NOEQ vs TACU

NOEQANorthern Trust US Equity ETF

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

In short

NOEQ Active management at index-fund pricing: 0.12% a year for a broad slate of mid- and large-cap US stocks, run by Northern Trust's FlexShares. It launched in 2026, so the story here is the fee, not the track record.

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

NOEQ The Fund seeks long-term capital appreciation by investing primarily in equity securities of U.S. companies. It is actively managed and generally focuses on mid- and large-capitalization companies.

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

• NOEQ 0.12% a year is index-fund pricing on an actively run portfolio, matching the lowest fee among the strongest funds in its peer group (DFAU) and sitting far below the typical active US equity ETF.
• About 400 mid- and large-cap US names, so the manager's calls play out inside a diversified core rather than a handful of concentrated bets.
• Stands in the upper tier of a crowded field of hundreds of active US equity ETFs, with the low fee and a market-like risk profile doing most of the work.

• 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

• NOEQ Trading is thin, so spreads can run wider than in mega-cap index funds. Order size and timing matter more here than in the household-name giants.
• Launched in 2026, so the live record is short. And because the mandate is active, there is no published index to measure the portfolio against.
• Distributions arrive once or twice a year, not monthly, so it is not built as an income drip.

• 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 NOEQ profile⁠

Full TACU profile⁠