DFMC vs MGMT

DFMCAU.S. Micro Cap Portfolio ETF

MGMTDBallast Small/Mid Cap ETF

In short

DFMC Dimensional's micro-cap workhorse: a systematic sweep of the smallest US listed companies, a strategy dating to 1981, now in an ETF wrapper. Not an index tracker, and it charges less than the typical active US equity fund.

MGMT A boutique, hand-picked take on US small and mid caps. Ballast's managers hunt companies they judge underpriced against their growth, in a corner of the market where cheap index trackers do most of the volume.

Stated mandate

DFMC The Portfolio seeks long-term capital appreciation.

MGMT The fund seeks long-term growth by investing primarily in equity securities of small and midsize U.S. companies that the adviser considers underpriced relative to their expected growth.

Why people hold it

• DFMC Charges 0.43% a year, well under the median for active US equity funds, so the fee takes a smaller bite out of a hard-to-reach corner of the market.
• The strategy dates to 1981 and now runs as a multi-billion-dollar portfolio: an unusually long run for anything pointed at micro caps.
• Systematic rather than index-bound. Dimensional sifts the small end of the US market by its own rules instead of copying a published micro-cap benchmark.dimensional.com
• One of the stronger implementations among the active US equity funds we grade, with risk control and portfolio construction the standout pieces.

• MGMT Genuinely active, not an index in disguise. The mandate is stock-by-stock: US small and midsize companies the adviser considers underpriced relative to their expected growth.
• Different lane from its category's heavyweights. The largest active US equity ETFs (DFAU, DFAC, AVLC) sit in large-cap core; MGMT works the smaller, less-covered end of the market.
• Live since December 2020, so it carries a multi-year record through a full rate cycle inside a standard 1940 Act ETF wrapper.

Worth knowing

• DFMC Thinly traded next to the big index names, so the cost of getting in and out can matter as much as the expense ratio, especially for larger orders.
• It costs more than Dimensional's broad-market siblings, DFAU at 0.12% and DFAC at 0.17%, which own far bigger, more liquid companies.
• Micro caps are the choppy end of the US market, and owning them is the entire job here. The mandate is long-term capital appreciation, not income.

• MGMT Costs 1.10% a year, roughly double the typical active US equity ETF. That is a real annual hurdle the stock picking has to clear.
• Small fund, light tape. It trades thinly next to the category's giants, so spreads can widen and limit orders matter more than they would in a mega-fund.
• No index to grade it against. Results ride on the manager's judgment about what is underpriced, which is harder to monitor than a rules-based portfolio.

Full DFMC profile⁠

Full MGMT profile⁠