DFAC vs THEQ

DFACADimensional US Core Equity 2 ETF

THEQCT. Rowe Price Hedged 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.

THEQ Most hedged equity funds hand you a fixed buffer and a cap that resets on a calendar. THEQ skips that rulebook: an analyst-picked US stock portfolio with a discretionary derivatives overlay aimed at softening drawdowns.

Stated mandate

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

THEQ The fund seeks long-term capital growth. It combines an actively managed equity portfolio with futures, forwards, swaps, and index options intended to reduce volatility and mitigate losses during equity-market drawdowns.

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.

• THEQ The hedge runs on judgment, not a calendar. Futures, forwards, swaps and index options are dialed up or down to damp volatility and cushion equity drawdowns, with no outcome-period resets.troweprice.com
• The stock sleeve isn't an index clone. Most of it sits in T. Rowe's analyst-driven US Equity Research ETF (TSPA), which targets S&P 500-like characteristics through bottom-up picks.troweprice.com
• One all-inclusive fee at the fund level covers investment management plus ordinary recurring operating expenses, so wrapper costs stay in a single number.troweprice.com

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.

• THEQ At 0.73%, it runs above the 0.65% median for active US equity ETFs and well above cheap active core peers like FELC (0.18%) and DFAU (0.12%).
• Young and thinly traded since its March 2025 debut, with a small asset base. Spreads can run wider than at long-established rivals.
• The overlay is a trade-off: hedges cost money in calm markets, there's no defined floor or promised protection level, and distributions arrive once or twice a year.troweprice.com

Full DFAC profile⁠

Full THEQ profile⁠