Dimensional US Equity ETF

DFUS

Market cap $17.1B

DFUS offers broad diversification beyond the S&P 500, with significant mega-cap exposure and unique tax advantages for taxable accounts. The fund boasts a strong track record of outperformance versus its benchmark and peers, supported by low management fees of just 0.09%. DFUS's risk lies in current high US equity valuations and its active management, but its long-term outlook remains attractive.

Despite the ETF industry's passive roots, active has stolen the show. Active ETF assets just topped the $1 trillion threshold, making up nearly 10% of the total ETF pie.

The Conference Board's measure of CEO confidence rose by nine points in the first quarter of 2025, reaching a reading of 60 -- the highest level since 2022.

Investors are closing the books on another eventful year — marked by record highs for the major stock market indices, record action in Treasury yields and record assets and flows into ETFs. 2024 was also marked by a much-debated pivot from the Federal Reserve, a dramatic Republican sweep in Washington, and plenty of geopolitical turmoil.

My friend and industry veteran Dave Nadig used to call the exercise of interpreting ETF asset flows as “reading the tea leaves.” I have always loved that image because it suggests asset flows can be telling, but they are also open to interpretation.

The growth of active ETFs has propelled a wave of mutual fund-to-ETF conversions. Nearly 80% of all new product launches in both the third quarter and for the full year have been actively managed.

Seeking lower-cost options, investors are increasingly opting for ETFs in lieu of mutual funds. That's according to Deloitte, who recently published its 2025 Investment Management Outlook.

Actively managed ETFs represented less than 10% of U.S. assets but gathered approximately 30% of the industry's flows this year, as of August. This is more than triple the market share achieved during 2021, when ETFs gathered more than $900 billion, the current record.

Dimensional U.S. Equity ETF offers a chance to outperform core passive benchmarks with a long history and over $9.6 billion in assets. The fund includes nearly 2,500 companies, mirrors the Russell 3000 Index, and has sector weightings similar to the benchmark. DFUS has outperformed its benchmark over the last two years, but potential Tech sector overexposure may be a concern in the current market cycle.

Historically, the money in ETFs has been passive, notes Dimensional Fund Advisors' Nicole Hunter. She talks about active versus passive investing strategies, highlighting the Dimensional U.S. Equity ETF (DFUS). She then goes over the disadvantages of indexing, as well as understanding market concentration risks.