EPS vs NBCR

EPSAWisdomTree U.S. LargeCap Fund

NBCRCNeuberger Berman Core Equity ETF

In short

EPS Large-cap core with a profit filter. Roughly 500 U.S. companies, all of them earnings generators, tracked since 2007 for 0.08% a year. Same plumbing as a plain index fund, with a screen most of them skip.

NBCR Neuberger Berman's 2024 entry into active core equity: a roughly 200-stock US portfolio built for long-term growth of capital, priced under the typical active equity fund rather than at the premium the label usually invites.

Stated mandate

EPS The fund seeks to track earnings-generating large-cap companies in the U.S. equity market.

NBCR The Fund seeks long-term growth of capital.

Why people hold it

• EPS The screen is the whole point: the index holds large U.S. companies that actually generate earnings, so unprofitable names do not ride in on market cap alone.wisdomtree.com
• 0.08% a year, under the median for its large-cap peer group, and it still spreads across roughly 500 stocks.
• Running since 2007 and now a multi-billion-dollar fund, it has tracked its index tightly and ranks in the top quartile of its large-cap cohort.
• Pays out quarterly, the standard cadence for a core equity holding.

• NBCR Costs 0.52% a year, below the median for actively managed US equity ETFs. Active stock picking without the fee drag that usually comes attached.
• Roughly 200 holdings: wide enough that no single name dominates, narrow enough that the manager's choices actually show up in results.
• A plain mandate, plainly stated. The prospectus objective is long-term growth of capital from a mainly-equity portfolio, with no derivatives overlay or income-generation machinery bolted on.
• Sits in the upper half of its active US equity peer group on our overall read, with holdings quality the standout piece.

Worth knowing

• EPS It trades thinly for the category, so bid-ask spreads can run wider than the heavily traded core names in the group.
• Cheaper shelf-mates exist: SCHX and VV charge 0.03%, BKLC charges nothing. The earnings screen is what the extra basis points buy.
• Screening on earnings means the portfolio can look different from a plain cap-weighted large-cap index, and its results will drift from that benchmark in both directions.

• NBCR Launched in 2024, so there is not yet a long record to judge the strategy through a full market cycle.
• Trades thinly. Spreads can widen when volume is light, which matters more for larger orders than for small ones.
• Cheaper systematic options crowd the same shelf: DFAC (0.17%), AVLC (0.15%) and DFAU (0.12%) all deliver core US equity for a fraction of the fee.

Full EPS profile⁠

Full NBCR profile⁠