AAUS vs DFAU: Grades, Fees and Holdings Compared

Alpha Architect US Equity ETF

AAUSANasdaq

Dimensional US Core Equity Market ETF

DFAUANYSE Arca

Overlap

77.4%by weight

Expense ratio

AAUS −0.03pt a year

AAUS0.09%DFAU0.12%

Avg volume · 30D

DFAU 78.6×the volume

AAUS7.06KDFAU555K

AAUS vs DFAU Performance

Oct 31, 2025 – Oct 30, 2026

+10.2%AAUS+13.2%DFAU

Expense ratio: AAUS 0.09%, better; DFAU 0.12%
Fund size: AAUS $526M; DFAU $12.9B
1Y total return: AAUS +10.2%; DFAU +13.2%, better
Yield (12M): AAUS No data; DFAU 0.90%
Holdings: AAUS 380; DFAU 2165
Avg volume (30D): AAUS 7.06K sh; DFAU 555K sh, better
NAV per share: AAUS $60.69; DFAU $52.28
52W range

ETF.net Grade

Pillar letters and Scores for AAUS, DFAU, with each pillar’s weight
Pillar	AAUS	DFAU
Cost30% weight	A99Higher	A97
Mission25% weight	Not scored	A83
Risk15% weight	B60	B65Higher
Tradability15% weight	C45	A87Higher
Holdings10% weight	B69	A84Higher
Durability5% weight	B60	A91Higher

Rank among US Active Equity funds

How we build Categories ›

Same Category. AAUS 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 AAUS 15th 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 14AAVIEAvantis Inflation Focused Equity ETFScore 74
Rank 15AAAUSAlpha Architect US Equity ETFScore 73
Rank 15AFEACFidelity Enhanced U.S. All-Cap Equity ETFScore 73

Our read on each fund

ETF.net Research

AAUSAAlpha Architect US Equity ETF

DFAUADimensional US Core Equity Market ETF

In short

AAUS 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

AAUS 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

AAUS 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

AAUS 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 AAUS profile⁠

Full DFAU profile⁠

AAUS vs DFAU Holdings

How AAUS and DFAU differ

Overlap by weight

77.4%

Shared holdings make up 88.7% of AAUS and 83.2% of DFAU.

Level by level

Holdings353 in both77.4%
Sector11 Sectors91.6%
Asset classEquity100%
Countryby domicile99.7%

Sector

Sector weights in AAUS and DFAU, widest gap first
Sector	More in AAUSMore in DFAU	AAUS	DFAU
Financials	AAUS +6.8 points	19.7%	12.9%
Industrials	DFAU +2.5 points	6.4%	8.9%
Real Estate	AAUS +1.4 points	1.5%	0.1%
Consumer Discretionary	DFAU +1.3 points	8.1%	9.4%
Energy	DFAU +1.3 points	3.6%	4.9%
Materials	DFAU +1.1 points	1.6%	2.7%
Health Care	DFAU +0.9 points	8.8%	9.7%
Utilities	DFAU +0.6 points	1.5%	2.1%
Consumer Staples	DFAU +0.4 points	4.3%	4.7%
Technology	DFAU +0.3 points	36.3%	36.6%
Communication	AAUS +0.2 points	8.2%	8.0%

Country, concentration and asset class

Country by domicile

Country weights in AAUS and DFAU, widest gap first
Country	More in AAUSMore in DFAU	AAUS	DFAU
United States	AAUS +0.2 points	99.5%	99.3%
Switzerland	Same weight	0.3%	0.3%
China	DFAU +0.1 points	0.0%	0.1%
United Kingdom	DFAU +0.1 points	0.0%	0.1%
Mexico	Same weight	0.1%	0.1%
Ireland	Same weight	0.0%	0.0%
Brazil	Same weight	0.0%	0.0%
Sweden	Same weight	0.0%	0.0%
Other countries (3)	Same weight	0.0%	0.0%

Concentration

Weight in the 10 largest Holdings

AAUS40.7%
DFAU33.4%

Securities held

AAUS379
DFAU2,164

Asset class

AAUS: Equity
DFAU: Equity

Holdings

Only in AAUS26
In both353
Only in DFAU1,811

Only in AAUS

26 securities, 11.2% of AAUS by weight

iShares Core S&P 500 ETF4.53%
State Street SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 ETF4.53%
Welltower Inc0.31%
Equinix Inc0.18%
Prologis Inc0.17%
MiniMed Group Inc0.17%
Simon Property Group Inc0.15%
Ventas Inc0.14%
Elevance Health Inc0.13%
Becton Dickinson & Co0.10%
First American Government Obligations Fund 12/01/20310.10%
American Tower Corp0.08%
Digital Realty Trust Inc0.07%
Host Hotels & Resorts Inc0.07%
Ball Corp0.07%
Vivmark Residential0.06%
Iron Mountain Inc0.05%
Kimco Realty Corp0.04%
Public Storage0.04%
Realty Income Corp0.04%
AES Corp/The0.04%
Federal Realty Investment Trust0.04%
Block Inc0.04%
Essex Property Trust Inc0.03%
Bio-Techne Corp0.02%
Regency Centers Corp0.01%

Only in DFAU

1,811 securities, 16.7% of DFAU by weight

Eog Resources Inc.0.19%
Abbott Laboratories0.18%
Cvs Health Corp0.14%
Aon PLC0.14%
Republic Services Inc0.13%
Lowe's Cos Inc0.13%
Cheniere Energy Inc0.13%
Colgate-Palmolive Co0.12%
Crh PLC0.11%
Elevance Health Inc0.10%
Transdigm Group Inc0.10%
Snowflake Inc0.10%
Carnival Corp Ltd0.09%
Kroger Co.0.09%
Ferguson Enterprises Inc0.09%
Becton Dickinson & Co0.09%
Auto Desk0.09%
L3HARRIS Technologies Inc0.08%
American Int'l Group0.08%
Autozone Inc.0.08%
Idexx Laboratories Inc0.07%
Paychex Inc.0.07%
Spotify Technology SA0.07%
Kimberly-Clark Corp.0.07%
Okta Inc0.07%
Block Inc0.07%
Eqt Corp0.06%
Natera Inc0.06%
Kkr & Co Inc0.06%
Ge Healthcare Technologie0.06%
Roper Technologies Inc0.06%
Cbre Group Inc0.06%
Resmed Inc0.06%
Vulcan Materials Co.0.06%
Raymond James Financial0.06%
Wec Energy Group0.06%
Willis Towers Watson PLC0.06%
Public Service Ent0.06%
Synchrony Financial0.05%
Wr Berkley Corp0.05%
Teledyne Technologies Inc0.05%
Cloudflare Inc0.05%
Martin Marietta Materials0.05%
Ingersoll Rand Inc0.05%
Take-Two Interactive Soft0.05%
Permian0.05%
Huntington Bancshares0.05%
Technipfmc PLC0.05%
Veralto Corp0.05%
Sharkninja Hong Kong Co L0.05%

Weight gaps

The 100 widest of 353 Holdings in both funds.

Holding weights in AAUS and DFAU, widest gap first
Holding	More in AAUSMore in DFAU	AAUS	DFAU
NVIDIA CorpNVDA	AAUS +0.50 points	7.29%	6.79%
Tesla IncTSLA	AAUS +0.35 points	1.70%	1.35%
Johnson & JohnsonJNJ	AAUS +0.29 points	1.07%	0.78%
Amazon.com IncAMZN	AAUS +0.27 points	3.41%	3.14%
Alphabet IncGOOGL	AAUS +0.26 points	2.40%	2.14%
Advanced Micro Devices IncAMD	AAUS +0.27 points	1.29%	1.02%
Microsoft CorpMSFT	DFAU +0.26 points	5.36%	5.62%
Meta Platforms IncMETA	AAUS +0.24 points	2.02%	1.78%
Palo Alto Networks IncPANW	AAUS +0.24 points	0.44%	0.20%
Crowdstrike Holdings IncCRWD	AAUS +0.23 points	0.37%	0.14%
Palantir Technologies IncPLTR	AAUS +0.22 points	0.62%	0.40%
Eli Lilly & CoLLY	AAUS +0.22 points	1.67%	1.45%
Coca-Cola Co/TheKO	AAUS +0.21 points	0.67%	0.46%
Broadcom IncAVGO	AAUS +0.20 points	2.24%	2.04%
Berkshire Hathaway IncBRK.B	AAUS +0.20 points	1.35%	1.15%
GE Vernova IncGEV	AAUS +0.17 points	0.37%	0.20%
Chevron CorpCVX	AAUS +0.16 points	0.72%	0.56%
AbbVie IncABBV	AAUS +0.15 points	0.76%	0.61%
Marvell Technology IncMRVL	AAUS +0.14 points	0.26%	0.12%
Bank of New York Mellon Corp/TheBNY	AAUS +0.14 points	0.27%	0.13%
Philip Morris International IncPM	AAUS +0.13 points	0.50%	0.37%
Northrop Grumman CorpNOC	DFAU +0.12 points	0.02%	0.14%
Walmart IncWMT	AAUS +0.13 points	0.81%	0.68%
State Street CorpSTT	AAUS +0.12 points	0.20%	0.08%
Citigroup IncC	AAUS +0.13 points	0.37%	0.24%
Lam Research CorpLRCX	AAUS +0.12 points	0.48%	0.36%
Cisco Systems IncCSCO	AAUS +0.12 points	0.66%	0.54%
American Express CoAXP	DFAU +0.12 points	0.14%	0.26%
Caterpillar IncCAT	AAUS +0.12 points	0.47%	0.35%
RTX CorpRTX	AAUS +0.12 points	0.43%	0.31%
PNC Financial Services Group Inc/ThePNC	AAUS +0.11 points	0.22%	0.11%
Thermo Fisher Scientific IncTMO	AAUS +0.11 points	0.38%	0.27%
Kinder Morgan IncKMI	DFAU +0.11 points	0.01%	0.12%
Ecolab IncECL	DFAU +0.11 points	0.04%	0.15%
Bank of America CorpBAC	AAUS +0.11 points	0.50%	0.39%
Applied Materials IncAMAT	AAUS +0.10 points	0.49%	0.39%
Blackrock IncBLK	DFAU +0.10 points	0.08%	0.18%
Sherwin-Williams Co/TheSHW	DFAU +0.10 points	0.04%	0.14%
Consolidated Edison IncED	AAUS +0.10 points	0.17%	0.07%
TE Connectivity PLCTEL	DFAU +0.11 points	0.02%	0.13%
ExxonMobil Holdings CorpXOM	AAUS +0.10 points	1.17%	1.07%
PepsiCo IncPEP	DFAU +0.10 points	0.15%	0.25%
US BancorpUSB	AAUS +0.10 points	0.22%	0.12%
Analog Devices IncADI	AAUS +0.09 points	0.33%	0.24%
Morgan StanleyMS	AAUS +0.09 points	0.38%	0.29%
Marsh & McLennan Cos IncMRSH	DFAU +0.09 points	0.04%	0.13%
UnitedHealth Group IncUNH	AAUS +0.09 points	0.49%	0.40%
Cigna Group/TheCI	DFAU +0.09 points	0.06%	0.15%
JPMorgan Chase & Co.JPM	AAUS +0.09 points	1.30%	1.21%
Moody's CorpMCO	DFAU +0.09 points	0.04%	0.13%
Texas Instruments IncTXN	AAUS +0.09 points	0.45%	0.36%
Royal Caribbean Cruises LtdRCL	DFAU +0.09 points	0.07%	0.16%
Chubb LtdCB	AAUS +0.09 points	0.24%	0.15%
Starbucks CorpSBUX	AAUS +0.08 points	0.22%	0.14%
Micron Technology IncMU	DFAU +0.08 points	1.53%	1.62%
Apollo Global Management IncAPO	DFAU +0.08 points	0.04%	0.12%
Arista Networks IncANET	AAUS +0.08 points	0.29%	0.21%
Nasdaq IncNDAQ	DFAU +0.08 points	0.02%	0.10%
Netflix IncNFLX	AAUS +0.08 points	0.32%	0.24%
Stryker CorpSYK	DFAU +0.08 points	0.04%	0.12%
Arthur J Gallagher & CoAJG	DFAU +0.08 points	0.02%	0.10%
Intercontinental Exchange IncICE	DFAU +0.08 points	0.08%	0.16%
Ross Stores IncROST	AAUS +0.07 points	0.21%	0.14%
Merck & Co IncMRK	AAUS +0.08 points	0.61%	0.53%
SempraSRE	DFAU +0.07 points	0.02%	0.09%
Deere & CoDE	AAUS +0.08 points	0.28%	0.20%
Synopsys IncSNPS	DFAU +0.07 points	0.08%	0.15%
Home Depot Inc/TheHD	DFAU +0.08 points	0.38%	0.46%
M&T Bank CorpMTB	AAUS +0.07 points	0.12%	0.05%
Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies CorpWAB	AAUS +0.07 points	0.14%	0.07%
PayPal Holdings IncPYPL	DFAU +0.07 points	0.02%	0.09%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc/TheGS	AAUS +0.07 points	0.42%	0.35%
Visa IncV	AAUS +0.07 points	1.03%	0.96%
Northern Trust CorpNTRS	AAUS +0.07 points	0.13%	0.06%
QUALCOMM IncQCOM	DFAU +0.07 points	0.22%	0.29%
O'Reilly Automotive IncORLY	DFAU +0.06 points	0.05%	0.11%
Airbnb IncABNB	AAUS +0.07 points	0.14%	0.07%
Cintas CorpCTAS	DFAU +0.06 points	0.08%	0.14%
Archer-Daniels-Midland CoADM	AAUS +0.06 points	0.12%	0.06%
Mondelez International IncMDLZ	DFAU +0.07 points	0.08%	0.15%
3M CoMMM	DFAU +0.06 points	0.10%	0.16%
TJX Cos Inc/TheTJX	DFAU +0.06 points	0.14%	0.20%
Motorola Solutions IncMSI	DFAU +0.06 points	0.09%	0.15%
United Rentals IncURI	DFAU +0.07 points	0.07%	0.14%
McDonald's CorpMCD	DFAU +0.06 points	0.15%	0.21%
Williams Cos Inc/TheWMB	DFAU +0.06 points	0.07%	0.13%
Cardinal Health IncCAH	AAUS +0.06 points	0.15%	0.09%
Illinois Tool Works IncITW	DFAU +0.05 points	0.09%	0.14%
Citizens Financial Group IncCFG	AAUS +0.06 points	0.11%	0.05%
Quanta Services IncPWR	AAUS +0.06 points	0.15%	0.09%
International Business Machines CorpIBM	DFAU +0.06 points	0.30%	0.36%
Vertex Pharmaceuticals IncVRTX	AAUS +0.06 points	0.21%	0.15%
Vistra CorpVST	DFAU +0.06 points	0.02%	0.08%
Xcel Energy IncXEL	DFAU +0.06 points	0.02%	0.08%
Oracle CorpORCL	DFAU +0.06 points	0.32%	0.38%
Cencora IncCOR	DFAU +0.06 points	0.06%	0.12%
Expeditors International of Washington IncEXPD	AAUS +0.06 points	0.11%	0.05%
Costco Wholesale CorpCOST	AAUS +0.06 points	0.54%	0.48%
Capital One Financial CorpCOF	DFAU +0.06 points	0.09%	0.15%
Waste Management IncWM	DFAU +0.06 points	0.07%	0.13%

All AAUS 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.

AAUS vs DFAU Cost

Overpaying DFAU vs AAUS

$622

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

AAUS 0.09%
$1,898
DFAU 0.12%
$2,520

Amount$10,000

Years30 years

Cost over time

AAUS 0.09%
DFAU 0.12%
Overpaying

Year by year

Year	AAUS	DFAU	Overpaying
10	$165	$220	$55
20	$646	$859	$213
30	$1,898	$2,520	$622

Expense ratio

0.09%AAUS, cheaper
0.12%DFAU

AAUS0.09%DFAU0.12%

0.00%2.89%

Middle half of US Active Equity funds
Median 0.68%

AAUS 2nd cheapest of 121 funds

DFAU 4th cheapest of 121 funds

AAUS vs DFAU Dividends

Last 12 months to Oct 30, 2026

Yield (12M): AAUS No data; DFAU 0.90%
Payout (12M): AAUS No data; DFAU $0.47
Last payment: AAUS $0.20; DFAU $0.12
Ex-dividend: AAUS Dec 23, 2025; DFAU Sep 22, 2026
Paid on: AAUS Dec 24, 2025; DFAU Sep 24, 2026
Frequency: AAUS Irregular; DFAU Quarterly

Distribution history

Per share, 2020 to 2026, same scale for both

AAUSIrregular · 1 paymentAll AAUS payments⁠

DFAUQuarterly · 24 paymentsAll DFAU payments⁠

AAUS vs DFAU Risk

Fall from peak · 5 years

This chart needs five years of history for both funds.

Risk facts

VolatilityStd dev, 3 years: AAUS 12.0%since Aug 2025DFAU 12.4%
Return per unit of riskSharpe ratio, 3 years: AAUS 1.02since Aug 2025DFAU 1.38
Worst fallMax drawdown, 5 years: AAUS −9.1%since Jul 2025DFAU −23.6%
Market sensitivityBeta, 5 years: AAUS 0.98DFAU 1.01; Market = 1

AAUS and DFAU in the news

All news⁠

New ETFs
Avantis lists an international stock ETF with Vanguard on top
Oct 5, 2026AAUS
ETF Filings
Leverage Shares files 2x shorts on ByteDance and Canva
Sep 6, 2026AAUS

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AAUS vs DFAU

In short

Stated mandate

Why people hold it

Worth knowing

How AAUS and DFAU differ

Level by level

Sector

Country, concentration and asset class

Country by domicile

Concentration

Asset class

Holdings

Only in AAUS

Only in DFAU

Weight gaps

Cost over time

Year by year

Distribution history

Fall from peak · 5 years

Risk facts

Avantis lists an international stock ETF with Vanguard on top

Leverage Shares files 2x shorts on ByteDance and Canva