NEW YORK, July 18, 2026, 14:17 EDT — The current discount on Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square US (PSUS) is now about equal to the equivalent of 11 years’ worth of management fees.
- Pershing Square USA NYSE:PSUS finished Friday at $37.02, trading 22.6% under its most recent reported NAV.
- With that NAV as a fixed benchmark, the discount represents roughly 11.3 years’ worth of the 2% management fee.
- Vanguard Mega Cap ETF (NYSEARCA:MGC) has an expense ratio of 0.05%, while Vanguard Growth ETF NYSEARCA:VUG charges 0.03%, with both ETFs broadly diversifying capital.
PSUS finished Friday at $37.02, while its NAV stood at $47.81 as of July 14. The resulting $10.79 difference now stands as the key variable for investors in the fund.
Recent reports describe MGC and VUG as inexpensive ways to access stocks preferred by Bill Ackman. However, that view tallies holdings by count, while investors hold positions by weighting.
By June 15, PSUS had allocated close to 85% across 12 firms. Specific weightings have not been revealed, preventing an exact replication analysis.
U.S. cash markets did not open on Saturday. Over the latest Friday-to-Friday session, PSUS declined 2.2%, MGC was down 1.7% and VUG slid 2.4%.
The gap grew wider on Friday. PSUS dropped 2.96%, while MGC lost 1.09% and VUG fell 1.49%.
The most significant overlap among holdings includes Microsoft NASDAQ:MSFT, Amazon.com NASDAQ:AMZN, and Meta Platforms NASDAQ:META. Together, these three represented 11.94% of MGC and made up 15.45% of VUG.
| Vehicle | Friday close | Annual management or expense ratio | Three-stock weight | Portfolio breadth |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSUS | $37.02 | 2.00% management fee | Not disclosed | 85% allocated over 12 companies |
| MGC | $272.04 | 0.05% expense ratio | 11.94% | 183 stocks |
| VUG | $85.27 | 0.03% expense ratio | 15.45% | 151 stocks |
Microsoft, Amazon and Meta. The ETF weights reflect positions as of June 30. PSUS announced its deployment on June 15, though it did not specify separate weights.
Name counts thus exaggerate economic similarity. Over 84% of each ETF is allocated beyond that three-stock group.
Friday’s update featured Restaurant Brands International NYSE:QSR, Brookfield Corporation NYSE:BN, Amazon, Microsoft, and Uber Technologies NYSE:UBER in its rankings. Amazon and Microsoft were the only companies present in the top 10 holdings of both ETFs.
Chief Executive Bill Ackman said PSUS acquired its reported stakes at “prices we believe to be extremely attractive.” The remarks were made in a June 15 regulatory filing and Ackman’s post. X (formerly Twitter)
Based on the latest NAV, PSUS’s yearly management fee amounts to roughly 96 cents per share, representing 2.58% of Friday’s closing price. The fund does not impose a performance fee.
An investment of $10,000 at Friday’s close equates to approximately $12,915 of recent NAV. The projected annual management fee is around $258. For comparison, ETF expenses are estimated at about $5 for MGC and $3 for VUG.
Current PSUS fees are calculated from the previous quarter-end NAV. The 11.3-year calculation does not include additional fund expenses. The prospectus projected these costs at 0.20% per year but cautioned that actual expenses may vary.
PSUS investors encounter both returns from their portfolios and discount shifts. ETF owners primarily gain wide index exposure and experience minimal impact from fees.
Risks: The PSUS discount may remain or grow wider. Losses can increase due to concentrated holdings and the use of leverage. The ETFs might not capture returns from Ackman’s investments outside the index.
U.S. markets resume trading on Monday, July 20. PSUS plans to determine its next weekly NAV after the market closes on Tuesday and expects to release the number on Wednesday. That will serve as the next fund-specific indicator.
Currently, the ETFs reduce the fee load. However, they do not mirror Ackman’s focused exposure.
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