HCMT vs TACU

HCMTFDirexion HCM Tactical Enhanced US ETF

TACUAT. Rowe Price Active Core U.S. Equity ETF

In short

HCMT A market-timing model in ETF form. HCMT follows the HCM-BuyLine signal: leveraged exposure to a broad basket of US stocks when the trend is on, cash when it flips off. An all-in-or-all-out design few active US equity funds attempt.

TACU T. Rowe Price's quant-plus-fundamental take on core large-cap U.S. stock, benchmarked to the Russell 1000. Gross fee 0.14%, fully waived to zero through January 30, 2027.

Stated mandate

HCMT The Fund seeks capital appreciation and enhanced returns across market cycles broadly correlated with U.S. equities. Its model shifts assets between U.S. equity securities and cash, using derivatives for leveraged exposure when allocated to equities.

TACU The fund seeks long-term capital growth through a primarily U.S. equity portfolio. It combines quantitative models with fundamental, bottom-up analysis and seeks excess returns relative to the Russell 1000 Index.

Why people hold it

• HCMT One ticker, one decision rule. The HCM-BuyLine momentum signal moves the fund between derivative-boosted US equity exposure and cash, instead of leaving the timing call to you.
• The equity sleeve is broad, roughly 500 US stocks, so the leverage rides the whole market rather than a handful of names.
• Conventional 1940 Act fund wrapper: a standard 1099 rather than a K-1, with distributions paid quarterly.

• TACU Fee fully waived: 0.14% gross, zero net through January 30, 2027. That sits below every top-scoring peer in the category, including DFAU at 0.12% with no waiver.troweprice.com
• Quant models feed bottom-up stock picking with tilts to profitability, quality and value, chasing excess return over the Russell 1000 while holding tracking error tight.troweprice.com
• Several hundred large-cap names, so no single position runs the show. One of the stronger profiles in a crowded active U.S. equity field.troweprice.com

Worth knowing

• HCMT The 1.18% expense ratio sits well above the typical active US equity ETF, and far above broad index-style peers like DFAU and DFAC that charge a fraction of it.
• Leverage magnifies losses as well as gains, and a model that steps to cash can be late in both directions: into the decline and out of the rebound.
• Launched in 2023 and thinly traded, so the live record is short and bid-ask spreads can run wider than the category's heaviest-volume names.

• TACU Launched in December 2025, so the live record is short and the risk read rests on limited history.
• Still a small fund that trades lightly, which can mean wider spreads than the category's giants.
• Distributions are annual at most, with no declared income target. This is a growth mandate, not a cash-flow one.

Full HCMT profile⁠

Full TACU profile⁠