DFAC vs ESUM

DFACADimensional US Core Equity 2 ETF

ESUMBEventide US Market 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.

ESUM Eventide runs its values screen across the whole US market, not just the blue chips: an active portfolio measured against the Bloomberg U.S. 3000, at 0.39% when the typical active US stock fund charges far more.

Stated mandate

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

ESUM The Fund seeks long-term capital appreciation by investing in a portfolio of U.S. equity securities selected under the adviser’s values-based screening process.

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.

• ESUM Costs 0.39% a year, well under the 0.65% median for active US equity funds. Cheap for a stockpicker, let alone one running a custom screen.
• The portfolio sticks closely to the values-based mandate in its prospectus, and spreads risk widely rather than betting the fund on a few names.
• Benchmarked to the Bloomberg U.S. 3000, so small and mid caps sit inside the opportunity set, not just megacap America.
• Sits in the upper tier of our active US equity group, an unusual place for a fund this young. It also pays 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.

• ESUM Launched in December 2024. The record is short, so any read on how it handles rough markets rests on limited history.
• Systematic core rivals undercut it on fee: DFAU at 0.12%, AVLC at 0.15%, DFAC at 0.17%. The values screen is what the extra buys.
• A smaller fund that trades lightly, so bid-ask spreads can run wider than in the category's giants and execution matters more at the point of trade.

Full DFAC profile⁠

Full ESUM profile⁠