DFMC vs PJFM

DFMCAU.S. Micro Cap Portfolio ETF

PJFMCPGIM Jennison Focused 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.

PJFM PGIM handed its Jennison stock pickers a focused mid-cap mandate: medium-sized US companies, chosen one at a time for long-term growth, at 0.49% a year. Active mid-cap is a thin shelf, and this one is priced under the typical active equity ETF.

Stated mandate

DFMC The Portfolio seeks long-term capital appreciation.

PJFM Seeks long-term growth of capital by investing primarily in equity and equity-related securities of medium-sized companies.

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.

• PJFM 0.49% a year sits below the 0.65% median for active US equity ETFs, so the stock picking starts from a lower cost base.
• Mid-caps are the aisle most ETF shelves skip. This one is built there on purpose: medium-sized companies, held for long-term growth of capital.
• A plain, unlevered fund with no structural red flags in our review, and it lands in the upper half of the active US equity funds we grade.

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.

• PJFM Small asset base, thinly traded. Spreads can widen, and the price on screen may sit further from the fund's underlying value than in a busier ticker.
• Launched in December 2023, so the track record is short, and measured volatility runs on the higher end of active US equity ETFs.
• Cash comes once or twice a year, not monthly. This is a capital-growth mandate, not an income one.

Full DFMC profile⁠

Full PJFM profile⁠