DFAI vs PIEL: Grades, Fees and Holdings Compared

Dimensional International Core Equity Market ETF

DFAIANYSE Arca

Pacer International Export Leaders ETF

PIELFCboe

Overlap

15.2%by weight

Expense ratio

DFAI −0.31pt a year

DFAI0.18%PIEL0.49%

Avg volume · 30D

DFAI 3470.1×the volume

DFAI1.81MPIEL523

DFAI vs PIEL Performance

Dec 31, 2025 – Oct 30, 2026

+10.6%DFAI+12.0%PIEL

Expense ratio: DFAI 0.18%, better; PIEL 0.49%
Fund size: DFAI $18.2B; PIEL $1M
1Y total return: DFAI +15.9%; PIEL No data
Yield (12M): DFAI 2.44%; PIEL No data
Holdings: DFAI 3767; PIEL 104
Avg volume (30D): DFAI 1.81M sh, better; PIEL 523 sh
NAV per share: DFAI $41.47; PIEL $28.37
52W range

ETF.net Grade

Pillar letters and Scores for DFAI, PIEL, with each pillar’s weight
Pillar	DFAI	PIEL
Cost30% weight	A91Higher	F17
Mission25% weight	B63	Not scored
Risk15% weight	C49Higher	F18
Tradability15% weight	A81Higher	F3
Holdings10% weight	A80Higher	F23
Durability5% weight	A71Higher	D25

Rank among International Multifactor funds

How we build Categories ›

Same Category. DFAI and PIEL are both graded against the same 30 International Multifactor funds, so their Grades compare head to head.

International Multifactor⁠

Category · 30 funds

See all 30 ›

DFAI ranks 2nd and PIEL 29th of 30 funds in the International Multifactor Category.

Rank 1AINTFiShares International Equity Factor ETFScore 79
Rank 2ADFAIDimensional International Core Equity Market ETFScore 77
Rank 3AGSWOGoldman Sachs ActiveBeta World Equity ETFScore 76
Rank 29FFPAFirst Trust Asia Pacific ex-Japan AlphaDEX FundScore 15
Rank 29FPIELPacer International Export Leaders ETFScore 15

Our read on each fund

ETF.net Research

DFAIADimensional International Core Equity Market ETF

PIELFPacer International Export Leaders ETF

In short

DFAI Dimensional's take on developed markets outside the US: several thousand stocks, plus deliberate leans toward cheaper and more profitable companies. Index-fund breadth with a research desk setting the weights, priced above the plain vanilla crowd.

PIEL Most international funds hand you companies that mostly sell at home. PIEL screens developed markets outside the US for the opposite: large and mid caps with heavy foreign sales and high free cash flow margins, then keeps the top 100.

Stated mandate

DFAI The fund seeks long-term capital appreciation through an integrated approach combining research, portfolio design, portfolio management, and trading.

PIEL The fund seeks global market growth by screening the FTSE Developed ex US Index for the top 100 large- and mid-capitalization companies with high foreign sales and high free-cash-flow margins.

Why people hold it

DFAI Holds several thousand developed-market stocks outside the US, so no single name, sector or country steers the fund.
The tilts are in the mandate, not the marketing: it leans toward cheaper stocks and more profitable companies while still owning the broad market.
Portfolio construction is one of the stronger builds in its peer group, and the fund is a multi-billion-dollar, actively traded name that pays quarterly.

PIEL Two-step screen with a clear logic: filter the FTSE Developed ex US Index for high foreign sales, then keep the 100 highest free cash flow margins, weighted by market cap with a 5% cap per name.sec.gov paceretfs.com
Not a lab experiment. It is the overseas build of the export-leaders template Pacer has run on US stocks since 2018, pointed at non-US exporters instead.paceretfs.com stockanalysis.com
The cash-flow step does real work: ranking on free cash flow margin tilts the basket toward companies converting sales into cash, which the broad developed ex-US index does not screen for.paceretfs.com
Rules-based and transparent: roughly 100 stocks, a published index, and a 5% cap that stops one giant exporter from running the portfolio.sec.gov

Worth knowing

DFAI At 0.18% it costs many times what plain cap-weighted rivals like VEA, SPDW and SCHF charge. The tilts are what the extra buys.
MSCI World ex USA IMI is the yardstick, not a leash. Dimensional builds the portfolio its own way, so it can look and behave differently from that index.
Launched in late 2020, so its live record is shorter than the index giants', and on the whole package it lands in the lower half of its developed-core cohort.

PIEL The screen costs you: 0.49% sits above the typical international multifactor fund, and well above plain factor peers like GSWO (0.15%) and INTF (0.16%).
It listed in December 2025 and is still a small fund, so trading is thinner than at the category's heavyweights and bid-ask spreads can run wider.
Short history means there is no record yet of how an exporter-and-cash-flow screen behaves through a full cycle in currencies, trade policy, or a global slowdown.

Full DFAI profile⁠

Full PIEL profile⁠

DFAI vs PIEL Holdings

As of Oct 23, 2026

How DFAI and PIEL differ

Overlap by weight

15.2%

Shared holdings make up 89.0% of PIEL and 15.2% of DFAI.

Level by level

Holdings90 in both15.2%
Countryby domicile72.1%
Asset classEquity100%

Sector

No Sector split for PIEL.

Country, concentration and asset class

Country by domicile

Country weights in DFAI and PIEL, widest gap first
Country	More in DFAIMore in PIEL	DFAI	PIEL
Japan	DFAI +13.9 points	24.3%	10.4%
South Korea	PIEL +9.1 points	0.0%	9.1%
Switzerland	PIEL +8.9 points	8.6%	17.5%
Canada	DFAI +3.1 points	11.4%	8.3%
Italy	DFAI +2.8 points	2.8%	0.0%
France	PIEL +2.6 points	6.4%	9.0%
Netherlands	PIEL +2.5 points	4.8%	7.3%
Belgium	PIEL +1.9 points	0.9%	2.8%
Other countries (20)	DFAI +5.3 points	40.9%	35.6%

Outside the US: DFAI 99% developed, 1% emerging. PIEL 90% developed, 10% emerging.

Concentration

Weight in the 10 largest Holdings

DFAI9.8%
PIEL38.6%

Securities held

DFAI3,749
PIEL100

Asset class

DFAI: Equity
PIEL: Equity

Holdings

Only in DFAI3,659
In both90
Only in PIEL10

Only in DFAI

3,659 securities, 84.5% of DFAI by weight

Asml Holding NV1.90%
Shell PLC1.29%
Hsbc Holdings PLC0.96%
Mitsubishi Ufj Financial0.76%
Novartis AG Adr0.70%
Totalenergies SE0.69%
Royal Bank of Canada0.64%
Toyota Motor Corp0.63%
Allianz SE0.61%
Recruit Holdings Co Ltd0.59%
Bp PLC0.57%
Siemens AG0.56%
Toronto-Dominion Bank0.53%
Commonwealth Bank of Aust0.51%
Hitachi Ltd0.45%
Deutsche Telekom AG0.41%
Schneider Electric SE0.40%
Unicredit Spa0.40%
Canadian Natural Resource0.40%
Banco Santander SA0.39%
Sumitomo Mitsui Financial0.38%
Iberdrola SA0.38%
Dbs Group Holdings Ltd0.38%
Suncor Energy Inc.0.37%
Tokio Marine Holdings Inc0.36%
Zurich Insurance Group AG0.36%
Mizuho Financial Group In0.36%
Air Liquide SA0.35%
Bank of Nova Scotia/The0.35%
Airbus SE0.34%
Abb Ltd0.34%
British American Tobacco0.34%
Barclays PLC0.33%
Royal Bank of Canada0.31%
Fujikura Ltd0.30%
Intesa Sanpaolo Spa0.30%
Aia Group Ltd0.30%
Bnp Paribas SA0.30%
Enel Spa0.30%
L'oreal SA0.29%
National Australia Bank L0.29%
Muenchener Rueckversicher0.28%
Ing Groep NV0.28%
Enbridge Inc0.28%
Westpac Banking Corp0.28%
Bayer AG0.28%
Rio Tinto PLC0.27%
Novo Nordisk A/S0.27%
Fast Retailing Co Ltd0.27%
Swiss Re AG0.27%

Only in PIEL

10 securities, 10.9% of PIEL by weight

Samsung Electronics Co Ltd3.97%
SK hynix Inc3.69%
Samsung Biologics Co Ltd0.66%
Zijin Gold International Co Ltd0.62%
Dassault Systemes SE0.48%
Tenaris SA0.43%
Ryanair Holdings PLC0.37%
InterContinental Hotels Group PLC0.34%
Alteogen Inc0.16%
MMG Ltd0.16%

Weight gaps

All 90 Holdings in both funds, largest gap first.

Holding weights in DFAI and PIEL, widest gap first
Holding	More in DFAIMore in PIEL	DFAI	PIEL
Asml Holding NV	PIEL +4.60 points	0.41%	5.01%
Novartis AG	PIEL +4.03 points	0.28%	4.31%
Roche Holding AG	PIEL +3.40 points	1.19%	4.59%
Sap SE	PIEL +3.40 points	0.57%	3.97%
Astrazeneca PLCAZN.L	PIEL +2.81 points	0.79%	3.60%
Lvmh Moet Hennessy Louis	PIEL +2.80 points	0.19%	2.99%
Shopify Inc	PIEL +2.71 points	0.23%	2.94%
Nestle SA	PIEL +2.69 points	0.87%	3.56%
Industria De Diseno Texti	PIEL +2.53 points	0.22%	2.75%
Bhp Group Ltd	PIEL +2.31 points	0.58%	2.89%
Hermes International	PIEL +2.16 points	0.11%	2.27%
Anheuser-Busch Inbev Sa/N	PIEL +1.82 points	0.24%	2.06%
Safran SA	PIEL +1.65 points	0.36%	2.01%
Rolls-Royce Holdings PLCRR.L	PIEL +1.58 points	0.48%	2.06%
Tokyo Electron Ltd	PIEL +1.55 points	0.51%	2.06%
Advantest Corp	PIEL +1.54 points	0.62%	2.16%
Unilever PLCULVR.L	PIEL +1.54 points	0.39%	1.93%
Sony Group Corp	PIEL +1.48 points	0.57%	2.05%
Siemens Energy AG	PIEL +1.42 points	0.36%	1.78%
Cie Financiere Richemont	PIEL +1.28 points	0.29%	1.57%
Sanofi	PIEL +1.09 points	0.27%	1.36%
Prosus NV	PIEL +1.04 points	0.11%	1.15%
Gsk PLCGSK.L	PIEL +1.04 points	0.35%	1.39%
Ferrari NV	PIEL +1.04 points	0.01%	1.05%
Murata Manufacturing Co L	PIEL +0.95 points	0.20%	1.15%
Barrick Mining Corp	PIEL +0.88 points	0.04%	0.92%
Wheaton Precious Metals C	PIEL +0.80 points	<0.01%	0.81%
Csl Ltd	PIEL +0.78 points	0.12%	0.90%
Relx PLCREL.L	PIEL +0.76 points	0.21%	0.97%
Argenx SE	PIEL +0.73 points	0.05%	0.78%
Atlas	PIEL +0.70 points	0.19%	0.89%
Thomson Reuters Corp	PIEL +0.67 points	0.02%	0.69%
Takeda Pharmaceutical Co	PIEL +0.64 points	0.22%	0.86%
Teva Pharmaceutical Indus	PIEL +0.59 points	0.07%	0.66%
Diageo PLCDGE.L	PIEL +0.56 points	0.14%	0.70%
Waste Connections Inc	PIEL +0.55 points	0.04%	0.59%
Galderma Group AG	PIEL +0.53 points	0.16%	0.69%
Sandvik Ab	PIEL +0.50 points	0.11%	0.61%
Constellation Software In	PIEL +0.49 points	0.12%	0.61%
Ucb SA	PIEL +0.46 points	0.17%	0.63%
Alcon Inc	PIEL +0.43 points	0.03%	0.46%
Asm International NV	PIEL +0.42 points	0.18%	0.60%
Fanuc Corp	PIEL +0.42 points	0.07%	0.49%
Assa Abloy Ab	PIEL +0.41 points	0.11%	0.52%
Disco Corp	PIEL +0.41 points	0.10%	0.51%
Fortescue Ltd	PIEL +0.38 points	0.07%	0.45%
Ck Hutchison Holdings Ltd	PIEL +0.38 points	0.06%	0.44%
Kering SA	PIEL +0.36 points	0.05%	0.41%
Kinross Gold Corp	PIEL +0.35 points	0.03%	0.38%
Experian PLCEXPN.L	PIEL +0.34 points	0.14%	0.48%
Hexagon Ab	PIEL +0.31 points	0.06%	0.37%
Telefonaktiebolaget Lm Er	PIEL +0.32 points	0.12%	0.44%
Novonesis (Novozymes) B	PIEL +0.30 points	0.09%	0.39%
Amadeus It Group SA	PIEL +0.29 points	0.09%	0.38%
Aristocrat Leisure Ltd	PIEL +0.28 points	0.09%	0.37%
Wolters Kluwer NV	PIEL +0.27 points	0.03%	0.30%
Imperial Brands PLCIMB.L	PIEL +0.27 points	0.13%	0.40%
Vat Group AG	PIEL +0.26 points	0.06%	0.32%
Geberit AG	PIEL +0.26 points	0.10%	0.36%
Givaudan SA	PIEL +0.25 points	0.17%	0.42%
Astellas Pharma Inc	PIEL +0.26 points	0.13%	0.39%
Lasertec Corp	PIEL +0.24 points	0.09%	0.33%
Sgs SA	PIEL +0.23 points	0.10%	0.33%
Epiroc Ab	PIEL +0.23 points	0.06%	0.29%
Logitech International SA	PIEL +0.22 points	0.02%	0.24%
First Quantum Minerals Lt	PIEL +0.22 points	0.07%	0.29%
Galaxy Entertainment Grou	PIEL +0.21 points	0.04%	0.25%
Pan American Silver Corp	PIEL +0.21 points	0.04%	0.25%
Bombardier Inc	PIEL +0.21 points	0.08%	0.29%
Wartsila Oyj Abp	PIEL +0.20 points	0.06%	0.26%
Sonova Holding AG	PIEL +0.20 points	0.07%	0.27%
Cgi Inc	PIEL +0.19 points	<0.01%	0.20%
Evolution Ab	PIEL +0.19 points	0.03%	0.22%
Lundin Mining Corp	PIEL +0.19 points	0.07%	0.26%
Lundin Gold Inc	PIEL +0.18 points	0.03%	0.21%
Halma PLCHLMA.L	PIEL +0.18 points	0.05%	0.23%
Brambles Ltd	PIEL +0.18 points	0.08%	0.26%
Computershare Ltd	PIEL +0.17 points	0.06%	0.23%
Pro Medicus Ltd	PIEL +0.16 points	0.02%	0.18%
Be Semiconductor Industri	PIEL +0.16 points	0.05%	0.21%
Diploma PLCDPLM.L	PIEL +0.15 points	0.04%	0.19%
Informa PLCINF.L	PIEL +0.14 points	0.06%	0.20%
Schindler Holding AG	PIEL +0.12 points	0.05%	0.17%
Smith & Nephew PLCSN.L	PIEL +0.13 points	0.04%	0.17%
Kokusai Electric Corp	PIEL +0.11 points	0.04%	0.15%
Smiths Group PLCSMIN.L	PIEL +0.11 points	0.04%	0.15%
Imi PLCIMI.L	PIEL +0.09 points	0.04%	0.13%
Open Text Corp	PIEL +0.08 points	<0.01%	0.09%
Rorze Corp	PIEL +0.05 points	0.01%	0.06%
Modec Inc	PIEL +0.04 points	0.01%	0.05%

All 3,869 DFAI holdings⁠All 106 PIEL holdings⁠

How we measure overlap

Each holding counts at its smaller weight in the two funds, summed over the full Holdings. Sector, country and asset class use the same rule on each fund’s split. Cash, FX and derivative lines stay out of the counts. Two bond funds get no overlap figure.

DFAI vs PIEL Cost

Overpaying PIEL vs DFAI

$6,043

On $10,000 over 30 years. 7% growth a year before fees, expense ratio only.

DFAI 0.18%
$3,749
PIEL 0.49%
$9,792

Amount$10,000

Years30 years

Cost over time

DFAI 0.18%
PIEL 0.49%
Overpaying

Year by year

Year	DFAI	PIEL	Overpaying
10	$328	$883	$555
20	$1,281	$3,394	$2,113
30	$3,749	$9,792	$6,043

Expense ratio

0.18%DFAI, cheaper
0.49%PIEL

DFAI0.18%PIEL0.49%

0.15%0.80%

Middle half of International Multifactor funds
Median 0.34%

DFAI 3rd cheapest of 30 funds

PIEL 25th cheapest of 30 funds

DFAI vs PIEL Dividends

Last 12 months to Oct 30, 2026

Yield (12M): DFAI 2.44%; PIEL No data
Payout (12M): DFAI $1.01; PIEL None
Last payment: DFAI $0.18; PIEL No data
Ex-dividend: DFAI Sep 22, 2026; PIEL No data
Paid on: DFAI Sep 24, 2026; PIEL No data
Frequency: DFAI Quarterly; PIEL No data

Distribution history

Per share, 2020 to 2026, same scale for both

DFAIQuarterly · 24 paymentsAll DFAI payments⁠

PIELAll PIEL payments⁠

No distribution history available.

DFAI vs PIEL Risk

Fall from peak · 5 years

This chart needs five years of history for both funds.

Risk facts

VolatilityStd dev, 3 years: DFAI 11.6%PIEL No data
Return per unit of riskSharpe ratio, 3 years: DFAI 1.33PIEL No data
Worst fallMax drawdown, 5 years: DFAI −27.4%PIEL No data
Market sensitivityBeta, 5 years: DFAI 0.91PIEL 1.19; Market = 1

DFAI and PIEL in the news

All news⁠

New ETFs
Avantis Investors' Avantis U.S. Core Equity ETF AVUC overlaps a fund it already runs
Oct 16, 2026DFAI

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DFAI vs PIEL

In short

Stated mandate

Why people hold it

Worth knowing

How DFAI and PIEL differ

Level by level

Sector

Country, concentration and asset class

Country by domicile

Concentration

Asset class

Holdings

Only in DFAI

Only in PIEL

Weight gaps

Cost over time

Year by year

Distribution history

Fall from peak · 5 years

Risk facts

Avantis Investors' Avantis U.S. Core Equity ETF AVUC overlaps a fund it already runs

How DFAI and PIEL differ

Level by level

Sector

Country, concentration and asset class

Country by domicile

Concentration

Asset class

Holdings

Only in DFAI

Only in PIEL

Weight gaps