DIHP vs FICS

DIHPBDimensional International High Profitability ETF

FICSCFirst Trust International Developed Capital Strength ETF

In short

DIHP Dimensional took its profitability screen overseas: roughly 500 large non-US companies, each judged against rivals in its own country or region, not one global yardstick. Fees land under the typical international factor fund.

FICS A balance-sheet screen shipped overseas. FICS holds roughly 60 developed-market names filtered for financial strength and lower volatility, and charges 0.70% for the sorting work.

Stated mandate

DIHP The fund seeks long-term capital appreciation by investing in large non-U.S. companies selected for relatively high profitability within their country or region.

FICS The fund seeks to track, before fees and expenses, the price and yield of The International Developed Capital StrengthTM Index. Normally, it invests at least 90% of net assets in the index’s common stocks and REITs.

Why people hold it

• DIHP Costs 0.27% a year, well under the 0.41% median expense ratio for its international factor peer group.
• Profitability is measured within a company's own country or region, so the screen doesn't quietly become a bet on whichever markets happen to look richest.
• Roughly 500 large non-US names, so the factor is spread across a wide bench rather than a concentrated handful. Distributions come quarterly.
• Sits in the upper half of its 18-fund international factor cohort on our review.

• FICS Rules-based quality and low-volatility screen on developed international stocks, with at least 90% of net assets in the index's own common stocks and REITs.ftportfolios.com
• Roughly 60 holdings, so the screen actually shows up in the portfolio instead of getting diluted into a market-cap blob.
• Pure non-US developed exposure with no home-market overlap, and cash comes back on a quarterly schedule.
• Running since its 2020 launch, tracking a named, published index rather than a manager's discretion.

Worth knowing

• DIHP A profitability tilt is a deliberate deviation, so the fund can behave quite differently from a plain international index in either direction.
• Launched in 2022, so the live record is short compared with long-standing factor funds in the same aisle.
• Cheaper shelf-mates exist (QLVD, EFAV and ACWV all list lower), though they screen for low volatility or quality rather than profitability.

• FICS The 0.70% expense ratio sits above what plain index trackers in its cohort typically charge. That is the price of the screen.
• One of the thinner traders in its category, so spreads can widen. Limit orders are the standard defense.
• About 60 stocks with a quality and low-vol tilt means returns can diverge meaningfully from broad developed-market indexes in either direction.

Full DIHP profile⁠

Full FICS profile⁠