DFAT vs IWD

DFATCDimensional US Targeted Value ETF

IWDAiShares Russell 1000 Value ETF

In short

DFAT A 1998-vintage tax-managed value strategy that became an ETF in 2021. Dimensional buys roughly 1,500 cheap-looking US small and mid caps with healthier profits, and runs the whole thing with one eye on your tax bill.

IWD The original Russell 1000 Value tracker, live since 2000 and still one of the most traded ways to own the value half of US large caps. Roughly 900 stocks, followed closely, at a price that reflects the plumbing.

Stated mandate

DFAT The fund seeks long-term capital appreciation while minimizing federal income taxes on its returns.

IWD The fund seeks to track an index of U.S. large- and mid-cap stocks that may be undervalued relative to comparable companies.

Why people hold it

• DFAT The mandate is unusual for a value fund: alongside long-term capital appreciation, the stated objective names minimizing federal income taxes on returns.dimensional.com
• Roughly 1,500 small and mid caps, picked on low price relative to book value plus higher profitability, then weighted by size. Breadth does the work, not concentrated bets.dimensional.com
• The strategy predates the wrapper. It ran as a Dimensional tax-managed mutual fund from 1998 and converted in the industry's largest mutual-fund-to-ETF switch in 2021.dimensional.comsec.gov

• IWD Follows the Russell 1000 Value Index closely, one of the tightest index-following records among US value funds.
• About 900 large- and mid-cap names, so no single stock or sector drives the result.
• Trading since 2000 and actively traded, it is among the easier value ETFs to move in and out of, in size.

Worth knowing

• DFAT At 0.28%, it costs more than the typical US value ETF and several times index trackers like VTV (0.03%) or VTWV (0.06%). Active screening is what the extra buys.
• There's no index to score it against. Dimensional runs this actively, so assessing it means assessing the process, not tracking error.dimensional.com
• Small and mid caps sit at the center here, so it can behave quite differently from large-cap value peers like VTV over any given stretch.dimensional.com

• IWD At 0.18% a year, it costs more than several broad value rivals (VTV 0.03%, SCHV 0.04%, IUSV 0.04%). The extra buys the Russell index and the trading depth.
• Holding roughly 900 names out of a 1,000-stock parent index, the value tilt is wide and mild, not a concentrated deep-value bet.ishares.com
• Distributions land quarterly, and the amount rides on what the underlying companies pay.

Full DFAT profile⁠

Full IWD profile⁠