DFAC vs PEXL

DFACADimensional US Core Equity 2 ETF

PEXLBPacer US Export Leaders 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.

PEXL American companies, foreign paychecks. PEXL screens the S&P 900 for the firms selling most abroad, then ranks on free cash flow margin: overseas revenue exposure bought through US-listed stocks, for 0.49% with no waiver.

Stated mandate

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

PEXL The fund screens the S&P 900 for 100 large- and mid-capitalization U.S. companies with substantial foreign sales and high free-cash-flow margins, seeking to participate in global growth.

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.

• PEXL The screen is the whole thesis: take the S&P 900, keep the 200 with the highest share of sales overseas, then rank those on free cash flow margin and hold about 100.paceretfs.com
• Market-cap weighted with a 5% cap per name and rebalanced quarterly, so one runaway exporter can only get so big before the screen trims it.paceretfs.compaceretfs.com 2
• At 0.49% with no waiver attached, the fee sits below the median for its active US equity peer group, and the number does not reset on a waiver expiry date.
• Running since 2018 and sitting in the upper half of its US equity peer group, with 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.

• PEXL Thinly traded and a smaller fund, so spreads and order size matter more here than in the giants of the category.
• Broad US core peers cost less: DFAU at 0.12% and AVLC at 0.15% versus 0.49% here.
• A portfolio built on overseas revenue moves with tariffs, trade policy and the dollar, and the screen only refreshes at each quarterly rebalance.paceretfs.com

Full DFAC profile⁠

Full PEXL profile⁠