapper saves you the form (and the audit risk if you forget).

3. No U.S. estate tax exposure. Canadians holding U.S.-situs assets above certain thresholds in non-registered accounts can end up exposed to U.S. estate tax on death. Treaty rules and unified credit reduce the risk for most people, but it’s a real consideration above roughly $1.4 million USD in U.S.-situs assets. CAGE is a Canadian-listed ETF and isn’t U.S.-situs. AVGE is.

4. Cleaner tax slips. AVGE distributions show up on a 1099 (or as foreign income on a T5/T3 depending on how your broker reports). CAGE distributions flow through Canadian fund-of-funds tax treatment, which can be messier in non-registered accounts but is at least familiar to Canadian tax software and Canadian accountants.

5. Simpler one-account setup. Canadians who hold AVGE typically run a USD account alongside their CAD account. CAGE collapses that back to one account, one currency, one mental model.

The 5-basis-point fee difference matters less than any one of those for most people. For very large taxable accounts, the math can flip the other way, especially if you already have USD income or USD spending and the FX cost is effectively zero for you.

Where AVGE still makes sense

Three situations:

You have USD income or spending. If you’re paid in USD, retire to the U.S., or hold a chunk of USD reserves anyway, the FX argument disappears. Holding AVGE in USD means no conversion costs and a natural currency match.

You’re in an RRSP and want maximum withholding tax efficiency on U.S. equities. This is a subtle one. U.S. dividends in an RRSP are exempt from U.S. withholding tax under the Canada-U.S. tax treaty, but only when the security is held directly. A Canadian-listed ETF like CAGE that holds U.S.-listed Avantis ETFs (which themselves hold U.S. stocks) doesn’t fully capture that exemption, because the withholding gets applied at the underlying-fund level. The leakage is small (typically under 0.10% per year on the U.S. equity portion), but it exists. AVGE held directly in an RRSP avoids that one layer.

You already hold AVGE in a non-registered account with significant unrealized gains. Selling to buy CAGE realizes the gain and triggers tax. The cleaner move is to leave AVGE alone and add new contributions to CAGE instead.

Where CAGE wins

For most Canadians, in most accounts. Specifically:

• TFSA, FHSA, RESP, RDSP, and non-registered accounts: CAGE is meaningfully simpler. The treaty exemption that helps AVGE in RRSPs doesn’t apply in any of these account types. So the U.S. listing buys you nothing on tax, but you still pay the FX, T1135, and U.S. estate tax costs.
• Smaller portfolios where Norbert’s Gambit overhead per contribution is annoying.
• Anyone who values one-account simplicity.

Practical questions worth thinking through

Is the strategy as good in the Canadian wrapper? Same Avantis team, same rules, same underlying funds. The Canadian wrapper adds a thin layer of administration and fund-of-funds tax flow but doesn’t change the strategy. You’re getting the same factor exposure.

Will tracking diverge? Over long horizons, AVGE and CAGE should track very closely on a currency-neutral basis. Day to day, you’ll see noise from the FX between USD and CAD. AVGE measured in CAD will swing with the U.S. dollar; CAGE will swing only with what its underlying assets do. That’s not a flaw, it’s just what unhedged international ETFs look like.

Should I switch? That’s a tax question, not a strategy question. If you’re in a registered account, the switch is friction-free. In a non-registered account with unrealized gains, math the tax bill before deciding.

Frequently asked questions

Is CAGE the same as AVGE?

Same strategy, different wrapper. Both run the Avantis all-equity factor approach (value, size, profitability tilts) and hold the same family of underlying Avantis ETFs. AVGE is U.S.-listed, USD-denominated, with a 0.23% expense ratio. CAGE is Canadian-listed, CAD-denominated, with a 0.28% management fee (the full MER hasn’t been published yet because of Canadian first-year disclosure rules). For a Canadian investor, the wrapper differences (FX, T1135, U.S. estate tax, account simplicity) usually matter more than the 5-basis-point fee gap.

Can I hold AVGE in a TFSA?

Yes, your broker may allow it, but it’s usually not a good idea. U.S.-listed ETFs held in a TFSA still incur U.S. dividend withholding tax (the treaty exemption only applies to RRSPs, RRIFs, and similar retirement accounts). You’d be paying tax that doesn’t exist in CAGE. For a TFSA, the Canadian-listed wrapper is the cleaner choice.

Can I hold AVGE in an RRSP without the withholding tax?

Yes. The Canada-U.S. tax treaty exempts U.S. dividends from withholding when a U.S.-listed security is held directly in an RRSP, RRIF, LIRA, or LIF. CAGE holds U.S.-listed Avantis ETFs underneath, so the treaty exemption applies one layer deep but not all the way through, which causes a small amount of withholding leakage on the U.S. equity portion. For an RRSP that’s heavily U.S.-tilted and large enough that 5 to 10 bps of leakage matters, holding AVGE directly is more tax-efficient. For most other accounts, CAGE is simpler and the math is roughly a wash.

Should I switch from AVGE to CAGE?

In a registered account, swapping is straightforward: the trade doesn’t trigger tax, and you’d be reducing FX and T1135 friction. In a non-registered account with unrealized gains, the answer depends on the tax bill from selling. The cleaner move is often to leave existing AVGE alone and direct future contributions to CAGE instead, letting the AVGE position run off naturally over time.

Will CAGE and AVGE perform identically?

Over long horizons, very close. Same Avantis methodology, same underlying funds, same factor exposure. Day-to-day differences come from currency (AVGE measured in USD, CAGE in CAD), small differences in how the wrappers manage flows, and the small fee gap. Don’t expect identical month-to-month numbers; do expect very similar long-term behaviour.

What’s the difference in fees?

AVGE charges 0.23% as its expense ratio. CAGE has a 0.28% management fee, with the full MER (which adds operating expenses on top) not yet published because Canadian regulators don’t require a first-year MER disclosure. Once published, expect CAGE’s full MER to land a few basis points above 0.28%. Net cost gap is roughly 5 to 10 basis points.

Bottom line

If you live and invest in Canadian dollars and you’re using a registered or smaller non-registered account, CAGE is the cleaner home for the Avantis strategy. The 5-basis-point fee gap is the cost of avoiding FX, T1135, U.S. estate tax exposure, and the friction of a USD account. For most Canadians, that’s a trade worth making.

If you have USD income or spending, hold a large RRSP heavily tilted to U.S. equities, or already hold AVGE in a non-registered account with significant unrealized gains, the math can favour staying with AVGE.

What you shouldn’t do is hold both for the sake of diversification. They’re the same strategy. Pick the wrapper that fits your situation and put all your Avantis exposure there.