DFAC vs DUKQ

DFACADimensional US Core Equity 2 ETF

DUKQDOcean Park Domestic ETF

In short

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.

DUKQ A tactical fund of funds: it holds unaffiliated US equity ETFs and can step back into cash equivalents. One ticker, aiming at total return with a brake on downside exposure.

Stated mandate

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

DUKQ The Fund seeks total return while limiting downside exposure. It uses an actively managed, tactical allocation among unaffiliated U.S. equity ETFs and cash equivalents.

Why people hold it

• 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.

• DUKQ The mandate is unusual for a US equity product: it can shift into cash equivalents, so the manager is not locked into staying fully invested through a slide.
• You get a basket of other issuers' ETFs, not in-house product, so the underlying picks come from the whole market.
• Plain 1940 Act ETF plumbing: daily liquidity, no K-1 at tax time, cash paid out quarterly.

Worth knowing

• 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.

• DUKQ Costs 0.98% a year, above the typical active US equity ETF, and well above index-style rivals such as DFAU at 0.12%.
• Thinly traded and small, which usually means wider spreads than the household names in this category.
• Launched in 2024, so the tactical calls have a short record, and time spent in cash means it can lag a market that keeps climbing.

Full DFAC profile⁠

Full DUKQ profile⁠