DFIV vs ICOW

DFIVADimensional International Value ETF

ICOWCPacer Developed Markets International Cash Cows 100 ETF

In short

DFIV A 1999-vintage Dimensional tax-managed strategy that swapped its mutual fund wrapper for an ETF in 2021. It buys cheap large-cap stocks across developed markets outside the US, with tax minimization written into the objective itself.

ICOW Cash flow is the yardstick here, not book value. ICOW screens the FTSE Developed ex-US index and holds the 100 companies with the highest free-cash-flow yield: international value measured by money that actually landed.

Stated mandate

DFIV The ETF seeks long-term capital appreciation while minimizing federal income taxes on returns.

ICOW The fund seeks capital appreciation through a rules-based screen of the FTSE Developed ex-US Index that selects 100 international companies based on free-cash-flow yield.

Why people hold it

• DFIV Tax awareness sits in the mandate, not the marketing: the stated objective is long-term capital appreciation while minimizing federal income taxes on returns.sec.gov
• At 0.27% a year it undercuts the typical international value fund, so an active, judgment-driven portfolio comes at index-adjacent pricing.
• Broad by design: roughly 600 large developed ex-US names screened on low price relative to book, with room to tilt toward smaller and more profitable companies.sec.gov
• Priced below EFV, the other heavyweight in developed-markets value, and one of the strongest implementations in this peer group.

• ICOW One rule, no drift: rank developed ex-US companies on free-cash-flow yield, keep the top 100. The screen is mechanical, so no manager talks themselves into a story stock.paceretfs.com
• Cash generation is harder to dress up than a low price-to-book, so the portfolio leans value and quality from the same screen.
• Running since 2017, now a multi-billion-dollar fund with moderate trading volume that distributes quarterly.

Worth knowing

• DFIV Value only, developed only: no US stocks, no emerging markets. Stretches where it looks nothing like a broad international index can run for years.sec.gov
• Actively managed with no published index to check it against. Dimensional decides what counts as a cheap stock and when to trade it.sec.gov
• The 1999 start date belongs to the Tax-Managed DFA International Value mutual fund, which became this ETF in a 2021 reorganization.sec.gov

• ICOW At 0.65% a year it costs roughly double the international-value median, and cheaper broad options sit in the same aisle (DFIV 0.27%, EFV 0.31%).
• About 110 holdings, so single names and sectors carry more weight than in a broad international value index.
• Against its international-value peers it lands in the lower half overall, with fee and portfolio breadth doing most of the work.

Full DFIV profile⁠

Full ICOW profile⁠