PIMCO RAFI Dynamic Multi-Factor U.S. Equity ETF

PIMCO RAFI Dynamic Multi-Factor U.S. Equity ETF (MFUS) tracks an index of roughly 900 U.S. stocks. The index sizes each company by its sales, cash flow, dividends and book value, not by its stock-market value. It blends five investing styles and shifts among them each quarter. At 0.29% a year, it costs far more than the similar funds it was compared with, which average 0.06%. Its largest holding is Intel.

• Over the year to Oct 27, 2026, MFUS returned +17.8%, 1st of 9 among similar funds.
• Its 5-year annualized return was +12.4%.
• In the 2020 COVID crash it fell 35.1% and regained its old high 7.6 months after the low.
• Its worst full calendar year was 2018 (-6.3%); its best was 2019 (+26.2%).
• The deepest fall in its price history was 35.2% (Feb 12, 2020 to Mar 23, 2020), recovered by Nov 9, 2020.

As of Jun 30, 2026, the fund held 881 securities; the ten largest made up 17.33% of assets.

By sector

• Over the three months to Jun 30, 2026, investors added a net $25.5M (creations minus redemptions, per the N-PORT report).
• Monthly total returns reported for that quarter: +7.39%, +3.98%, +3.32%.

MFUS, managed by PIMCO, aims to track the RAFI Dynamic Multi-Factor U.S. Index from RAFI Indices, LLC. It keeps at least 80% of assets in the index's stocks, in roughly the same proportions. Rather than sizing companies by stock market value, the index uses "fundamental weight," a business-size score built from sales, operating cash flow, dividends plus buybacks (mostly five-year averages) and book value. As of September 30, 2026, the index held 918 stocks.

Holdings come from five "factor portfolios," each tilted toward one trait: value (cheap relative to fundamentals), low volatility (steadier prices), quality (high profits, low investment spending), momentum (rising share prices) and size (smaller companies). Each quarter, the index starts with an equal split among factors, then moves each up or down by as much as 15%, based on its trend and a long-term reversal signal.

Except for momentum, each factor is split into four equal slices, and only one slice is rebalanced each quarter. This is meant to spread out risk and limit how much trading moves prices. Momentum is rebuilt in full quarterly. The result looks unlike a market-value index: as of June 30, 2026, Intel was the largest holding at about 3.5%. The added complexity brings model risk: the rules may not work as designed.

• MFUS charges 0.29% a year, versus an average of 0.06% for the similar funds below (9th of 9, cheapest first).
• Using the prospectus's standard example, $10,000 invested would cost about $30 in the first year and $368 over 10 years (assuming a 5% annual return).

It spreads money across about 880 U.S. stocks of all sizes, so it could work as a main stock holding for someone who wants something other than market-value weighting.

MFUS launched on August 31, 2017, so it has no 2008 record. In the 2020 COVID crash it fell 35.1%, then recovered by November 9, 2020, about 7.6 months later. In 2022 it dropped 18.2% from peak to low but lost only 5.62% for the calendar year. Getting back to its old high took about 14.4 months, until December 13, 2023. Its worst calendar year was 2018, down 6.59%. Anyone forced to sell in early 2020 would have taken deep losses. The yield was 1.41% as of October 27, 2026, paid quarterly, so this is not an income fund. On the SEC's standard $10,000 example, costs total $368 over 10 years, more than most plain index funds. Past results don't predict the future, and a plan should look at the whole portfolio, not one fund.

Matched by holdings overlap from the latest N-PORT reports.