DUSG vs FSCC

DUSGAU.S. Small Cap Growth Portfolio: ETF Class Shares

FSCCBFederated Hermes MDT Small Cap Core ETF

In short

DUSG A Dimensional small-cap growth strategy that finally got a ticker. DUSG is an exchange-traded share class of a portfolio running since 2012, screening small US companies for high profitability and cheaper relative price.

FSCC A quant engine aimed at the Russell 2000. Federated Hermes' MDT models pick roughly 300 small caps from the index, then the prospectus says it plainly: this fund is not built to mirror the benchmark's composition or returns.

Stated mandate

DUSG The Portfolio seeks long-term capital appreciation.

FSCC The Fund seeks long-term capital appreciation.

Why people hold it

• DUSG Not a startup fund with a launch-day portfolio. The underlying strategy has run since 2012, and the ETF class is a new door into the same book of stocks.businesswire.com
• The screen does two jobs at once: small-cap growth companies, filtered for high profitability and lower relative price, instead of whatever the index says is popular.dimensional.com
• 0.33% a year for a systematically managed factor strategy, sitting right around the middle of the multifactor pack rather than at the premium end.
• Broad and diversified by design, holding a wide sweep of US small caps in a billion-dollar-plus portfolio, not a handful of high-conviction names.dimensional.com

• FSCC Costs 0.36% net of a waiver through May 1, 2027 (0.50% gross), below the median fee among the active US small-cap funds we grade.federatedhermes.com
• Undercuts both other graded funds fishing the same Russell 2000 pond: FSML at 0.45% and GSC at 0.75% net of a waiver through December 29, 2026.
• Rules over hunches: a bottom-up quantitative process ranks growth and value names, and the result spreads across roughly 300 holdings.sec.gov
• Does exactly what the label says, a US small-cap equity fund, and is one of the stronger implementations in its peer group.

Worth knowing

• DUSG It trades thinly. Light volume can mean wider gaps between the bid and the ask than you get with the household-name index ETFs.
• Distributions land once or twice a year, not monthly. The stated job here is long-term capital appreciation, not a paycheck.
• Fair pricing, not bargain pricing: broad US growth exposure in the same peer group costs far less (IUSG, 0.04%), minus the small-cap and profitability screens.

• FSCC The waiver runs to May 1, 2027. If it is not renewed, the fee steps back toward the 0.50% gross rate.
• Full equity exposure, no hedge or buffer, in the corner of the market that swings hardest. Small caps can fall further than the large-cap market in a selloff.
• The live record starts in July 2024, and trading is moderate rather than heavy, so the bid-ask spread matters more here than in the largest small-cap ETFs.

Full DUSG profile⁠

Full FSCC profile⁠