AESR vs DFAC

AESRDAnfield U.S. Equity Sector Rotation ETF

DFACADimensional US Core Equity 2 ETF

In short

AESR A macro call in ETF form: AESR ranks the S&P 500's 11 sectors, then holds eight to ten sector funds in whatever mix its outlook favors. No index leash, quarterly resets, and a bill that reflects the hands-on work.

DFAC Dimensional's whole-market workhorse: roughly 2,600 US stocks in one ticker, run by managers who weigh federal tax consequences before they trade, at a fee closer to index funds than to active ones.

Stated mandate

AESR The Fund seeks capital appreciation. It is actively managed, invests in U.S. equity securities directly or through underlying ETFs, and uses macroeconomic analysis to adjust exposure among equity-market sectors.

DFAC The fund seeks long-term capital appreciation while considering federal income-tax implications in its investment decisions.

Why people hold it

• AESR The job is specific: rank the 11 S&P 500 sectors by macro outlook, then hold eight to ten sector ETFs in that order. Rebalanced quarterly, or sooner if conditions shift.cboe.com
• Its prospectus says it is not managed relative to an index, so sector weights can sit far from a cap-weighted 500. That freedom to look different is the whole design.sec.govcboe.com
• Trading since December 2019, it has a multi-year record across real market cycles and moderate volume for a fund of its size.

• DFAC 0.17% a year for an actively run fund, well under the median fee among active US equity ETFs.
• About 2,600 US stocks under one ticker, so it holds the market broadly rather than a narrow slice of it.
• Federal income-tax implications sit inside the stated objective, not in a footnote, so they factor into what managers buy and sell.
• A multi-billion-dollar fund with a track record running back to 2007 and one of the strongest implementations in its peer group.

Worth knowing

• AESR It runs 0.97% a year, above the roughly 0.70% median for active US equity funds and multiples of core options like DFAU (0.12%) or DYNF (0.26%).
• Mostly a holder of other ETFs, so those underlying funds carry their own expenses, which ride along inside your return on top of the sector calls.regentsparkfunds.comcboe.com
• Results hinge on the macro ranking being right. A wrong read on which sectors lead can push returns away from a plain 500 fund in either direction.cboe.com

• DFAC Actively managed, so there's no published index to check it against. Holdings and tilts shift at the managers' discretion.
• Dimensional's own DFAU runs a US core equity mandate for 0.12%, a slightly lighter fee for a similar shelf.
• All stocks, all US: the mandate is capital appreciation from equities, so it takes the market's full swings, and cash arrives quarterly.

Full AESR profile⁠

Full DFAC profile⁠