TACU vs THEQ

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

THEQCT. Rowe Price Hedged Equity ETF

In short

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.

THEQ Most hedged equity funds hand you a fixed buffer and a cap that resets on a calendar. THEQ skips that rulebook: an analyst-picked US stock portfolio with a discretionary derivatives overlay aimed at softening drawdowns.

Stated mandate

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.

THEQ The fund seeks long-term capital growth. It combines an actively managed equity portfolio with futures, forwards, swaps, and index options intended to reduce volatility and mitigate losses during equity-market drawdowns.

Why people hold it

• 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

• THEQ The hedge runs on judgment, not a calendar. Futures, forwards, swaps and index options are dialed up or down to damp volatility and cushion equity drawdowns, with no outcome-period resets.troweprice.com
• The stock sleeve isn't an index clone. Most of it sits in T. Rowe's analyst-driven US Equity Research ETF (TSPA), which targets S&P 500-like characteristics through bottom-up picks.troweprice.com
• One all-inclusive fee at the fund level covers investment management plus ordinary recurring operating expenses, so wrapper costs stay in a single number.troweprice.com

Worth knowing

• 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.

• THEQ At 0.73%, it runs above the 0.65% median for active US equity ETFs and well above cheap active core peers like FELC (0.18%) and DFAU (0.12%).
• Young and thinly traded since its March 2025 debut, with a small asset base. Spreads can run wider than at long-established rivals.
• The overlay is a trade-off: hedges cost money in calm markets, there's no defined floor or promised protection level, and distributions arrive once or twice a year.troweprice.com

Full TACU profile⁠

Full THEQ profile⁠