LCAP vs TACU

LCAPBPrincipal Capital Appreciation Select ETF

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

In short

LCAP A concentrated active large-cap fund from Principal that runs about 50 US stocks for long-term capital growth, and charges well under half what the typical active US equity ETF does.

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

LCAP The Fund seeks long-term growth of capital.

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

• LCAP 0.29% expense ratio, versus a 0.65% median for active US equity ETFs. Cheap enough to sit near index-style factor funds like DYNF while still running a real stock-picking mandate.
• About 50 holdings, so each pick carries weight. This is a high-conviction book, not a closet index dressed up as active management.
• Plain mandate, plainly stated: long-term growth of capital from US equities, in a standard 1940 Act ETF wrapper. No derivatives overlay, no leverage, no options income machinery.
• Sits in the top quartile of a 234-fund active US equity group on our review, with cost doing much of the heavy lifting.

• 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

• LCAP Launched in 2025, so there is no long record to judge the manager's stock picking through a full market cycle. Short history means thinner evidence, both ways.
• Thinly traded and modest in size. Use limit orders and expect wider spreads than you would see on the big Dimensional and Fidelity active funds in this category.
• Roughly 50 names means concentration risk cuts both ways: a handful of positions can drive results in either direction, and it will wander from the broad market.

• 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 LCAP profile⁠

Full TACU profile⁠