ALTL vs USCA

ALTLDPacer Lunt Large Cap Alternator ETF

USCAAXtrackers MSCI USA Climate Action Equity ETF

In short

ALTL Most factor funds blend their bets. ALTL flips a switch: each month it holds either the S&P 500's 100 lowest-volatility names or its 100 highest-beta ones, never both, based on a relative-strength signal.

USCA The largest US ETF debut on record when it launched in 2023, seeded by a Finnish pension fund. It owns roughly 400 US large- and mid-caps, keeping only the top half of each sector on MSCI's climate-transition scoring, for 0.07% a year.

Stated mandate

ALTL ALTL seeks to track an index that alternates between low-volatility and high-beta stocks within the S&P 500. The rules-based index rotates monthly using a relative-strength signal.

USCA The fund seeks to track the MSCI USA Climate Action Index before fees and expenses through a passive indexing strategy. The index selects U.S. large- and mid-capitalization companies assessed as leading sector peers in climate-transition positioning and actions.

Why people hold it

• ALTL The mechanism is refreshingly simple to hold in your head: one relative-strength reading, two possible portfolios, checked monthly. You own S&P 500 large caps either way, just the calm 100 or the jumpy 100.paceretfs.com
• Rules do the deciding, not a manager's gut. The Lunt Capital index is calculated by S&P Dow Jones Indices, and the switch fires on schedule regardless of how the headlines feel.paceretfs.com
• The rotation happens inside the fund. You are not the one selling a low-vol basket and buying a high-beta one in your own account every time the signal turns.paceretfs.com
• Both sleeves are drawn from the same 500-stock universe, so the portfolio stays roughly 100 recognizable US large caps rather than wandering into small caps or overseas names.composer.trade

• USCA Costs 0.07% a year against a typical screened US equity peer near 0.28%, and undercuts bigger ESG names like SUSA at 0.25%.
• No blanket sector bans: the index keeps the top 50% of companies in each GICS sector, so energy and industrials stay in, represented by their climate-transition leaders.dws.commsci.com
• Rules do the picking. MSCI's climate metrics, ESG ratings and controversy screens set the roster; no manager discretion, no stock-by-stock calls.dws.com
• A multi-billion-dollar fund with an institutional anchor investor from day one, and it pays quarterly.businesswire.com

Worth knowing

• ALTL At 0.60%, the fee sits at the expensive end of US factor ETFs. Plain-vanilla peers in the group price far lower: MGV at 0.05%, SIZE at 0.15%.
• All-or-nothing by design. Hold the wrong sleeve for a month and there is no other sleeve cushioning it. The prospectus flags alternator strategy risk and high portfolio turnover.paceretfs.com
• Shares change hands lightly compared with the category's giants, so bid-ask spreads and order type matter more here than with a mega-liquid index fund.

• USCA Half of each sector is screened out, so results can drift from a plain MSCI USA index fund in either direction.dws.com
• Market-cap weighted and filed as non-diversified, so America's largest companies carry heavy weight at the top.dws.com
• Moderately traded next to the giants of US equity, so spreads can be a bigger part of the cost of getting in and out.

Full ALTL profile⁠

Full USCA profile⁠