Data as of Nov 4, 2026.
DFAU vs GSLC: Differences, Returns & Fees
Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, DFAU returned +16.0% to GSLC's +13.3%; 75% of their weight is in the same names.
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Net assets: $12.4bn on Jul 31, 2026 for Dimensional US Core Equity Market ETF, and $15.3bn on Nov 3, 2026 for Goldman Sachs ActiveBeta U.S. Large Cap Equity ETF.
Pair scorecard
GSLC costs 0.03 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 2.7 points.
| Measure | DFAU | GSLC |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +16.0% | +13.3% |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | No index, actively managed | Goldman Sachs ActiveBeta U.S. Large Cap Equity Index |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.12% | 0.09% |
| Net assets, DFAU as of Jul 31, 2026 and GSLC as of Nov 3, 2026 | $12.4bn | $15.3bn |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 75% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 33.7% | 35.2% |
Risk and return
Nov 27, 2020 to Oct 30, 2026 · 309 weekly returnsEach against its own benchmark: DFAU against IWV, Nov 27, 2020 to Oct 30, 2026; GSLC against VOO, Oct 2, 2015 to Oct 30, 2026.
From Nov 2020 to Oct 2026, DFAU returned slightly more: +120.9% to +112.4%. DFAU and GSLC swung about the same: 15.6% and 15.4%. DFAU fell slightly less at its worst: −23.1% to −24.5%.
Full scorecard
19 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | DFAU | GSLC | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +120.9% | +112.4% | DFAU (slight) | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +14.3% | +13.5% | DFAU (slight) | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | +106.3% | +96.9% | DFAU (slight) | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 15.6% | 15.4% | Tie | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 10.4% | 10.3% | Tie | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −23.1% | −24.5% | DFAU (slight) | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Upside capture | 98.2% | 96.6% | Share of its benchmark's rise caught in the weeks it rose. | |
| Downside capture | 98.0% | 99.3% | Share of its benchmark's fall taken in the weeks it fell. Lower is better. | |
| Beta | 0.99 | 0.99 | Not an edge | How far it moves for each 1% its benchmark moves. |
| R squared | 1.00 | 0.99 | Not an edge | Share of its weekly moves its benchmark explains. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.72 | 0.68 | DFAU (slight) | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 1.08 | 1.03 | DFAU (slight) | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Treynor | 0.114 | 0.123 | Return above Treasury bills per unit of beta. | |
| Calmar | 0.62 | 0.55 | DFAU | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
| Against the benchmark | ||||
| Benchmark | IWV | VOO | The ETF each fund is measured against. | |
| Alpha | +0.7% a year | −0.7% a year | Not significant | Yearly return beyond what its beta to the benchmark predicts. |
| Alpha t-stat | 1.60 | −1.43 | Not an edge | How sure the alpha is. Below 2, it could be chance. |
| Alpha range | −0.2% to +1.6% | −1.7% to +0.3% | Includes zero | The 95% range for the yearly alpha. |
| Information ratio | 0.51 | −0.49 | Return against its benchmark per unit of tracking error. | |
| Tracking error | 1.1% | 1.6% | Not an edge | How far weekly returns stray from the benchmark, annualized. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 309 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
What they share
By the books each fund has filed, DFAU and GSLC hold 75% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Jul 31, 2026 and Aug 31, 2026.
half
75% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Side by side
DFAU and GSLC on the fields both publish, as of Nov 4, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
Client brief:
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Over the year to Nov 4, 2026 it returned +16.0% with distributions reinvested, against +14.8% for its benchmark, the Russell 3000 Index.
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%.
GSLC
GSLC tracks an index. Over the year to Nov 4, 2026 it returned +13.3% with distributions reinvested, against +14.8% for its benchmark, the S&P 500 Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.09% a year. By its holdings filed for Aug 31, 2026, 94% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 426 positions, with the top ten at 35.2%.
Questions people ask
- Which returned more over the last year, DFAU or GSLC?
- In the year to Nov 4, 2026, with distributions reinvested, DFAU returned +16.0% and GSLC +13.3%.
- Which is cheaper, DFAU or GSLC?
- GSLC is cheaper, by 0.03 percentage points a year. That is about $3 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
Links are sources, not endorsements. 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 GSLC, data as of Nov 4, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/dfau-vs-gslc
ETFIQ. (Nov 4, 2026). DFAU against GSLC. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/dfau-vs-gslc
[DFAU against GSLC (ETFIQ, Nov 4, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/dfau-vs-gslc)
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