DFAU vs DIA: Differences, Returns & Fees
DFAU and DIA hold 27% of their weight in the same names, and DFAU returned +17.2% over the year. Net assets: $12.4bn on Jul 31, 2026 for Dimensional US Core Equity Market ETF, and $44.4bn on Oct 8, 2026 for SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust.
DFAU costs 0.04 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 4.2 points; DIA is 3.6 times larger.
| DFAU | DIA | |
|---|---|---|
| Expense ratio | 0.12% | 0.16% |
| Net assets, as of Jul 31, 2026 | $12.4bn | $45.2bn |
| Total return, 1 year | +17.2% | +13.0% |
| What it tracks | No index, actively managed | Dow Jones Industrial Average |
| Holdings in common | 27% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 33.7% | 55.0% |
| Below its high | 4.6%, high on Aug 5, 2026 | |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Jul 31, 2026 and Oct 8, 2026.
What they hold in common
By the books each fund has filed, DFAU and DIA hold 27% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Above 50%, holding both is close to holding one of them twice. Holdings dated Jul 31, 2026 and Oct 8, 2026.
half
27% in common
On the same fields
DFAU and DIA on the fields both publish, as of Oct 9, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
About DFAU
DFAU is actively managed and tracks no index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.12% a year. By its holdings filed for Jul 31, 2026, 87% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 2,192 positions, with the top ten at 33.7%.
Over the year to Oct 9, 2026 it returned +17.2% with distributions reinvested, against +16.7% for its benchmark, the Russell 3000 Index.
About DIA
DIA tracks the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Over the year to Oct 9, 2026 it returned +13.0% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.16% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 8, 2026, 97% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 30 positions, with the top ten at 55.0%. It sat 4.6% below its high of Aug 5, 2026 on Oct 9, 2026.
Questions people ask
- Which returned more over the last year, DFAU or DIA?
- In the year to Oct 9, 2026, with distributions reinvested, DFAU returned +17.2% and DIA +13.0%.
- Which is cheaper, DFAU or DIA?
- DFAU is cheaper, by 0.04 percentage points a year. That is about $4 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
ETFIQ links to the documents behind every figure; a link is not an endorsement. A comparison is not a recommendation.
How this is computed
Overlap adds up the smaller of the two weights for each security both funds hold.
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ETFIQ, DFAU against DIA, data as of Oct 9, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/dfau-vs-dia
ETFIQ. (Oct 9, 2026). DFAU against DIA. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/dfau-vs-dia
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