Subject: Re: OT small caps
I haven't done any in-depth research into this one, but it has done well lately. SMIG. It is a small value ETF. It has a higher expense ratio at 0.6% and a similar dividend yield. AVUV has a longer history.

Bahl & Gaynor Small/Mid Cap Income Growth. Inception Date 2021-08-25

On my list, it would have placed ahead of all the other ETFs listed at each of the three time periods. (It only trailed SPY)

Tails

https://stockcharts.com/freech...
(This chart plots SMIG relative to other ETFs. Unclick SMIG (AAM Bahl & Gayner) to see absolute performance.)