DFAC vs SSUS

DFACADimensional US Core Equity 2 ETF

SSUSCStrategy Shares Day Hagan Smart Sector 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.

SSUS Sector rotation with a brake pedal. Day Hagan runs models co-developed with Ned Davis Research across the S&P 500's sectors, tilting toward the strongest ones and, when its risk model turns cautious, shifting up to half the portfolio into cash and Treasuries.

Stated mandate

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

SSUS The Fund seeks long-term capital appreciation and preservation of capital.

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.

• SSUS The risk model is the whole point: on a low reward-to-risk reading, up to half of assets can move into cash, Treasuries or money funds, then back to equities when the model says major risks have subsided.sec.gov
• Sector calls, not stock calls. It holds unaffiliated ETFs covering the S&P 500 sectors and overweights or underweights each against the index, with a weak sector cut all the way to zero.sec.gov
• Live since January 2020 on the same published Day Hagan research framework, and it sits in the upper half of a crowded active US equity field.sec.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.

• SSUS At 0.76% with no fee waiver, it sits above the category median. Peers measured against the same S&P 500 benchmark include FELC at 0.18% and PQUS at 0.22%.
• Raising cash cuts both ways: the same mechanism that trims equity exposure can leave the fund underexposed if markets turn back up before the model does.sec.gov
• Not one of the heavily traded names in its category, and it distributes income only once or twice a year rather than monthly.

Full DFAC profile⁠

Full SSUS profile⁠