AIUP vs DFAC

AIUPDFINQ FIRST U.S. Large Cap AI-Managed Equity ETF

DFACADimensional US Core Equity 2 ETF

In short

AIUP The stock picker here is a machine. FINQ's adaptive AI model hunts inside the S&P 500 roster and builds an active large-cap book that owes nothing to index weights. Familiar names, algorithmic calls.

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

AIUP The Fund seeks long-term capital appreciation.

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

Why people hold it

• AIUP The mandate is literal: US large caps drawn from S&P 500 companies, selected by FINQ's proprietary adaptive AI model, with no obligation to track that index.
• One job, stated plainly. The fund seeks long-term capital appreciation, with no income sleeve, hedging overlay, or derivatives story to decode.
• The hunting ground is familiar. Holdings come from household-name US large caps, so the active risk sits in selection and weighting, not in exotic corners of the market.

• 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

• AIUP At 0.70%, it prices above the typical US active equity fund and several times index-tracking core rivals such as DFAU (0.12%) or FELC (0.18%).
• A small fund that trades lightly. Spreads can be wider than in the category's giants, so execution quality is worth checking at the time of the trade.
• Short history, closed box. There is only about a year of risk data to judge the model across conditions, and its picks are not explained trade by trade.

• 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 AIUP profile⁠

Full DFAC profile⁠