AAUB vs DFAU: Grades, Fees and Holdings Compared

Alpha Architect US Equity 4 ETF

AAUBANasdaq

Dimensional US Core Equity Market ETF

DFAUANYSE Arca

Overlap

75.6%by weight

Expense ratio

AAUB −0.02pt a year

AAUB0.10%DFAU0.12%

Avg volume · 30D

DFAU 149.2×the volume

AAUB3.72KDFAU555K

AAUB vs DFAU Performance

Jul 31, 2026 – Nov 2, 2026

−0.2%AAUB+0.9%DFAU

Expense ratio: AAUB 0.10%, better; DFAU 0.12%
Fund size: AAUB $823M; DFAU $12.8B
1Y total return: AAUB No data; DFAU +12.9%
Yield (12M): AAUB No data; DFAU 0.91%
Holdings: AAUB 442; DFAU 2163
Avg volume (30D): AAUB 3.72K sh; DFAU 555K sh, better
NAV per share: AAUB $49.54; DFAU $52.07
52W range

ETF.net Grade

Pillar letters and Scores for AAUB, DFAU, with each pillar’s weight
Pillar	AAUB	DFAU
Cost30% weight	A99Higher	A97
Mission25% weight	Not scored	A83
Risk15% weight	B64	B65Higher
Tradability15% weight	D32	A87Higher
Holdings10% weight	A76	A84Higher
Durability5% weight	B55	A91Higher

Rank among US Active Equity funds

How we build Categories ›

Same Category. AAUB and DFAU are both graded against the same 121 US Active Equity funds, so their Grades compare head to head.

US Active Equity⁠

Category · 121 funds

See all 121 ›

DFAU ranks 2nd and AAUB 16th of 121 funds in the US Active Equity Category.

Rank 1AAVLCAvantis U.S. Large Cap Equity ETFScore 87
Rank 2ADFAUDimensional US Core Equity Market ETFScore 86
Rank 3ADFACDimensional US Core Equity 2 ETFScore 85
Rank 15AAAUSAlpha Architect US Equity ETFScore 73
Rank 16AAAUBAlpha Architect US Equity 4 ETFScore 72
Rank 16ACGUSCapital Group Core Equity ETFScore 72

Our read on each fund

ETF.net Research

AAUBAAlpha Architect US Equity 4 ETF

DFAUADimensional US Core Equity Market ETF

In short

AAUB No data

DFAU Active management priced like an index fund. Dimensional spreads across roughly 2,400 US stocks, then tilts the weights toward value, profitability and momentum instead of simply mirroring the Russell 3000.

Stated mandate

AAUB No data

DFAU Seeks long-term capital appreciation. It uses an integrated research, portfolio-design, management, and trading process to build a broadly diversified portfolio of U.S. companies while balancing long-term return drivers, risk, shorter-term considerations, and trading costs.

Why people hold it

AAUB No data

DFAU Charges 0.12% a year, well under the 0.65% median for active US equity funds and the cheapest of the top-graded names in its group (AVLC, DFAC, FELC).
Holds roughly 2,400 US companies, so no single name steers the fund. Whole-market coverage, not a concentrated bet.
Active without the stock-picking drama: it leans weights toward value, profitability and momentum, using the Russell 3000 as its reference point rather than a rigid rulebook.
A multi-billion-dollar fund that trades actively, and one of the strongest overall implementations in its active US equity peer group.

Worth knowing

AAUB No data

DFAU Those tilts cut both ways: results can drift from a plain Russell 3000 fund for long stretches, in either direction.
No published index behind it. The trade-off for flexibility is that you're buying Dimensional's process, not a public set of rules you can check line by line.
Distributions land quarterly, not monthly, and the mandate is long-term capital appreciation rather than income.

Full AAUB profile⁠

Full DFAU profile⁠

AAUB vs DFAU Holdings

How AAUB and DFAU differ

Overlap by weight

75.6%

Shared holdings make up 87.1% of AAUB and 83.1% of DFAU.

Level by level

Holdings390 in both75.6%
Countryby domicile97.1%
Asset classEquity100%

Sector

No Sector split for AAUB.

Country, concentration and asset class

Country by domicile

Country weights in AAUB and DFAU, widest gap first
Country	More in AAUBMore in DFAU	AAUB	DFAU
United States	DFAU +2.7 points	96.6%	99.3%
United Kingdom	AAUB +2.2 points	2.3%	0.1%
Other countries (13)	AAUB +0.5 points	1.1%	0.6%

Concentration

Weight in the 10 largest Holdings

AAUB37.4%
DFAU33.2%

Securities held

AAUB441
DFAU2,162

Asset class

AAUB: Equity
DFAU: Equity

Holdings

Only in AAUB51
In both390
Only in DFAU1,772

Only in AAUB

51 securities, 12.8% of AAUB by weight

State Street SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 ETF4.73%
Vanguard S&P 500 ETF1.88%
Vanguard Morningstar Total Stock Market ETF1.52%
iShares Core S&P 500 ETF1.50%
Welltower Inc0.34%
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd0.21%
Berkshire Hathaway Inc - Class A0.20%
Equinix Inc0.17%
Prologis Inc0.17%
Ventas Inc0.15%
MiniMed Group Inc0.14%
Simon Property Group Inc0.12%
Cerebras Systems Inc0.11%
First American Government Obligations Fund 12/01/20310.10%
American Tower Corp0.10%
Elevance Health Inc0.08%
Shell PLC0.08%
Ball Corp0.07%
Realty Income Corp0.07%
Digital Realty Trust Inc0.07%
Host Hotels & Resorts Inc0.06%
ASML Holding NV0.06%
Vivmark Residential0.05%
Canadian Pacific Kansas City Ltd0.04%
Public Storage0.04%
Federal Realty Investment Trust0.04%
Novartis AG0.04%
Celestica Inc0.03%
Bp PLC0.03%
British American Tobacco PLC0.03%
Wheaton Precious Metals Corp0.03%
Nebius Group NV0.03%
Cenovus Energy Inc0.03%
Regency Centers Corp0.03%
CareTrust REIT Inc0.03%
Becton Dickinson & Co0.03%
Teck Resources Ltd0.03%
HSBC Holdings PLC0.03%
Franco-Nevada Corp0.03%
MercadoLibre Inc0.03%
Kimco Realty Corp0.03%
Essex Property Trust Inc0.02%
Unilever PLC0.02%
AstraZeneca PLC0.02%
Block Inc0.02%
Iron Mountain Inc0.02%
Sony Group Corp0.02%
Canadian National Railway Co0.02%
Argenx SE0.02%
ING Groep NV0.02%

Only in DFAU

1,772 securities, 16.8% of DFAU by weight

Eog Resources Inc.0.20%
Cigna Group/The0.15%
Cvs Health Corp0.14%
Lowe's Cos Inc0.13%
Kinder Morgan Inc.0.12%
Te Connectivity PLC0.12%
Colgate-Palmolive Co0.12%
Apollo Global Management0.12%
Stryker Corp0.11%
Crh PLC0.11%
Elevance Health Inc0.11%
Nasdaq Inc0.10%
Transdigm Group Inc0.10%
Carnival Corp Ltd0.09%
Sempra Energy0.09%
Ferguson Enterprises Inc0.09%
Auto Desk0.09%
Becton Dickinson & Co0.09%
Agilent Technologies Inc0.09%
L3HARRIS Technologies Inc0.08%
American Int'l Group0.08%
Xcel Energy Inc0.08%
Autozone Inc.0.08%
Vistra Energy Corp0.08%
Edwards Lifescience Corp.0.08%
United Airlines Holdings0.07%
Idexx Laboratories Inc0.07%
Eqt Corp0.07%
Block Inc0.07%
Kimberly-Clark Corp.0.07%
Carrier Global Corp0.06%
Roper Technologies Inc0.06%
Mettler-Toledo Intl Inc0.06%
Microchip Technology Inc0.06%
Okta Inc0.06%
Ge Healthcare Technologie0.06%
Kkr & Co Inc0.06%
Cbre Group Inc0.06%
Veeva Systems Inc0.06%
Vulcan Materials Co.0.06%
Natera Inc0.06%
Wec Energy Group0.06%
Raymond James Financial0.06%
Willis Towers Watson PLC0.06%
Public Service Ent0.06%
Labcorp Holdings Inc0.06%
Wr Berkley Corp0.06%
Resmed Inc0.05%
Synchrony Financial0.05%
Martin Marietta Materials0.05%

Weight gaps

The 100 widest of 390 Holdings in both funds.

Holding weights in AAUB and DFAU, widest gap first
Holding	More in AAUBMore in DFAU	AAUB	DFAU
Roivant Sciences LtdROIV	AAUB +2.04 points	2.09%	0.04%
Microsoft CorpMSFT	DFAU +0.35 points	5.27%	5.62%
NVIDIA CorpNVDA	AAUB +0.35 points	6.96%	6.61%
HealthEquity IncHQY	AAUB +0.27 points	0.28%	0.01%
Snowflake IncSNOW	AAUB +0.27 points	0.36%	0.09%
Advanced Micro Devices IncAMD	AAUB +0.25 points	1.17%	0.92%
Palo Alto Networks IncPANW	AAUB +0.23 points	0.43%	0.20%
Crowdstrike Holdings IncCRWD	AAUB +0.23 points	0.37%	0.14%
Micron Technology IncMU	DFAU +0.19 points	1.37%	1.56%
Berkshire Hathaway IncBRK.B	AAUB +0.19 points	1.36%	1.17%
Coca-Cola Co/TheKO	AAUB +0.18 points	0.65%	0.47%
Palantir Technologies IncPLTR	AAUB +0.17 points	0.55%	0.38%
Johnson & JohnsonJNJ	AAUB +0.18 points	0.96%	0.78%
American Express CoAXP	DFAU +0.15 points	0.11%	0.26%
Oracle CorpORCL	DFAU +0.14 points	0.22%	0.36%
GE Vernova IncGEV	AAUB +0.14 points	0.34%	0.20%
Chubb LtdCB	AAUB +0.13 points	0.29%	0.16%
Marvell Technology IncMRVL	AAUB +0.14 points	0.25%	0.11%
Alphabet IncGOOGL	AAUB +0.14 points	2.28%	2.14%
Philip Morris International IncPM	AAUB +0.14 points	0.52%	0.38%
Blackrock IncBLK	DFAU +0.13 points	0.05%	0.18%
Chevron CorpCVX	AAUB +0.13 points	0.71%	0.58%
Tesla IncTSLA	AAUB +0.12 points	1.49%	1.37%
Medtronic PLCMDT	DFAU +0.12 points	0.03%	0.15%
Intel CorpINTC	AAUB +0.12 points	0.47%	0.35%
Ecolab IncECL	DFAU +0.12 points	0.03%	0.15%
State Street CorpSTT	AAUB +0.12 points	0.20%	0.08%
Sherwin-Williams Co/TheSHW	DFAU +0.12 points	0.03%	0.15%
Home Depot Inc/TheHD	DFAU +0.12 points	0.34%	0.46%
Bank of New York Mellon Corp/TheBNY	AAUB +0.12 points	0.25%	0.13%
Aon PLCAON	DFAU +0.12 points	0.02%	0.14%
Amazon.com IncAMZN	AAUB +0.12 points	3.27%	3.15%
Abbott LaboratoriesABT	DFAU +0.12 points	0.07%	0.19%
Affirm Holdings IncAFRM	AAUB +0.11 points	0.15%	0.04%
Consolidated Edison IncED	AAUB +0.11 points	0.18%	0.07%
Cheniere Energy IncLNG	DFAU +0.12 points	0.02%	0.14%
Moody's CorpMCO	DFAU +0.11 points	0.03%	0.14%
Northrop Grumman CorpNOC	DFAU +0.11 points	0.03%	0.14%
Broadcom IncAVGO	AAUB +0.10 points	2.06%	1.96%
PNC Financial Services Group Inc/ThePNC	AAUB +0.10 points	0.21%	0.11%
Apple IncAAPL	DFAU +0.11 points	7.02%	7.13%
Royal Caribbean Cruises LtdRCL	DFAU +0.11 points	0.05%	0.16%
Capital One Financial CorpCOF	DFAU +0.10 points	0.05%	0.15%
Cisco Systems IncCSCO	AAUB +0.09 points	0.62%	0.53%
PepsiCo IncPEP	DFAU +0.10 points	0.16%	0.26%
Applied Materials IncAMAT	AAUB +0.10 points	0.46%	0.36%
Caterpillar IncCAT	AAUB +0.10 points	0.44%	0.34%
Lam Research CorpLRCX	AAUB +0.09 points	0.43%	0.34%
Cencora IncCOR	DFAU +0.09 points	0.03%	0.12%
Ross Stores IncROST	AAUB +0.09 points	0.23%	0.14%
Deere & CoDE	AAUB +0.09 points	0.30%	0.21%
Synopsys IncSNPS	DFAU +0.09 points	0.06%	0.15%
RTX CorpRTX	AAUB +0.09 points	0.41%	0.32%
Intercontinental Exchange IncICE	DFAU +0.09 points	0.08%	0.17%
Marsh & McLennan Cos IncMRSH	DFAU +0.09 points	0.05%	0.14%
3M CoMMM	DFAU +0.08 points	0.08%	0.16%
PayPal Holdings IncPYPL	DFAU +0.09 points	0.01%	0.10%
Motorola Solutions IncMSI	DFAU +0.09 points	0.07%	0.16%
United Rentals IncURI	DFAU +0.08 points	0.05%	0.13%
HCA Healthcare IncHCA	DFAU +0.08 points	0.01%	0.09%
NXP Semiconductors NVNXPI	DFAU +0.08 points	0.05%	0.13%
Protagonist Therapeutics IncPTGX	AAUB +0.08 points	0.08%	<0.01%
CareDx IncCDNA	AAUB +0.07 points	0.08%	<0.01%
Pfizer IncPFE	DFAU +0.07 points	0.13%	0.20%
Republic Services IncRSG	DFAU +0.08 points	0.06%	0.14%
Kroger Co/TheKR	DFAU +0.07 points	0.02%	0.09%
Cloudflare IncNET	AAUB +0.07 points	0.12%	0.05%
Gilead Sciences IncGILD	DFAU +0.07 points	0.24%	0.31%
Danaher CorpDHR	DFAU +0.07 points	0.09%	0.16%
Arthur J Gallagher & CoAJG	DFAU +0.07 points	0.03%	0.10%
Archer-Daniels-Midland CoADM	AAUB +0.07 points	0.13%	0.06%
Altria Group IncMO	AAUB +0.07 points	0.22%	0.15%
Emerson Electric CoEMR	DFAU +0.07 points	0.08%	0.15%
US BancorpUSB	AAUB +0.07 points	0.19%	0.12%
Travelers Cos Inc/TheTRV	AAUB +0.06 points	0.26%	0.20%
Williams Cos Inc/TheWMB	DFAU +0.07 points	0.06%	0.13%
CSX CorpCSX	AAUB +0.06 points	0.23%	0.17%
Intuitive Surgical IncISRG	DFAU +0.07 points	0.07%	0.14%
Cintas CorpCTAS	DFAU +0.07 points	0.08%	0.15%
Meta Platforms IncMETA	AAUB +0.07 points	1.85%	1.78%
MongoDB IncMDB	AAUB +0.06 points	0.10%	0.04%
Procter & Gamble Co/ThePG	DFAU +0.06 points	0.47%	0.53%
Citigroup IncC	AAUB +0.07 points	0.31%	0.24%
Expeditors International of Washington IncEXPD	AAUB +0.06 points	0.11%	0.05%
Mastercard IncMA	DFAU +0.06 points	0.64%	0.70%
Union Pacific CorpUNP	AAUB +0.06 points	0.32%	0.26%
Starbucks CorpSBUX	AAUB +0.06 points	0.20%	0.14%
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals IncREGN	DFAU +0.06 points	0.09%	0.15%
Verizon Communications IncVZ	AAUB +0.06 points	0.37%	0.31%
Blackstone IncBX	DFAU +0.06 points	0.02%	0.08%
Mondelez International IncMDLZ	DFAU +0.07 points	0.09%	0.16%
Baker Hughes CoBKR	DFAU +0.06 points	0.04%	0.10%
Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies CorpWAB	AAUB +0.06 points	0.13%	0.07%
Quanta Services IncPWR	AAUB +0.06 points	0.15%	0.09%
MSCI IncMSCI	DFAU +0.06 points	0.01%	0.07%
Amgen IncAMGN	DFAU +0.06 points	0.31%	0.37%
Alphabet IncGOOG	AAUB +0.06 points	1.82%	1.76%
International Business Machines CorpIBM	DFAU +0.05 points	0.31%	0.36%
Evergy IncEVRG	AAUB +0.06 points	0.09%	0.03%
M&T Bank CorpMTB	AAUB +0.06 points	0.11%	0.05%

All AAUB holdings⁠All 2,381 DFAU holdings⁠

How we measure overlap

Each holding counts at its smaller weight in the two funds, summed over the full Holdings. Sector, country and asset class use the same rule on each fund’s split. Cash, FX and derivative lines stay out of the counts. Two bond funds get no overlap figure.

AAUB vs DFAU Cost

Overpaying DFAU vs AAUB

$414

On $10,000 over 30 years. 7% growth a year before fees, expense ratio only.

AAUB 0.10%
$2,106
DFAU 0.12%
$2,520

Amount$10,000

Years30 years

Cost over time

AAUB 0.10%
DFAU 0.12%
Overpaying

Year by year

Year	AAUB	DFAU	Overpaying
10	$183	$220	$37
20	$717	$859	$142
30	$2,106	$2,520	$414

Expense ratio

0.10%AAUB, cheaper
0.12%DFAU

AAUB0.10%DFAU0.12%

0.00%2.89%

Middle half of US Active Equity funds
Median 0.68%

AAUB 3rd cheapest of 121 funds

DFAU 4th cheapest of 121 funds

AAUB vs DFAU Dividends

Last 12 months to Nov 2, 2026

Yield (12M): AAUB No data; DFAU 0.91%
Payout (12M): AAUB None; DFAU $0.47
Last payment: AAUB No data; DFAU $0.12
Ex-dividend: AAUB No data; DFAU Sep 22, 2026
Paid on: AAUB No data; DFAU Sep 24, 2026
Frequency: AAUB No data; DFAU Quarterly

Distribution history

Per share, 2020 to 2026, same scale for both

AAUBAll AAUB payments⁠

No distribution history available.

DFAUQuarterly · 24 paymentsAll DFAU payments⁠

AAUB vs DFAU Risk

Fall from peak · 5 years

This chart needs five years of history for both funds.

Risk facts

VolatilityStd dev, 3 years: AAUB No dataDFAU 12.4%
Return per unit of riskSharpe ratio, 3 years: AAUB No dataDFAU 1.38
Worst fallMax drawdown, 5 years: AAUB No dataDFAU −23.6%
Market sensitivityBeta, 5 years: AAUB 1.04DFAU 1.01; Market = 1

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