DFAC vs EDGU

DFACADimensional US Core Equity 2 ETF

EDGUC3EDGE Dynamic US Equity 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.

EDGU The ETF version of 3EDGE's institutional tactical model: a compact set of index ETFs that shifts across size, sector and style, aiming to rise with the market and soften declines. That flexibility runs 0.91%, with no fee waiver.

Stated mandate

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

EDGU The Fund seeks capital appreciation in rising markets while limiting losses during periods of decline.

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.

• EDGU Unusual mandate for a core US equity fund: the prospectus goal is appreciation in rising markets while limiting losses during declines, so exposure can be dialed up or down.sec.gov
• The engine is 3EDGE's proprietary global capital markets model, a rules-and-algorithms system the firm already runs for institutions and advisor model portfolios.3edgeam.com
• Built from index ETFs rather than hand-picked stocks, so the underlying exposures stay plain vanilla; the active call is which slices of size, sector and style to own.3edgeetfs.comsec.gov

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.

• EDGU Cost is the trade-off: 0.91% all in (0.70% management plus 0.20% from the ETFs it holds), no waiver, above the category norm and versus 0.12% at DFAU and 0.15% at AVLC.sec.gov
• The loss-limiting aim is an objective, not a buffer. Nothing in the structure floors the downside; it rests on the model's allocation calls.sec.gov
• Young and lightly traded: shares date to 2024, and volume runs below the category's giants, so spreads matter more at the point of trade.

Full DFAC profile⁠

Full EDGU profile⁠