AESR vs TACU

AESRDAnfield U.S. Equity Sector Rotation ETF

TACUAT. Rowe Price Active Core U.S. Equity 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.

TACU T. Rowe Price's quant-plus-fundamental take on core large-cap U.S. stock, benchmarked to the Russell 1000. Gross fee 0.14%, fully waived to zero through January 30, 2027.

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.

TACU The fund seeks long-term capital growth through a primarily U.S. equity portfolio. It combines quantitative models with fundamental, bottom-up analysis and seeks excess returns relative to the Russell 1000 Index.

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.

• TACU Fee fully waived: 0.14% gross, zero net through January 30, 2027. That sits below every top-scoring peer in the category, including DFAU at 0.12% with no waiver.troweprice.com
• Quant models feed bottom-up stock picking with tilts to profitability, quality and value, chasing excess return over the Russell 1000 while holding tracking error tight.troweprice.com
• Several hundred large-cap names, so no single position runs the show. One of the stronger profiles in a crowded active U.S. equity field.troweprice.com

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

• TACU Launched in December 2025, so the live record is short and the risk read rests on limited history.
• Still a small fund that trades lightly, which can mean wider spreads than the category's giants.
• Distributions are annual at most, with no declared income target. This is a growth mandate, not a cash-flow one.

Full AESR profile⁠

Full TACU profile⁠