DFAU vs PEXL: Grades, Fees and Holdings Compared

Dimensional US Core Equity Market ETF

DFAUANYSE Arca

Pacer US Export Leaders ETF

PEXLBNYSE Arca

Overlap

24.4%by weight

Expense ratio

DFAU −0.37pt a year

DFAU0.12%PEXL0.49%

Avg volume · 30D

DFAU 252.9×the volume

DFAU555KPEXL2.19K

5Y return · a year

DFAU +1.6pt

DFAU+11.6%PEXL+10.0%

DFAU vs PEXL Performance

Oct 29, 2021 – Oct 30, 2026

+72.9%DFAU+61.1%PEXL

Expense ratio: DFAU 0.12%, better; PEXL 0.49%
Fund size: DFAU $12.9B; PEXL $52M
1Y total return: DFAU +13.2%; PEXL +17.9%, better
Yield (12M): DFAU 0.90%, better; PEXL 0.37%
Holdings: DFAU 2165; PEXL 102
Avg volume (30D): DFAU 555K sh, better; PEXL 2.19K sh
NAV per share: DFAU $52.28; PEXL $70.05
52W range

ETF.net Grade

Pillar letters and Scores for DFAU, PEXL, with each pillar’s weight
Pillar	DFAU	PEXL
Cost30% weight	A97Higher	B66
Mission25% weight	A83Higher	B67
Risk15% weight	B65Higher	D29
Tradability15% weight	A87Higher	C47
Holdings10% weight	A84Higher	B64
Durability5% weight	A91Higher	B60

Rank among US Active Equity funds

How we build Categories ›

Same Category. DFAU and PEXL are both graded against the same 121 US Active Equity funds, so their Grades compare head to head.

US Active Equity⁠

Category · 121 funds

See all 121 ›

DFAU ranks 2nd and PEXL 53rd of 121 funds in the US Active Equity Category.

Rank 1AAVLCAvantis U.S. Large Cap Equity ETFScore 87
Rank 2ADFAUDimensional US Core Equity Market ETFScore 86
Rank 3ADFACDimensional US Core Equity 2 ETFScore 85
Rank 53CGOPSubversive Congressional Republicans Trading ETFScore 54
Rank 53BPEXLPacer US Export Leaders ETFScore 54
Rank 53CXLSRState Street US Sector Rotation ETFScore 54

Our read on each fund

ETF.net Research

DFAUADimensional US Core Equity Market ETF

PEXLBPacer US Export Leaders ETF

In short

DFAU Active management priced like an index fund. Dimensional spreads across roughly 2,400 US stocks, then tilts the weights toward value, profitability and momentum instead of simply mirroring the Russell 3000.

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

DFAU Seeks long-term capital appreciation. It uses an integrated research, portfolio-design, management, and trading process to build a broadly diversified portfolio of U.S. companies while balancing long-term return drivers, risk, shorter-term considerations, and trading costs.

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

DFAU Charges 0.12% a year, well under the 0.65% median for active US equity funds and the cheapest of the top-graded names in its group (AVLC, DFAC, FELC).
Holds roughly 2,400 US companies, so no single name steers the fund. Whole-market coverage, not a concentrated bet.
Active without the stock-picking drama: it leans weights toward value, profitability and momentum, using the Russell 3000 as its reference point rather than a rigid rulebook.
A multi-billion-dollar fund that trades actively, and one of the strongest overall implementations in its active US equity 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.com paceretfs.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

DFAU Those tilts cut both ways: results can drift from a plain Russell 3000 fund for long stretches, in either direction.
No published index behind it. The trade-off for flexibility is that you're buying Dimensional's process, not a public set of rules you can check line by line.
Distributions land quarterly, not monthly, and the mandate is long-term capital appreciation rather than income.

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 DFAU profile⁠

Full PEXL profile⁠

DFAU vs PEXL Holdings

As of Oct 23, 2026

How DFAU and PEXL differ

Overlap by weight

24.4%

Shared holdings make up 99.9% of PEXL and 26.5% of DFAU.

Level by level

Holdings100 in both24.4%
Sector11 Sectors67.5%
Countryby domicile99.3%
Asset classEquity100%

Sector

Sector weights in DFAU and PEXL, widest gap first
Sector	More in DFAUMore in PEXL	DFAU	PEXL
Technology	PEXL +26.7 points	36.6%	63.3%
Financials	DFAU +12.9 points	12.9%	0.0%
Consumer Discretionary	DFAU +5.4 points	9.4%	4.0%
Consumer Staples	PEXL +5.2 points	4.7%	9.9%
Energy	DFAU +4.7 points	4.9%	0.2%
Communication	DFAU +4.5 points	8.0%	3.5%
Utilities	DFAU +2.1 points	2.1%	0.0%
Health Care	DFAU +1.5 points	9.7%	8.2%
Materials	DFAU +1.3 points	2.7%	1.4%
Industrials	PEXL +0.6 points	8.9%	9.5%
Real Estate	DFAU +0.1 points	0.1%	0.0%

Country, concentration and asset class

Country by domicile

Country weights in DFAU and PEXL, widest gap first
Country	More in DFAUMore in PEXL	DFAU	PEXL
United States	DFAU +0.4 points	99.3%	98.9%
China	PEXL +0.5 points	0.1%	0.6%
Switzerland	PEXL +0.2 points	0.3%	0.5%
United Kingdom	DFAU +0.1 points	0.1%	0.0%
Mexico	DFAU +0.1 points	0.1%	0.0%
Ireland	Same weight	0.0%	0.0%
Brazil	Same weight	0.0%	0.0%
Sweden	Same weight	0.0%	0.0%
Other countries (3)	Same weight	0.0%	0.0%

Concentration

Weight in the 10 largest Holdings

DFAU33.4%
PEXL39.7%

Securities held

DFAU2,164
PEXL100

Asset class

DFAU: Equity
PEXL: Equity

Holdings

Only in DFAU2,064
In both100
Only in PEXL0

Only in DFAU

2,064 securities, 73.3% of DFAU by weight

NVIDIA Corp6.79%
Amazon.com Inc.3.14%
Alphabet Inc - Class A2.14%
Meta Platforms Inc1.78%
Alphabet Inc1.76%
Micron Technology Inc.1.62%
Eli Lilly and Company1.45%
Tesla Inc1.35%
JPMorgan Chase & Co1.21%
Berkshire Hathaway Cl-B1.15%
Exxonmobil Holdings Corp1.07%
Visa Inc0.96%
Johnson & Johnson0.78%
Mastercard Inc - A0.69%
Walmart Inc.0.68%
AbbVie Inc.0.61%
Chevron Corp.0.56%
Cisco Systems Inc.0.54%
Merck & Company Inc0.53%
Costco Wholesale Corp.0.48%
Intel Corp0.48%
Home Depot Inc0.46%
UnitedHealth Group Inc.0.40%
Palantir Technologies Inc0.40%
Bank of America Corp0.39%
Oracle Corp.0.38%
Amgen Inc0.36%
Caterpillar Inc.0.35%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc.0.35%
Wells Fargo & Co.0.34%
Rtx Corp0.31%
New Linde PLC0.30%
Verizon Communications0.30%
Gilead Sciences Inc0.30%
Morgan Stanley0.29%
Conocophillips0.28%
American Express Co.0.26%
Union Pac Corp.0.25%
Pepsico Inc.0.25%
Citigroup Inc.0.24%
Salesforce Inc0.24%
Walt Disney Co/The0.22%
Arista Networks Inc0.21%
Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.0.21%
Tjx Companies Inc.0.20%
Deere & Co.0.20%
Palo Alto Networks Inc0.20%
Nextera Energy Inc0.20%
Lockheed Martin Corp.0.20%
Pfizer Inc.0.19%

Only in PEXL

0 securities, 0.0% of PEXL by weight

Weight gaps

All 100 Holdings in both funds, largest gap first.

Holding weights in DFAU and PEXL, widest gap first
Holding	More in DFAUMore in PEXL	DFAU	PEXL
Advanced Micro DevicesAMD	PEXL +4.35 points	1.02%	5.37%
Coca Cola Co.KO	PEXL +3.30 points	0.46%	3.76%
Procter & Gamble Co/ThePG	PEXL +2.91 points	0.52%	3.43%
Lam Research CorpLRCX	PEXL +2.71 points	0.36%	3.07%
Applied Materials Inc.AMAT	PEXL +2.67 points	0.39%	3.06%
Broadcom IncAVGO	PEXL +2.64 points	2.04%	4.68%
Philip Morris IntlPM	PEXL +2.53 points	0.37%	2.90%
General Electric CompanyGE	PEXL +2.51 points	0.38%	2.89%
Netflix.com Inc.NFLX	PEXL +2.31 points	0.24%	2.55%
Thermo Fisher Scientific.TMO	PEXL +2.15 points	0.27%	2.42%
Ge Vernova LlcGEV	PEXL +2.12 points	0.20%	2.32%
Texas Instruments Inc.TXN	PEXL +2.09 points	0.36%	2.45%
Apple Inc.AAPL	DFAU +1.91 points	7.10%	5.19%
Marvell Technology IncMRVL	PEXL +1.90 points	0.12%	2.02%
International Business MaIBM	PEXL +1.87 points	0.36%	2.23%
Kla CorpKLAC	PEXL +1.72 points	0.29%	2.01%
Sandisk Corp/DeSNDK	PEXL +1.63 points	0.27%	1.90%
Analog Devices Inc.ADI	PEXL +1.61 points	0.24%	1.85%
Amphenol Corp Class AAPH	PEXL +1.59 points	0.25%	1.84%
Qualcomm Inc.QCOM	PEXL +1.47 points	0.29%	1.76%
Abbott LaboratoriesABT	PEXL +1.46 points	0.18%	1.64%
Mcdonald's Corp.MCD	PEXL +1.43 points	0.21%	1.64%
Danaher Corp.DHR	PEXL +1.39 points	0.16%	1.55%
Seagate Technology HoldSTX	PEXL +1.28 points	0.21%	1.49%
Accenture PLCACN	PEXL +1.21 points	0.17%	1.38%
Uber Technologies IncUBER	PEXL +1.17 points	0.13%	1.30%
Fortinet IncFTNT	PEXL +1.08 points	0.12%	1.20%
Western DigitalWDC	PEXL +1.05 points	0.24%	1.29%
Corning IncGLW	PEXL +0.99 points	0.10%	1.09%
Booking Holdings IncBKNG	PEXL +0.99 points	0.13%	1.12%
Newmont CorpNEM	PEXL +0.98 points	0.18%	1.16%
Medtronic PLCMDT	PEXL +0.97 points	0.15%	1.12%
Adobe IncADBE	PEXL +0.84 points	0.11%	0.95%
Cadence Design SystemsCDNS	PEXL +0.75 points	0.09%	0.84%
Emerson Elec CoEMR	PEXL +0.70 points	0.15%	0.85%
Applovin CorpAPP	PEXL +0.70 points	0.07%	0.77%
3M Co.MMM	PEXL +0.69 points	0.16%	0.85%
Synopsys IncSNPS	PEXL +0.66 points	0.15%	0.81%
Regeneron PharmaceuticalsREGN	PEXL +0.64 points	0.13%	0.77%
Airbnb IncABNB	PEXL +0.61 points	0.07%	0.68%
Illinois Tool Works Inc.ITW	PEXL +0.60 points	0.14%	0.74%
Colgate-Palmolive CoCL	PEXL +0.58 points	0.12%	0.70%
Monolithic Power Sys. IncMPWR	PEXL +0.52 points	0.07%	0.59%
Te Connectivity PLCTEL	PEXL +0.45 points	0.13%	0.58%
Keysight Technologies IncKEYS	PEXL +0.45 points	0.10%	0.55%
Ametek IncAME	PEXL +0.45 points	0.09%	0.54%
Nxp Semiconductors NVNXPI	PEXL +0.44 points	0.13%	0.57%
Garmin LtdGRMN	PEXL +0.44 points	0.09%	0.53%
Teradyne Inc.TER	PEXL +0.44 points	0.07%	0.51%
Ebay Inc.EBAY	PEXL +0.41 points	0.10%	0.51%
Auto DeskADSK	PEXL +0.39 points	0.09%	0.48%
Wabtec CorpWAB	PEXL +0.39 points	0.07%	0.46%
Agilent Technologies IncA	PEXL +0.38 points	0.09%	0.47%
Microchip Technology IncMCHP	PEXL +0.33 points	0.06%	0.39%
Netapp Inc.NTAP	PEXL +0.32 points	0.08%	0.40%
Mettler-Toledo Intl IncMTD	PEXL +0.26 points	0.06%	0.32%
Ingersoll Rand IncIR	PEXL +0.24 points	0.05%	0.29%
On Semiconductor CorpON	PEXL +0.23 points	0.05%	0.28%
Microsoft CorpMSFT	DFAU +0.23 points	5.62%	5.39%
Teledyne Technologies IncTDY	PEXL +0.22 points	0.05%	0.27%
Technipfmc PLCFTI	PEXL +0.21 points	0.05%	0.26%
F5 IncFFIV	PEXL +0.20 points	0.04%	0.24%
Las Vegas Sands Corp.LVS	PEXL +0.20 points	0.03%	0.23%
Qnity Electronics IncQ	PEXL +0.20 points	0.04%	0.24%
Veralto CorpVLTO	PEXL +0.18 points	0.05%	0.23%
Macom Technology SolutionMTSI	PEXL +0.18 points	0.02%	0.20%
Entegris IncENTG	PEXL +0.17 points	0.04%	0.21%
Ptc IncPTC	PEXL +0.16 points	0.04%	0.20%
Dynatrace IncDT	PEXL +0.15 points	0.03%	0.18%
Nordson CorpNDSN	PEXL +0.14 points	0.03%	0.17%
Zebra Technologies CorpZBRA	PEXL +0.13 points	0.04%	0.17%
Sitime CorpSITM	PEXL +0.13 points	<0.01%	0.14%
Idex CorpIEX	PEXL +0.13 points	0.03%	0.16%
Revvity IncRVTY	PEXL +0.13 points	0.03%	0.16%
Fortive CorporationFTV	PEXL +0.13 points	0.04%	0.17%
Lattice Semiconductor CorLSCC	PEXL +0.12 points	0.02%	0.14%
Semtech CorpSMTC	PEXL +0.11 points	<0.01%	0.12%
Graco IncGGG	PEXL +0.10 points	0.02%	0.12%
Digitalocean Holdings IncDOCN	PEXL +0.10 points	0.01%	0.11%
Bentley Systems IncBSY	PEXL +0.09 points	0.01%	0.10%
Cooper Cos Inc/TheCOO	PEXL +0.09 points	0.02%	0.11%
Albemarle Corp.ALB	PEXL +0.08 points	0.02%	0.10%
Onto Innovation IncONTO	PEXL +0.08 points	0.02%	0.10%
Align Technology IncALGN	PEXL +0.08 points	0.02%	0.10%
Biomarin PharmaceuticalBMRN	PEXL +0.08 points	0.02%	0.10%
Rambus IncRMBS	PEXL +0.07 points	0.02%	0.09%
Hecla Mining CoHL	PEXL +0.08 points	0.02%	0.10%
Aptiv Holdings LtdAPTV	PEXL +0.08 points	<0.01%	0.09%
Littelfuse IncLFUS	PEXL +0.07 points	0.02%	0.09%
Cognex CorpCGNX	PEXL +0.07 points	0.02%	0.09%
Interdigital IncIDCC	PEXL +0.06 points	0.02%	0.08%
Newmarket CorpNEU	PEXL +0.07 points	0.01%	0.08%
Brown-Forman Corp - BBF.B	PEXL +0.05 points	0.02%	0.07%
Duolingo IncDUOL	PEXL +0.05 points	<0.01%	0.05%
Uipath IncPATH	PEXL +0.05 points	0.01%	0.06%
Sensata Technologies HoldST	PEXL +0.05 points	0.01%	0.06%
Cirrus Logic IncCRUS	PEXL +0.04 points	0.01%	0.05%
Gentex CorpGNTX	PEXL +0.03 points	<0.01%	0.04%
Universal Display CorpOLED	PEXL +0.04 points	<0.01%	0.04%
Dolby Laboratories IncDLB	PEXL +0.03 points	<0.01%	0.03%

All 2,381 DFAU holdings⁠All 102 PEXL 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.

DFAU vs PEXL Cost

Overpaying PEXL vs DFAU

$7,272

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

DFAU 0.12%
$2,520
PEXL 0.49%
$9,792

Amount$10,000

Years30 years

Cost over time

DFAU 0.12%
PEXL 0.49%
Overpaying

Year by year

Year	DFAU	PEXL	Overpaying
10	$220	$883	$663
20	$859	$3,394	$2,535
30	$2,520	$9,792	$7,272

Expense ratio

0.12%DFAU, cheaper
0.49%PEXL

DFAU0.12%PEXL0.49%

0.00%2.89%

Middle half of US Active Equity funds
Median 0.68%

DFAU 4th cheapest of 121 funds

PEXL 39th cheapest of 121 funds

DFAU vs PEXL Dividends

Last 12 months to Oct 30, 2026

Yield (12M): DFAU 0.90%, better; PEXL 0.37%
Payout (12M): DFAU $0.47; PEXL $0.26
Last payment: DFAU $0.12; PEXL $0.08
Ex-dividend: DFAU Sep 22, 2026; PEXL Sep 3, 2026
Paid on: DFAU Sep 24, 2026; PEXL Sep 8, 2026
Frequency: DFAU Quarterly; PEXL Quarterly

Distribution history

Per share, 2018 to 2026, same scale for both

DFAUQuarterly · 24 paymentsAll DFAU payments⁠

PEXLQuarterly · 33 paymentsAll PEXL payments⁠

DFAU vs PEXL Risk

Fall from peak · 5 years

DFAU
PEXL

Risk facts

VolatilityStd dev, 3 years: DFAU 12.4%, betterPEXL 17.5%
Return per unit of riskSharpe ratio, 3 years: DFAU 1.38, betterPEXL 0.98
Worst fallMax drawdown, 5 years: DFAU −23.6%, betterPEXL −30.4%
Market sensitivityBeta, 5 years: DFAU 1.01PEXL 1.28; Market = 1

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