ETF Evaluator:
US Small Cap Growth Portfolio ETF Class ()
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(as of Aug 26)
Best Performing in Small Growth Over the Last Year
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ETF Details
US Small Cap Growth Portfolio ETF Class Overview
US Small Cap Growth Portfolio ETF Class (DUSG) is an actively managed U.S. Equity Small Growth exchange-traded fund (ETF). Dimensional Fund Advisors launched the ETF in 2026.
The investment seeks to achieve long-term capital appreciation.
The Portfolio, using a market capitalization weighted approach, purchases a broad and diverse group of readily marketable securities of U.S. small cap companies that the Advisor determines to have high profitability and relative prices compared to other U.S. small cap companies at the time of purchase. As a non-fundamental policy, under normal circumstances, it will invest at least 80% of its net assets in securities of small cap U.S. companies.
About US Small Cap Growth Portfolio ETF Class (DUSG)
There are 3 members of the management team with an average tenure of 9.82 years: Jed Fogdall (2012), Joel Schneider (2017) and Marc Leblond (2020). Management tenure is more important for actively managed ETFs than passive index ETFs.
The ETF has 2 primary benchmarks: Russell 3000 TR USD index with a weighting of 100% and Russell 2000 Growth TR USD index with a weighting of 100%. US Small Cap Growth Portfolio ETF Class has 544 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 15.5% of the ETF’s assets. The ETF meets the SEC requirement of being classified as a diversified fund. The ETF is not considered to have an ESG focus with its investment selection and management.
US Small Cap Growth Portfolio ETF Class is part of the Equity global asset class and is within the U.S. Equity ETF group. US Small Cap Growth Portfolio ETF Class has 0.5% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is 89.9% There is 0.5% allocated to foreign stock, and 0.0% is allocated to preferred stocks. The bond allocation as a percentage of total assets is 0.0% (0.0% domestic bond, 0.0% foreign bond and 0.0% convertible bond). US Small Cap Growth Portfolio ETF Class has 9.6% of the portfolio in cash.
Assets Under Management
The fund has $3 million in total assets, which is below the $2 billion average for the Small Growth category. Normally, lower assets under management translates to higher average expense ratios, and greater total assets are desired. However, for some investment categories, such as small-cap investing, it may be difficult for the manager to fully employ the desired active strategy if assets grow too large or too quickly.
DUSG Performance and Fees
The expense ratio measures how much of a fund’s assets are used for administrative expenses and operating expenses, including adviser fees and fees for the transfer agent and custodial services. The US Small Cap Growth Portfolio ETF Class expense ratio is below average compared to funds in the Small Growth category. US Small Cap Growth Portfolio ETF Class has an expense ratio of 0.32%, which is 26% lower than its category average, making the fund expense ratio grade a C. While it is difficult to predict returns, it is known that high annual expense ratios reduce your rate of return, and excessive fees are difficult to overcome. Active management normally comes with higher expense ratios than passive index management. Certain investment categories such as small company and foreign also normally have higher expense ratios. It is best to compare fund expense ratios against the category averages for meaningful assessments.
High portfolio turnover can translate to higher expenses and lower aftertax returns. US Small Cap Growth Portfolio ETF Class has a portfolio turnover rate of 18%, which indicates that it holds its assets around / 0.1 years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 74% for the Small Growth category.
Recently, in the month of July 2026, US Small Cap Growth Portfolio ETF Class returned -1.6%, which earned it a grade of A, as the Small Growth category had an average return of -5.5%. The letter grades of A, B, C, D and F are based upon relative rankings within the investment category. A grade of A, for example, would indicate that the return is in the highest 20% for that time period compared to all ETFs in that category.
US Small Cap Growth Portfolio ETF Class has a trailing yield of 0.00%, which is below the 0.44% category average.
The fund normally distributes its income quarterly and its capital gains annually.
It’s natural to seek the best-performing investments, but you must consider the relationship between risk and return and the impact of costs and taxes on your realized returns.
US Small Cap Growth Portfolio ETF Class Grades
Year to date, the ETF has returned 12.2%, 4.5 percentage points worse than the category, which translates into a grade of F. The fund has returned 17.3% over the past year (grade of F), 11.7% over the past three years (grade of F) and 7.6% per year over the past five years (grade of A) and 10.9% per year over the past 10 years (grade of C).
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DUSG Trailing NAV Total Returns Data as of 7/31/26
| Last Month |
Last Quarter |
Ann'l. 1Yr |
Ann'l. 3Yr |
Ann'l. 5Yr |
Ann'l. 10Yr |
|
| DUSG Return (NAV) | -1.6% | 4.4% | 17.3% | 11.7% | 7.6% | 10.9% |
| DUSG Return (Price) | -0.8% | na | na | na | na | na |
| NAV +/- Price Return | -0.838% | na | na | na | na | na |
| Small Growth Avg | -5.5% | 4.5% | 27.0% | 12.8% | 4.3% | 11.0% |
| DUSG Grade (NAV) | A | C | F | F | A | C |
| +/- Category (NAV) | 3.8% | -0.1% | -9.7% | -1.2% | 3.4% | -0.0% |
| DUSG Tax-Cost Ratio | na | na | na | na | na | na |
DUSG Annual NAV Total ReturnsData as of 7/31/26
| 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | |
| DUSG Return (NAV) | 12.2% | 5.9% | 13.9% | 21.2% | -17.8% | 25.9% | 19.3% | 26.2% | -12.3% | 16.2% | 17.1% |
| DUSG Return (Price) | na | na | na | na | na | na | na | na | na | na | na |
| NAV +/- Price Ret | na | na | na | na | na | na | na | na | na | na | na |
| Small Growth Avg | 16.7% | 11.2% | 11.1% | 17.8% | -26.9% | 8.9% | 43.2% | 28.5% | -6.7% | 21.2% | 12.7% |
| DUSG Grade (NAV) | F | D | C | B | A | A | F | D | F | D | C |
| +/- Category | -4.5% | -5.2% | 2.7% | 3.4% | 9.2% | 17.0% | -23.9% | -2.3% | -5.6% | -5.0% | 4.4% |
| Risk Measures | |
| Beta: | 1.05 |
| R-Squared: | 64% |
| Standard Deviation: | 17.2% |
| Category Risk Index: | 0.80 |
| Category Risk Rating: | Low |
| Total Risk Index: | 1.40 |
| Total Risk Rating: | Above Average |
| Portfolio Characteristics | |
| Yield: | -- |
| Total Assets: | $ 1,978 Mil |
| Share Class Assets: | $ 4 Mil |
| Turnover: | 18.0% |
| Expense Ratio: | 0.32% |
| Index Fund: | No |
| Index Tracked: | Russell 3000 TR USD |
| Index Weighting: | 100% |
| Leveraged: | No |
| Socially Responsible Fund: | No |
| Capital Gains Distribution Frequency: | Annually |
| Income Distribution Frequency: | Quarterly |
Management Team
| Number of Managers: 3 | |||
| Longest Tenure: 13.6 years | |||
| Average Tenure: 9.8 years | |||
| Managers (Year): Fogdall Jed (2012), Schneider Joel (2017), Leblond Marc (2020) | |||
Portfolio Composition (as of 6/30/26)
| # of Holdings: | 544 |
| % in Top 10 Holdings: | 15.5% |
| Fund is Non-Diversified: | No |
| % in Foreign Issues: | 0.5% |
Portfolio Allocation |
|
| Domestic Stock: | 89.9% |
| Foreign Stock: | 0.5% |
| Preferred Stock: | 0.0% |
| Domestic Bond: | 0.0% |
| Foreign Bond: | 0.0% |
| Convertible Bond: | 0.0% |
| Other: | 0.0% |
| Cash: | 9.6% |
Purchase Information
| Legal Structure: | Open Ended Investment Company |
| Fund Family: | Dimensional Fund Advisors |
| Phone Number: | 888-576-1167 |
| Website: | www.dimensional.com |
| Inception Date: | May 5, 2026 |
Expenses and Fees
| Expense Ratio (%): | 0.32% (Rating: Below Avg) |
| Category Average Expense Ratio (%): | 0.43% |
