AFMC vs DFMC

AFMCBFirst Trust Active Factor Mid Cap ETF

DFMCAU.S. Micro Cap Portfolio ETF

In short

AFMC Most factor investing happens in large caps, on autopilot. AFMC blends four factors (value, quality, momentum, low volatility) across roughly 300 mid-cap stocks, actively managed with risk controls layered on top.

DFMC Dimensional's micro-cap workhorse: a systematic sweep of the smallest US listed companies, a strategy dating to 1981, now in an ETF wrapper. Not an index tracker, and it charges less than the typical active US equity fund.

Stated mandate

AFMC The fund seeks capital appreciation by investing at least 80% of its assets in U.S.-listed equity securities of mid-capitalization companies. It is actively managed using a multi-factor quantitative approach with active risk management.

DFMC The Portfolio seeks long-term capital appreciation.

Why people hold it

• AFMC Four factors in one wrapper: value, quality, momentum and low volatility, blended together rather than betting the fund on one style.ftportfolios.com
• Mid caps get the factor treatment large caps usually hog: at least 80% of assets go to US-listed mid-cap equities.ftportfolios.com
• Roughly 300 holdings, so no single name carries the portfolio, with active risk management sitting on top of the quantitative screens.
• Trading since 2019 and paying quarterly, so it has a live record through real markets, not a backtest.

• DFMC Charges 0.43% a year, well under the median for active US equity funds, so the fee takes a smaller bite out of a hard-to-reach corner of the market.
• The strategy dates to 1981 and now runs as a multi-billion-dollar portfolio: an unusually long run for anything pointed at micro caps.
• Systematic rather than index-bound. Dimensional sifts the small end of the US market by its own rules instead of copying a published micro-cap benchmark.dimensional.com
• One of the stronger implementations among the active US equity funds we grade, with risk control and portfolio construction the standout pieces.

Worth knowing

• AFMC At 0.68%, it runs slightly above the typical active US equity fund and well above large-cap core rivals like AVLC (0.15%) and DFAC (0.17%).
• One of the more thinly traded names in its category and smaller by assets, so spreads can widen and limit orders are the standard tool.
• Active and multi-factor means no index to hug: the portfolio can look quite different from a plain mid-cap benchmark in any given stretch.

• DFMC Thinly traded next to the big index names, so the cost of getting in and out can matter as much as the expense ratio, especially for larger orders.
• It costs more than Dimensional's broad-market siblings, DFAU at 0.12% and DFAC at 0.17%, which own far bigger, more liquid companies.
• Micro caps are the choppy end of the US market, and owning them is the entire job here. The mandate is long-term capital appreciation, not income.

Full AFMC profile⁠

Full DFMC profile⁠