Prospectus
February 28, 2023
DFA INVESTMENT DIMENSIONS GROUP INC. / DIMENSIONAL INVESTMENT GROUP INC.
INTERNATIONAL
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Large Cap
International Portfolio (DFALX) |
Continental
Small Company Portfolio (DFCSX) |
World Core
Equity Portfolio (DREIX) |
Institutional Class
Shares
This Prospectus describes the Institutional Class shares of each
Portfolio which:
Are for long-term investors.
Are generally available only
to institutional investors and clients of registered investment advisors.
Do
not charge sales commissions or loads.
The Securities and Exchange Commission has not approved or disapproved these securities or passed upon the adequacy of this Prospectus. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.
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Additional Information on Investment Objectives and Policies |
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The investment objective of the Large Cap International Portfolio (the “Portfolio”) is to achieve long-term capital appreciation.
This table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy, hold or sell shares of the Large Cap International Portfolio. You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the table and Example below.
year as a percentage of the value of
your investment)
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Management Fee |
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Other Expenses |
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Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses |
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This Example is meant to help you compare the cost of investing in the Large Cap International Portfolio with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Portfolio for the time periods indicated. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Portfolio’s operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
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1 Year |
3 Years |
5 Years |
10 Years | |||
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The Large Cap International
Portfolio pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells
securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover may
indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Portfolio
shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in
Annual Fund Operating Expenses or in the Example, affect the Portfolio’s
performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Portfolio’s portfolio
turnover rate was
To achieve the Large Cap International Portfolio’s investment objective, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP (the “Advisor”) implements an integrated investment approach that combines research, portfolio design, portfolio management, and trading functions. As further described below, the Portfolio’s design emphasizes long-term drivers of expected returns identified by the Advisor’s research, while balancing risk through broad diversification across companies and sectors. The Advisor’s portfolio management and trading processes further balance those long-term drivers of expected returns with shorter-term drivers of expected returns and trading costs.
1
The Large Cap International Portfolio is designed to purchase securities of large non-U.S. companies in countries or regions designated by the Advisor as an approved market for investment. The Advisor may consider a company’s size, relative price, and/or profitability relative to other eligible companies when making investment decisions for the Portfolio. An equity issuer is considered to have a low relative price (i.e., a value stock) primarily because it has a low price in relation to its book value. In assessing relative price, the Advisor may consider additional factors such as price to cash flow or price to earnings ratios. An equity issuer is considered to have high profitability because it has high earnings or profits from operations in relation to its book value or assets. The criteria the Advisor uses for assessing relative price and profitability are subject to change from time to time. The Advisor will seek to set country weights based on the relative adjusted market capitalizations of eligible large companies within each eligible country.
The Large Cap International Portfolio intends to purchase securities of large non-U.S. companies associated with developed market countries that the Advisor has designated as approved markets. As a non-fundamental policy, under normal circumstances, the Portfolio will invest at least 80% of its net assets in securities of large cap companies in the particular markets in which the Portfolio invests. The Advisor determines the minimum market capitalization of a large company with respect to each country or region in which the Portfolio invests. Based on market capitalization data as of December 31, 2022, for the Portfolio, the market capitalization of a large company in any country or region in which the Portfolio invests would be $1,325 million or above. This threshold will change due to market conditions.
The Advisor may also increase or reduce the Large Cap International Portfolio’s exposure to an eligible company, or exclude a company, based on shorter-term considerations, such as a company’s price momentum. In addition, the Advisor seeks to reduce trading costs using a flexible trading approach that looks for opportunities to participate in the available market liquidity, while managing turnover and explicit transaction costs.
The Large Cap International Portfolio may gain exposure to companies in an approved market by purchasing equity securities in the form of depositary receipts, which may be listed or traded outside the issuer’s domicile country. The Portfolio also may purchase or sell futures contracts and options on futures contracts for foreign or U.S. equity securities and indices to increase or decrease equity market exposure based on actual or expected cash inflows to or outflows from the Portfolio. Because many of the Portfolio’s investments may be denominated in foreign currencies, the Portfolio may enter into foreign currency exchange transactions, including foreign currency forward contracts, in connection with the settlement of foreign securities or to transfer cash balances from one currency to another currency.
The Large Cap International Portfolio may lend its portfolio securities to generate additional income.
Equity Market Risk: Even a long-term investment approach cannot guarantee a profit. Economic, market, political, and issuer-specific conditions and events will cause the value of equity securities, and the Portfolio that owns them, to rise or fall. Stock markets tend to move in cycles, with periods of rising prices and periods of falling prices.
Foreign Securities and Currencies Risk: Foreign securities prices may decline or fluctuate because of: (a) economic or political actions of foreign governments, and/or (b) less regulated or liquid securities markets. Investors holding these securities may also be exposed to foreign currency risk (the possibility that foreign currency will fluctuate in value against the U.S. dollar or that a foreign government will convert, or be forced to convert, its currency to another currency, changing its value against the U.S. dollar). The Portfolio does not hedge foreign currency risk.
2
Depositary receipts are generally subject to the same risks as the foreign securities that they evidence or into which they may be converted. In addition, the underlying issuers of certain depositary receipts, particularly unsponsored or unregistered depositary receipts, are under no obligation to distribute shareholder communications to the holders of such receipts, or to pass through to them any voting rights with respect to the deposited securities. Depositary receipts that are not sponsored by the issuer may be less liquid and there may be less readily available public information about the issuer.
Profitability Investment Risk: High relative profitability stocks may perform differently from the market as a whole and an investment strategy purchasing these securities may cause the Portfolio to at times underperform equity funds that use other investment strategies.
Value Investment Risk: Value stocks may perform differently from the market as a whole and an investment strategy purchasing these securities may cause the Portfolio to at times underperform equity funds that use other investment strategies. Value stocks can react differently to political, economic, and industry developments than the market as a whole and other types of stocks. Value stocks also may underperform the market for long periods of time.
Derivatives Risk: Derivatives are instruments, such as futures, and options thereon, and foreign currency forward contracts, whose value is derived from that of other assets, rates or indices. The use of derivatives for non-hedging purposes may be considered to carry more risk than other types of investments. When the Portfolio uses derivatives, the Portfolio will be directly exposed to the risks of those derivatives. Derivative instruments are subject to a number of risks including counterparty, settlement, liquidity, interest rate, market, credit and management risks, as well as the risk of improper valuation. Changes in the value of a derivative may not correlate perfectly with the underlying asset, rate or index, and the Portfolio could lose more than the principal amount invested.
Securities Lending Risk: Securities lending involves the risk that the borrower may fail to return the securities in a timely manner or at all. As a result, the Portfolio may lose money and there may be a delay in recovering the loaned securities. The Portfolio could also lose money if it does not recover the securities and/or the value of the collateral falls, including the value of investments made with cash collateral. Securities lending also may have certain adverse tax consequences.
Operational Risk: Operational risks include human error, changes in personnel, system changes, faults in communication, and failures in systems, technology, or processes. Various operational events or circumstances are outside the Advisor’s control, including instances at third parties. The Portfolio and the Advisor seek to reduce these operational risks through controls and procedures. However, these measures do not address every possible risk and may be inadequate to address these risks.
Cyber Security Risk: The Portfolio’s and its service providers’ use of internet, technology and information systems may expose the Portfolio to potential risks linked to cyber security breaches of those technological or information systems. Cyber security breaches, amongst other things, could allow an unauthorized party to gain access to proprietary information, customer data, or fund assets, or cause the Portfolio and/or its service providers to suffer data corruption or lose operational functionality.
The after-tax returns presented in the table for the Large Cap International Portfolio are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local
3
January 2013-December 2022
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Periods ending December 31, 2022
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Large Cap International Portfolio |
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Return Before Taxes |
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Return After Taxes on Distributions |
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Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Portfolio Shares |
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MSCI World
ex USA Index (net dividends) |
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Investment Advisor/Portfolio Management
Dimensional Fund Advisors LP serves as the investment advisor for the Large Cap International Portfolio. Dimensional Fund Advisors Ltd. and DFA Australia Limited serve as the sub-advisors for the Portfolio. The following individuals are responsible for leading the day-to-day management of the Portfolio:
• |
Jed S. Fogdall, Global Head of Portfolio Management, Chairman of the Investment Committee, Vice President and Senior Portfolio Manager of the Advisor, has been a portfolio manager of the Portfolio since 2010. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
• |
Arun C. Keswani, Vice President and Senior Portfolio Manager of the Advisor, has been a portfolio manager of the Portfolio since 2020. |
4
• |
Joel P. Schneider, Deputy Head of Portfolio Management, North America, member of the Investment Committee, Vice President and Senior Portfolio Manager of the Advisor, has been a portfolio manager of the Portfolio since 2020. |
Purchase and Redemption of Fund Shares
Investors may purchase or redeem shares of the Large Cap International Portfolio on each day that the NYSE is scheduled to be open for business by first contacting the Portfolio’s transfer agent at (888) 576-1167. Shareholders that invest in the Portfolio through a financial intermediary should contact their financial intermediary regarding purchase and redemption procedures. The Portfolio generally is available for investment only by institutional clients, clients of registered investment advisors, clients of financial institutions and a limited number of certain other investors as approved from time to time by the Advisor. All investments are subject to approval of the Advisor.
Tax Information
The dividends and distributions you receive from the Large Cap International Portfolio are taxable and generally will be taxed as ordinary income, capital gains, or some combination of both, unless you are investing through a tax-advantaged arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or an individual retirement account, in which case distributions may be taxed as ordinary income when withdrawn from the plan or account.
Payments to Financial Intermediaries
If you purchase the Large Cap International Portfolio through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Portfolio and its related companies may pay the intermediary for the sale of the Portfolio shares and/or related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the financial intermediary to recommend the Portfolio over another investment. Ask your financial advisor or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.
5
The investment objective of the DFA International Value Portfolio (the “Portfolio”) is to achieve long-term capital appreciation. The DFA International Value Portfolio is a Feeder Portfolio and pursues its objective by investing substantially all of its assets in its corresponding Master Fund, The DFA International Value Series (the “DFA International Value Series” or the “Series”) of The DFA Investment Trust Company (the “Trust”), which has the same investment objective and policies as the Portfolio.
This table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy, hold or sell shares of the DFA International Value Portfolio. You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the table and Example below.
each year as a percentage of the value of
your investment)
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Management Fee |
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Other Expenses |
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Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses |
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Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement |
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Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement |
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* |
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** |
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This Example is meant to help you compare the cost of investing in the DFA International Value Portfolio with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Portfolio for the time periods indicated. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Portfolio’s operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
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1 Year |
3 Years |
5 Years |
10 Years | |||
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ | |||
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6
The Example reflects the aggregate annual operating expenses of the DFA International Value Portfolio and the Portfolio’s portion of the expenses of the DFA International Value Series.
The DFA International Value
Series pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells
securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover may
indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Portfolio
shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in
Annual Fund Operating Expenses or in the Example, affect the DFA International
Value Portfolio’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Series’
portfolio turnover rate was
The DFA International Value Portfolio invests substantially all of its assets in the DFA International Value Series. To achieve the Portfolio’s and Series’ investment objectives, the Advisor implements an integrated investment approach that combines research, portfolio design, portfolio management, and trading functions. As further described below, the Series’ design emphasizes long-term drivers of expected returns identified by the Advisor’s research, while balancing risk through broad diversification across companies and sectors. The Advisor’s portfolio management and trading processes further balance those long-term drivers of expected returns with shorter-term drivers of expected returns and trading costs.
The DFA International Value Series is designed to purchase securities of large non-U.S. companies in countries with developed markets that the Advisor determines to be value stocks. A company’s market capitalization is the number of its shares outstanding times its price per share. Under a market capitalization weighted approach, companies with higher market capitalizations generally represent a larger proportion of the Series than companies with relatively lower market capitalizations. The Advisor may overweight certain stocks, including smaller companies, lower relative price stocks, and/or higher profitability stocks within the large-cap value segment of developed ex U.S. markets. An equity issuer is considered to have a low relative price (i.e., a value stock) primarily because it has a low price in relation to its book value. In assessing relative price, the Advisor may consider additional factors such as price to cash flow or price to earnings ratios. An equity issuer is considered to have high profitability because it has high earnings or profits from operations in relation to its book value or assets. The criteria the Advisor uses for assessing relative price and profitability are subject to change from time to time.
The DFA International Value Series intends to purchase securities of large companies associated with developed market countries that the Advisor has designated as approved markets. The Advisor determines the minimum market capitalization of a large company with respect to each country or region in which the Series invests. Based on market capitalization data as of December 31, 2022, for the Series, the market capitalization of a large company in any country or region in which the Series invests would be $1,325 million or above. This threshold will change due to market conditions.
The Advisor may also increase or reduce the DFA International Value Series’ exposure to an eligible company, or exclude a company, based on shorter-term considerations, such as a company’s price momentum. In addition, the Advisor seeks to reduce trading costs using a flexible trading approach that looks for opportunities to participate in the available market liquidity, while managing turnover and explicit transaction costs.
The DFA International Value Series may gain exposure to companies associated with approved markets by purchasing equity securities in the form of depositary receipts, which may be listed or traded outside the issuer’s domicile country. The Series and the DFA International Value Portfolio each may purchase or sell futures contracts and options on futures contracts for foreign or U.S. equity securities and indices to increase or decrease equity market exposure based on actual or expected cash inflows to or outflows from the Series or Portfolio. Because many of the Series’ and Portfolio’s investments may be denominated in foreign currencies, the Series and the Portfolio may enter into foreign currency exchange transactions, including foreign currency forward
7
contracts, in connection with the settlement of foreign securities or to transfer cash balances from one currency to another currency.
The DFA International Value Series may lend its portfolio securities to generate additional income.
Equity Market Risk: Even a long-term investment approach cannot guarantee a profit. Economic, market, political, and issuer-specific conditions and events will cause the value of equity securities, and the Portfolio that owns them, to rise or fall. Stock markets tend to move in cycles, with periods of rising prices and periods of falling prices.
Foreign Securities and Currencies Risk: Foreign securities prices may decline or fluctuate because of: (a) economic or political actions of foreign governments, and/or (b) less regulated or liquid securities markets. Investors holding these securities may also be exposed to foreign currency risk (the possibility that foreign currency will fluctuate in value against the U.S. dollar or that a foreign government will convert, or be forced to convert, its currency to another currency, changing its value against the U.S. dollar). The Series does not hedge foreign currency risk.
Depositary receipts are generally subject to the same risks as the foreign securities that they evidence or into which they may be converted. In addition, the underlying issuers of certain depositary receipts, particularly unsponsored or unregistered depositary receipts, are under no obligation to distribute shareholder communications to the holders of such receipts, or to pass through to them any voting rights with respect to the deposited securities. Depositary receipts that are not sponsored by the issuer may be less liquid and there may be less readily available public information about the issuer.
Value Investment Risk: Value stocks may perform differently from the market as a whole and an investment strategy purchasing these securities may cause the Series to at times underperform equity funds that use other investment strategies. Value stocks can react differently to political, economic, and industry developments than the market as a whole and other types of stocks. Value stocks also may underperform the market for long periods of time.
Profitability Investment Risk: High relative profitability stocks may perform differently from the market as a whole and an investment strategy purchasing these securities may cause the Series to at times underperform equity funds that use other investment strategies.
Derivatives Risk: Derivatives are instruments, such as futures, and options thereon, and foreign currency forward contracts, whose value is derived from that of other assets, rates or indices. The use of derivatives for non-hedging purposes may be considered to carry more risk than other types of investments. When the Series and the Portfolio use derivatives, the Portfolio will be directly exposed to the risks of those derivatives. Derivative instruments are subject to a number of risks including counterparty, settlement, liquidity, interest rate, market, credit and management risks, as well as the risk of improper valuation. Changes in the value of a derivative may not correlate perfectly with the underlying asset, rate or index, and the Portfolio could lose more than the principal amount invested.
Securities Lending Risk: Securities lending involves the risk that the borrower may fail to return the securities in a timely manner or at all. As a result, the Series may lose money and there may be a delay in recovering the loaned securities. The Series could also lose money if it does not recover the securities and/or the value of the collateral falls, including the value of investments made with cash collateral. Securities lending also may have certain adverse tax consequences.
8
Operational Risk: Operational risks include human error, changes in personnel, system changes, faults in communication, and failures in systems, technology, or processes. Various operational events or circumstances are outside the Advisor’s control, including instances at third parties. The Portfolio and the Advisor seek to reduce these operational risks through controls and procedures. However, these measures do not address every possible risk and may be inadequate to address these risks.
Cyber Security Risk: The Portfolio’s and its service providers’ use of internet, technology and information systems may expose the Portfolio to potential risks linked to cyber security breaches of those technological or information systems. Cyber security breaches, amongst other things, could allow an unauthorized party to gain access to proprietary information, customer data, or fund assets, or cause the Portfolio and/or its service providers to suffer data corruption or lose operational functionality.
January 2013-December 2022
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|
|
|
|
9
Periods ending December 31, 2022
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|
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|||||||||||||||||
1 Year |
5 Years |
10 Years | |||||||||||||||||||
DFA International Value Portfolio |
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| |||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||
Return Before Taxes |
- |
% |
|
|
|
% |
|
|
|
% |
| ||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||
Return After Taxes on Distributions |
- |
% |
|
|
|
% |
|
|
|
% |
| ||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||
Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Portfolio Shares |
- |
% |
|
|
|
% |
|
|
|
% |
| ||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||
MSCI World
ex USA Value Index (net dividends) |
|
- |
% |
|
|
|
% |
|
|
|
% |
| |||||||||
|
Investment Advisor/Portfolio Management
Dimensional Fund Advisors LP serves as the investment advisor for the DFA International Value Portfolio and the DFA International Value Series. Dimensional Fund Advisors Ltd. and DFA Australia Limited serve as the sub-advisors for the Series. The following individuals are responsible for leading the day-to-day management of the Portfolio and the Series:
• |
Jed S. Fogdall, Global Head of Portfolio Management, Chairman of the Investment Committee, Vice President and Senior Portfolio Manager of the Advisor, has been a portfolio manager of the Portfolio since 2010. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
• |
Arun C. Keswani, Vice President and Senior Portfolio Manager of the Advisor, has been a portfolio manager of the Portfolio since 2020. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
• |
Joel P. Schneider, Deputy Head of Portfolio Management, North America, member of the Investment Committee, Vice President and Senior Portfolio Manager of the Advisor, has been a portfolio manager of the Portfolio since 2022. |
Purchase and Redemption of Fund Shares
Investors may purchase or redeem shares of the DFA International Value Portfolio on each day that the NYSE is scheduled to be open for business by first contacting the Portfolio’s transfer agent at (888) 576-1167. Shareholders that invest in the Portfolio through a financial intermediary should contact their financial intermediary regarding purchase and redemption procedures. The Portfolio generally is available for investment only by institutional clients, clients of registered investment advisors, clients of financial institutions and a limited number of certain other investors as approved from time to time by the Advisor. All investments are subject to approval of the Advisor.
Tax Information
The dividends and distributions you receive from the DFA International Value Portfolio are taxable and generally will be taxed as ordinary income, capital gains, or some combination of both, unless you are investing through a tax-advantaged arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or an individual retirement account, in which case distributions may be taxed as ordinary income when withdrawn from the plan or account.
Payments to Financial Intermediaries
If you purchase the DFA International Value Portfolio through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Portfolio and its related companies may pay the intermediary for the sale of the Portfolio shares and/or related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the financial intermediary to recommend the Portfolio over another investment. Ask your financial advisor or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.
10
The investment objective of the International Core Equity Portfolio (the “Portfolio”) is to achieve long-term capital appreciation.
This table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy, hold or sell shares of the International Core Equity Portfolio. You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the table and Example below.
year as a percentage of the value of
your investment)
|
|
|
Management Fee |
| |
| ||
Other Expenses |
| |
| ||
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses |
| |
|
This Example is meant to help you compare the cost of investing in the International Core Equity Portfolio with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Portfolio for the time periods indicated. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Portfolio’s operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1 Year |
3 Years |
5 Years |
10 Years | |||
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ | |||
|
The International Core Equity
Portfolio pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells
securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover may
indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Portfolio
shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in
Annual Fund Operating Expenses or in the Example, affect the Portfolio’s
performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Portfolio’s portfolio
turnover rate was
To achieve the International Core Equity Portfolio’s investment objective, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP (the “Advisor”) implements an integrated investment approach that combines research, portfolio design, portfolio management, and trading functions. As further described below, the Portfolio’s design emphasizes long-term drivers of expected returns identified by the Advisor’s research, while balancing risk through broad diversification across companies and sectors. The Advisor’s portfolio management and trading processes further balance those long-term drivers of expected returns with shorter-term drivers of expected returns and trading costs.
11
The International Core Equity Portfolio is designed to purchase a broad and diverse group of securities of non-U.S. companies in developed markets. The Portfolio invests in companies of all sizes, with increased exposure to smaller capitalization, lower relative price, and higher profitability companies as compared to their representation in the International Universe. For purposes of this Portfolio, the Advisor defines the International Universe as a market capitalization weighted set (e.g., the larger the company, the greater the proportion of the International Universe it represents) of non-U.S. companies in developed markets that have been authorized as approved markets for investment by the Advisor’s Investment Committee. The Portfolio’s increased exposure to smaller capitalization, lower relative price, and higher profitability companies may be achieved by decreasing the allocation of the Portfolio’s assets to larger capitalization, higher relative price, or lower profitability companies relative to their weight in the International Universe. An equity issuer is considered to have a high relative price (i.e., a growth stock) primarily because it has a high price in relation to its book value. An equity issuer is considered to have a low relative price (i.e., a value stock) primarily because it has a low price in relation to its book value. In assessing relative price, the Advisor may consider additional factors such as price to cash flow or price to earnings ratios. An equity issuer is considered to have high profitability because it has high earnings or profits from operations in relation to its book value or assets. The criteria the Advisor uses for assessing relative price and profitability are subject to change from time to time.
The International Core Equity Portfolio intends to purchase securities of companies associated with developed market countries that the Advisor has designated as approved markets. As a non-fundamental policy, under normal circumstances, the Portfolio will invest at least 80% of its net assets in equity securities. The Advisor determines company size on a country or region specific basis and based primarily on market capitalization. The percentage allocation of the assets of the Portfolio to securities of the largest high relative price companies will generally be reduced from between 5% and 35% of their percentage weight in the International Universe. As of December 31, 2022, securities of the largest high relative price companies in the International Universe comprised approximately 16% of the International Universe and the Advisor allocated approximately 8% of the Portfolio to securities of the largest high relative price companies in the International Universe. The percentage by which the Portfolio’s allocation to securities of the largest high relative price companies is reduced will change due to market movements and other factors.
The Advisor may also increase or reduce the International Core Equity Portfolio’s exposure to an eligible company, or exclude a company, based on shorter-term considerations, such as a company’s price momentum and investment characteristics. In assessing a company’s investment characteristics, the Advisor considers ratios such as recent changes in assets divided by total assets. The criteria the Advisor uses for assessing a company’s investment characteristics are subject to change from time to time. In addition, the Advisor seeks to reduce trading costs using a flexible trading approach that looks for opportunities to participate in the available market liquidity, while managing turnover and explicit transaction costs.
The International Core Equity Portfolio may gain exposure to companies associated with approved markets by purchasing equity securities in the form of depositary receipts, which may be listed or traded outside the issuer’s domicile country. The Portfolio also may purchase or sell futures contracts and options on futures contracts for foreign or U.S. equity securities and indices to increase or decrease equity market exposure based on actual or expected cash inflows to or outflows from the Portfolio. Because many of the Portfolio’s investments may be denominated in foreign currencies, the Portfolio may enter into foreign currency exchange transactions, including foreign currency forward contracts, in connection with the settlement of foreign securities or to transfer cash balances from one currency to another currency.
The International Core Equity Portfolio may lend its portfolio securities to generate additional income.
12
Equity Market Risk: Even a long-term investment approach cannot guarantee a profit. Economic, market, political, and issuer-specific conditions and events will cause the value of equity securities, and the Portfolio that owns them, to rise or fall. Stock markets tend to move in cycles, with periods of rising prices and periods of falling prices.
Foreign Securities and Currencies Risk: Foreign securities prices may decline or fluctuate because of: (a) economic or political actions of foreign governments, and/or (b) less regulated or liquid securities markets. Investors holding these securities may also be exposed to foreign currency risk (the possibility that foreign currency will fluctuate in value against the U.S. dollar or that a foreign government will convert, or be forced to convert, its currency to another currency, changing its value against the U.S. dollar). The Portfolio does not hedge foreign currency risk.
Depositary receipts are generally subject to the same risks as the foreign securities that they evidence or into which they may be converted. In addition, the underlying issuers of certain depositary receipts, particularly unsponsored or unregistered depositary receipts, are under no obligation to distribute shareholder communications to the holders of such receipts, or to pass through to them any voting rights with respect to the deposited securities. Depositary receipts that are not sponsored by the issuer may be less liquid and there may be less readily available public information about the issuer.
Small and Mid-Cap Company Risk: Securities of small and mid-cap companies are often less liquid than those of large companies and this could make it difficult to sell a small or mid-cap company security at a desired time or price. As a result, small and mid-cap company stocks may fluctuate relatively more in price. In general, small and mid- capitalization companies are also more vulnerable than larger companies to adverse business or economic developments and they may have more limited resources.
Profitability Investment Risk: High relative profitability stocks may perform differently from the market as a whole and an investment strategy purchasing these securities may cause the Portfolio to at times underperform equity funds that use other investment strategies.
Value Investment Risk: Value stocks may perform differently from the market as a whole and an investment strategy purchasing these securities may cause the Portfolio to at times underperform equity funds that use other investment strategies. Value stocks can react differently to political, economic, and industry developments than the market as a whole and other types of stocks. Value stocks also may underperform the market for long periods of time.
Derivatives Risk: Derivatives are instruments, such as futures, and options thereon, and foreign currency forward contracts, whose value is derived from that of other assets, rates or indices. The use of derivatives for non-hedging purposes may be considered to carry more risk than other types of investments. When the Portfolio uses derivatives, the Portfolio will be directly exposed to the risks of those derivatives. Derivative instruments are subject to a number of risks including counterparty, settlement, liquidity, interest rate, market, credit and management risks, as well as the risk of improper valuation. Changes in the value of a derivative may not correlate perfectly with the underlying asset, rate or index, and the Portfolio could lose more than the principal amount invested.
Securities Lending Risk: Securities lending involves the risk that the borrower may fail to return the securities in a timely manner or at all. As a result, the Portfolio may lose money and there may be a delay in recovering the loaned securities. The Portfolio could also lose money if it does not recover the securities and/or the value of the collateral falls, including the value of investments made with cash collateral. Securities lending also may have certain adverse tax consequences.
Operational Risk: Operational risks include human error, changes in personnel, system changes, faults in communication, and failures in systems, technology, or processes. Various operational events or circumstances are outside the Advisor’s control, including instances at third parties. The Portfolio and the Advisor seek to reduce these operational risks through controls and procedures. However, these measures do not address every possible risk and may be inadequate to address these risks.
13
Cyber Security Risk: The Portfolio’s and its service providers’ use of internet, technology and information systems may expose the Portfolio to potential risks linked to cyber security breaches of those technological or information systems. Cyber security breaches, amongst other things, could allow an unauthorized party to gain access to proprietary information, customer data, or fund assets, or cause the Portfolio and/or its service providers to suffer data corruption or lose operational functionality.
January 2013-December 2022
|
|
|
|
|
14
Periods ending December 31, 2022
|
|
|
|
|
| ||||||||||||||||
1 Year |
5 Years |
10 Years | |||||||||||||||||||
International Core Equity Portfolio |
|
|
|
|
|
| |||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||
Return Before Taxes |
- |
% |
|
|
|
% |
|
|
|
% |
| ||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||
Return After Taxes on Distributions |
- |
% |
|
|
|
% |
|
|
|
% |
| ||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||
Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Portfolio Shares |
- |
% |
|
|
|
% |
|
|
|
% |
| ||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||
MSCI World
ex USA Index (net dividends) |
- |
% |
|
|
|
% |
|
|
|
% |
| ||||||||||
|
Investment Advisor/Portfolio Management
Dimensional Fund Advisors LP serves as the investment advisor for the International Core Equity Portfolio. Dimensional Fund Advisors Ltd. and DFA Australia Limited serve as the sub-advisors for the Portfolio. The following individuals are responsible for leading the day-to-day management of the Portfolio:
• |
Jed S. Fogdall, Global Head of Portfolio Management, Chairman of the Investment Committee, Vice President and Senior Portfolio Manager of the Advisor, has been a portfolio manager of the Portfolio since 2010. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
• |
Allen Pu, Deputy Head of Portfolio Management, North America, member of the Investment Committee, Vice President and Senior Portfolio Manager of the Advisor, has been a portfolio manager of the Portfolio since 2015. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
• |
Mary T. Phillips, Deputy Head of Portfolio Management, North America, member of the Investment Committee, Vice President and Senior Portfolio Manager of the Advisor, has been a portfolio manager of the Portfolio since 2017. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
• |
William B. Collins-Dean, Vice President and Senior Portfolio Manager of the Advisor, has been a portfolio manager of the Portfolio since 2019. |
Purchase and Redemption of Fund Shares
Investors may purchase or redeem shares of the International Core Equity Portfolio on each day that the NYSE is scheduled to be open for business by first contacting the Portfolio’s transfer agent at (888) 576-1167. Shareholders that invest in the Portfolio through a financial intermediary should contact their financial intermediary regarding purchase and redemption procedures. The Portfolio generally is available for investment only by institutional clients, clients of registered investment advisors, clients of financial institutions and a limited number of certain other investors as approved from time to time by the Advisor. All investments are subject to approval of the Advisor.
Tax Information
The dividends and distributions you receive from the International Core Equity Portfolio are taxable and generally will be taxed as ordinary income, capital gains, or some combination of both, unless you are investing through a tax-advantaged arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or an individual retirement account, in which case distributions may be taxed as ordinary income when withdrawn from the plan or account.
15
Payments to Financial Intermediaries
If you purchase the International Core Equity Portfolio through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Portfolio and its related companies may pay the intermediary for the sale of the Portfolio shares and/or related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the financial intermediary to recommend the Portfolio over another investment. Ask your financial advisor or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.
16
The investment objective of the Global Small Company Portfolio (the “Portfolio”) is to achieve long-term capital appreciation.
This table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy, hold or sell shares of the Global Small Company Portfolio. You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the table and Example below.
year as a percentage of the value of
your investment)
|
|
|
Management Fee |
| |
| ||
Other Expenses |
| |
| ||
Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses** |
| |
| ||
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses** |
| |
| ||
Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement*** |
| |
| ||
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement |
| |
|
* |
| ||
** |
| ||
*** |
|
This Example is meant to help you compare the cost of investing in the Global Small Company Portfolio with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Portfolio for the time periods indicated. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Portfolio’s operating expenses remain the same. The costs for the Portfolio reflect the net expenses of the Portfolio that result from the contractual expense waiver in the first year only. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1 Year |
3 Years |
5 Years |
10 Years | |||
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ | |||
|
17
A mutual fund generally pays
transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or
“turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover may indicate higher
transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when mutual fund shares are
held in a taxable account. The Global Small Company Portfolio does not pay
transaction costs when buying and selling shares of other mutual funds (the
“Underlying Funds”); however, the Underlying Funds pay transaction costs when
buying and selling securities for their portfolio. The transaction costs
incurred by the Underlying Funds, which are not reflected in Annual Fund
Operating Expenses or in the Example, affect the Portfolio’s performance. During
the most recent fiscal year, the Portfolio’s portfolio turnover rate was
The Global Small Company Portfolio is a “fund of funds,” which means the Portfolio generally allocates its assets among other funds managed by the Advisor (the “Underlying Funds”), although it has the ability to invest directly in securities and derivatives. To achieve the Portfolio’s and the Underlying Funds’ investment objectives, the Advisor implements an integrated investment approach that combines research, portfolio design, portfolio management, and trading functions. As further described below, the Portfolio’s and the Underlying Funds’ designs emphasize long-term drivers of expected returns identified by the Advisor’s research, while balancing risk through broad diversification across companies and sectors. The Advisor’s portfolio management and trading processes further balance those long-term drivers of expected returns with shorter-term drivers of expected returns and trading costs.
The Global Small Company Portfolio is designed to provide investors with access to securities portfolios consisting of a broad range of equity securities of primarily small companies in developed and emerging markets. The Portfolio pursues its investment objective by investing substantially all of its assets in the following Underlying Funds: The Asia Pacific Small Company Series, The Canadian Small Company Series, The Continental Small Company Series, The Emerging Markets Small Cap Series, The Japanese Small Company Series, The United Kingdom Small Company Series (each a series of The DFA Investment Trust Company), and U.S. Small Cap Portfolio (a series of DFA Investment Dimensions Group Inc.).
The Global Small Company Portfolio typically allocates its investments among the Underlying Funds in the following manner: 30% to 70% in the U.S. Small Cap Portfolio; 5% to 30% in The Continental Small Company Series; 5% to 25% in The Emerging Markets Small Cap Series; 0% to 20% in The Japanese Small Company Series; 0% to 20% in The United Kingdom Small Company Series; 0% to 15% in The Asia Pacific Company Series; and 0% to 10% in The Canadian Small Company Series. When deciding allocations to the Underlying Funds, the Portfolio takes into account, among other factors, the aggregate market capitalizations and adjustments for free float of the eligible universe of securities within each region. Periodically, the Advisor will review the allocations for the Portfolio in each Underlying Fund and may adjust allocations to the Underlying Funds or may add or remove Underlying Funds in the Portfolio without notice to shareholders. Certain Underlying Funds invest in small companies using a market capitalization weighted approach in each country or region designated by the Advisor as an approved market for investment. A company’s market capitalization is the number of its shares outstanding times its price per share. Under a market capitalization weighted approach, companies with higher market capitalizations generally represent a larger proportion of an Underlying Fund than companies with relatively lower market capitalizations. The Portfolio and Underlying Funds may emphasize certain stocks, including smaller capitalization companies, lower relative price stocks, and/or higher profitability stocks as compared to their representation in the countries and/or regions in which the Portfolio and/or Underlying Funds are authorized to invest. An equity issuer is considered to have a low relative price (i.e., a value stock) primarily because it has a low price in relation to its book value. In assessing relative price, the Advisor may consider additional factors such as price to cash flow or price to earnings ratios. An equity issuer is considered to have high profitability because it has high earnings or profits from operations in relation to its book value or assets. The criteria the Advisor uses for assessing relative price and profitability are subject to change from time to time.
The Global Small Company Portfolio, directly or indirectly through its investment in the Underlying Funds, intends to invest its assets to gain exposure to at least three different countries, including the United States. The
18
Advisor will generally seek to set country weights based on the relative market capitalizations of eligible companies within each approved market of the Underlying Funds. As of the date of the Prospectus, the Portfolio, directly or indirectly through its investment in the Underlying Funds, invests approximately 58% of its net assets in U.S. companies. This percentage will change due to market conditions.
As a non-fundamental policy, under normal circumstances, the Global Small Company Portfolio, directly or through its investments in the Underlying Funds, will invest at least 80% of its net assets in securities of small companies. The Advisor determines the maximum market capitalization of a small company with respect to each country in which the Portfolio or Underlying Fund invests. In the countries or regions authorized for investment, the Advisor first ranks eligible companies listed on selected exchanges based on the companies’ market capitalizations. The Advisor then determines the universe of eligible stocks by defining the maximum market capitalization of a small company that may be purchased by the Portfolio or Underlying Fund with respect to each country or region. Based on market capitalization data as of December 31, 2022, for the Portfolio, the market capitalization of a small company in any country in which the Portfolio or its Underlying Funds invests would be below $9,484 million. This threshold will vary by country or region. For example, based on market capitalization data as of December 31, 2022, the Advisor would consider a small company in Switzerland to have a market capitalization below $8,202 million, a small company in the United States to have a market capitalization below $7,650 million, a small company in Norway to have a market capitalization below $1,765 million, and a small company in Japan to have a market capitalization below $2,035 million. These thresholds will change due to market conditions.
The Advisor may also increase or reduce the Global Small Company Portfolio’s and/or Underlying Funds’ exposure to an eligible company, or exclude a company, based on shorter-term considerations, such as a company’s price momentum and investment characteristics. In assessing a company’s investment characteristics, the Advisor considers ratios such as recent changes in assets divided by total assets. The criteria the Advisor uses for assessing a company’s investment characteristics are subject to change from time to time. In addition, the Advisor seeks to reduce trading costs using a flexible trading approach that looks for opportunities to participate in the available market liquidity, while managing turnover and explicit transaction costs.
The Global Small Company Portfolio and each Underlying Fund may invest in affiliated and unaffiliated registered and unregistered money market funds to manage its cash pending investment in other securities or to maintain liquidity for the payment of redemptions or other purposes. Investments in money market funds may involve a duplication of certain fees and expenses.
The Global Small Company Portfolio and each Underlying Fund may gain exposure to companies associated with approved markets by purchasing equity securities in the form of depositary receipts, which may be listed or traded outside the issuer’s domicile country. The Portfolio and each Underlying Fund may purchase or sell futures contracts and options on futures contracts for equity securities and indices of its approved markets or other equity market securities or indices, including those of the United States, to increase or decrease equity market exposure based on actual or expected cash inflows to or outflows from the Portfolio or Underlying Fund. Because many of the Portfolio’s and certain Underlying Funds’ investments may be denominated in foreign currencies, the Portfolio and certain Underlying Funds may enter into foreign currency exchange transactions, including foreign currency forward contracts, in connection with the settlement of foreign securities or to transfer cash balances from one currency to another currency.
The Global Small Company Portfolio and Underlying Funds may lend their portfolio securities to generate additional income.
A summary of the investment strategies and policies of the Underlying Funds in which the Global Small Company Portfolio invests as of the date of this Prospectus is described in the Portfolio’s Prospectus in the section entitled “ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON INVESTMENT OBJECTIVES AND POLICIES”.
19
Fund of Funds Risk: The investment performance of the Portfolio is affected by the investment performance of the Underlying Funds in which the Portfolio invests. The ability of the Portfolio to achieve its investment objective depends on the ability of the Underlying Funds to meet their investment objectives and on the Advisor’s decisions regarding the allocation of the Portfolio’s assets among the Underlying Funds. There can be no assurance that the investment objective of the Portfolio or any Underlying Fund will be achieved. When the Portfolio invests in Underlying Funds, investors are exposed to a proportionate share of the expenses of those Underlying Funds in addition to the expenses of the Portfolio. Through its investments in the Underlying Funds, the Portfolio is subject to the risks of the Underlying Funds’ investments. The risks of the Portfolio’s and Underlying Funds’ investments are described below.
Equity Market Risk: Even a long-term investment approach cannot guarantee a profit. Economic, market, political, and issuer-specific conditions and events will cause the value of equity securities, and the Portfolio that owns them, to rise or fall. Stock markets tend to move in cycles, with periods of rising prices and periods of falling prices.
Foreign Securities and Currencies Risk: Foreign securities prices may decline or fluctuate because of: (a) economic or political actions of foreign governments, and/or (b) less regulated or liquid securities markets. Investors holding these securities may also be exposed to foreign currency risk (the possibility that foreign currency will fluctuate in value against the U.S. dollar or that a foreign government will convert, or be forced to convert, its currency to another currency, changing its value against the U.S. dollar). The Underlying Funds do not hedge foreign currency risk.
Depositary receipts are generally subject to the same risks as the foreign securities that they evidence or into which they may be converted. In addition, the underlying issuers of certain depositary receipts, particularly unsponsored or unregistered depositary receipts, are under no obligation to distribute shareholder communications to the holders of such receipts, or to pass through to them any voting rights with respect to the deposited securities. Depositary receipts that are not sponsored by the issuer may be less liquid and there may be less readily available public information about the issuer.
Emerging Markets Risk: Numerous emerging market countries have a history of, and continue to experience serious, and potentially continuing, economic and political problems. Stock markets in many emerging market countries are relatively small, expensive to trade in and generally have higher risks than those in developed markets. Securities in emerging markets also may be less liquid than those in developed markets and foreigners are often limited in their ability to invest in, and withdraw assets from, these markets. Additional restrictions may be imposed under other conditions. Frontier market countries generally have smaller economies or less developed capital markets and, as a result, the risks of investing in emerging market countries are magnified in frontier market countries.
Small Company Risk: Securities of small companies are often less liquid than those of large companies and this could make it difficult to sell a small company security at a desired time or price. As a result, small company stocks may fluctuate relatively more in price. In general, smaller capitalization companies are also more vulnerable than larger companies to adverse business or economic developments and they may have more limited resources.
Profitability Investment Risk: High relative profitability stocks may perform differently from the market as a whole and an investment strategy purchasing these securities may cause the Portfolio or an Underlying Fund to at times underperform equity funds that use other investment strategies.
20
Value Investment Risk: Value stocks may perform differently from the market as a whole and an investment strategy purchasing these securities may cause the Portfolio or an Underlying Fund to at times underperform equity funds that use other investment strategies. Value stocks can react differently to political, economic, and industry developments than the market as a whole and other types of stocks. Value stocks also may underperform the market for long periods of time.
Derivatives Risk: Derivatives are instruments, such as futures, and options thereon, and foreign currency forward contracts, whose value is derived from that of other assets, rates or indices. The use of derivatives for non-hedging purposes may be considered to carry more risk than other types of investments. When the Portfolio or an Underlying Fund uses derivatives, the Portfolio or Underlying Fund will be directly exposed to the risks of those derivatives. Derivative instruments are subject to a number of risks including counterparty, settlement, liquidity, interest rate, market, credit and management risks, as well as the risk of improper valuation. Changes in the value of a derivative may not correlate perfectly with the underlying asset, rate or index, and the Portfolio or Underlying Fund could lose more than the principal amount invested.
Securities Lending Risk: Securities lending involves the risk that the borrower may fail to return the securities in a timely manner or at all. As a result, the Portfolio or an Underlying Fund may lose money and there may be a delay in recovering the loaned securities. The Portfolio or Underlying Fund could also lose money if it does not recover the securities and/or the value of the collateral falls, including the value of investments made with cash collateral. Securities lending also may have certain adverse tax consequences.
Operational Risk: Operational risks include human error, changes in personnel, system changes, faults in communication, and failures in systems, technology, or processes. Various operational events or circumstances are outside the Advisor’s control, including instances at third parties. The Portfolio and the Advisor seek to reduce these operational risks through controls and procedures. However, these measures do not address every possible risk and may be inadequate to address these risks.
Cyber Security Risk: The Portfolio’s and its service providers’ use of internet, technology and information systems may expose the Portfolio to potential risks linked to cyber security breaches of those technological or information systems. Cyber security breaches, amongst other things, could allow an unauthorized party to gain access to proprietary information, customer data, or fund assets, or cause the Portfolio and/or its service providers to suffer data corruption or lose operational functionality.
21
January 2018-December 2022
|
|
|
|
|
Periods ending December 31, 2022
|
|
|
|
|
| ||||||||||||||||
1 Year |
5 Years |
Since
| |||||||||||||||||||
Global Small Company Portfolio |
|
|
|
|
|
| |||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||
Return Before Taxes |
- |
% |
|
|
|
% |
|
|
|
% |
| ||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||
Return After Taxes on Distributions |
- |
% |
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|
% |
|
|
|
% |
| ||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||
Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Portfolio Shares |
- |
% |
|
|
|
% |
|
|
|
% |
| ||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||
MSCI All
Country World Small Cap Index (net dividends) |
- |
% |
|
|
|
% |
|
|
|
% |
| ||||||||||
|
Investment Advisor/Portfolio Management
Dimensional Fund Advisors LP serves as the investment advisor for the Global Small Company Portfolio. Dimensional Fund Advisors Ltd. and DFA Australia Limited serve as the sub-advisors for the Portfolio. The following individuals are responsible for leading the day-to-day management of the Portfolio:
• |
Jed S. Fogdall, Global Head of Portfolio Management, Chairman of the Investment Committee, Vice President and Senior Portfolio Manager of the Advisor, has been a portfolio manager of the Portfolio since inception (2017). | ||
• |
Allen Pu, Deputy Head of Portfolio Management, North America, member of the Investment Committee, Vice President and Senior Portfolio Manager of the Advisor, has been a portfolio manager of the Portfolio since inception (2017). | ||
• |
Ashish P. Bhagwanjee, Vice President and Senior Portfolio Manager of the Advisor, has been a portfolio manager of the Portfolio since 2022. |
22
Purchase and Redemption of Fund Shares
Investors may purchase or redeem shares of the Global Small Company Portfolio on each day that the NYSE is scheduled to be open for business by first contacting the Portfolio’s transfer agent at (888) 576-1167. Shareholders that invest in the Portfolio through a financial intermediary should contact their financial intermediary regarding purchase and redemption procedures. The Portfolio generally is available for investment only by institutional clients, clients of registered investment advisors, clients of financial institutions and a limited number of certain other investors as approved from time to time by the Advisor. All investments are subject to approval of the Advisor.
Tax Information
The dividends and distributions you receive from the Global Small Company Portfolio are taxable and generally will be taxed as ordinary income, capital gains, or some combination of both, unless you are investing through a tax-advantaged arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or an individual retirement account, in which case distributions may be taxed as ordinary income when withdrawn from the plan or account.
Payments to Financial Intermediaries
If you purchase the Global Small Company Portfolio through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Portfolio and its related companies may pay the intermediary for the sale of the Portfolio shares and/or related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the financial intermediary to recommend the Portfolio over another investment. Ask your financial advisor or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.
23
The investment objective of the International Small Company Portfolio (the “Portfolio”) is to achieve long-term capital appreciation.
This table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy, hold or sell shares of the International Small Company Portfolio. You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the table and Example below.
year as a percentage of the value of
your investment)
|
|
|
Management Fee |
| |
| ||
Other Expenses |
| |
| ||
Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses |
| |
| ||
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses |
| |
|
* |
|
This Example is meant to help you compare the cost of investing in the International Small Company Portfolio with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Portfolio for the time periods indicated. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Portfolio’s operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
|
|
|
|
|
| |
1 Year |
3 Years |
5 Years |
10 Years | |||
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ | |||
|
A mutual fund generally pays
transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or
“turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover may indicate higher
transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when mutual fund shares are
held in a taxable account. The International Small Company Portfolio does not
pay transaction costs when buying and selling shares of other mutual funds (the
“Underlying Funds”); however, the Underlying Funds pay transaction costs when
buying and selling securities for their portfolio. The transaction costs
incurred by the Underlying Funds, which are not reflected in Annual Fund
Operating Expenses or in the Example, affect the Portfolio’s performance. During
the most recent fiscal year, the Portfolio’s portfolio turnover rate was
24
The International Small Company Portfolio is a “fund of funds,” which means the Portfolio generally allocates its assets among other funds managed by Dimensional Fund Advisors LP (the “Advisor”) (the “Underlying Funds”), although it has the ability to invest directly in securities and derivatives.
To achieve the International Small Company Portfolio’s and the Underlying Funds’ investment objectives, the Advisor implements an integrated investment approach that combines research, portfolio design, portfolio management, and trading functions. As further described below, the Portfolio’s and the Underlying Funds’ designs emphasize long-term drivers of expected returns identified by the Advisor’s research, while balancing risk through broad diversification across companies and sectors. The Advisor’s portfolio management and trading processes further balance those long-term drivers of expected returns with shorter-term drivers of expected returns and trading costs.
The International Small Company Portfolio is designed to provide investors with access to securities portfolios consisting of a broad range of equity securities of primarily small Canadian, Japanese, United Kingdom, Continental European and Asia Pacific companies. The Portfolio also may have some exposure to small capitalization equity securities associated with other countries or regions. The Portfolio pursues its investment objective by investing substantially all of its assets in the following Underlying Funds: The Canadian Small Company Series, The Japanese Small Company Series, The Asia Pacific Small Company Series, The United Kingdom Small Company Series and The Continental Small Company Series of The DFA Investment Trust Company. Periodically, the Advisor will review the allocations for the Portfolio in each Underlying Fund and may adjust allocations to the Underlying Funds or may add or remove Underlying Funds in the Portfolio without notice to shareholders. Each Underlying Fund invests in small companies using a market capitalization weighted approach in each country or region designated by the Advisor as an approved market for investment. A company’s market capitalization is the number of its shares outstanding times its price per share. Under a market capitalization weighted approach, companies with higher market capitalizations generally represent a larger proportion of an Underlying Fund than companies with relatively lower market capitalizations. The Portfolio and Underlying Funds may emphasize certain stocks, including smaller capitalization companies, lower relative price stocks, and/or higher profitability stocks as compared to their representation in the countries and/or regions in which the Portfolio and/or Underlying Funds are authorized to invest. An equity issuer is considered to have a low relative price (i.e., a value stock) primarily because it has a low price in relation to its book value. In assessing relative price, the Advisor may consider additional factors such as price to cash flow or price to earnings ratios. An equity issuer is considered to have high profitability because it has high earnings or profits from operations in relation to its book value or assets. The criteria the Advisor uses for assessing relative price and profitability are subject to change from time to time. As a non-fundamental policy, under normal circumstances, the International Small Company Portfolio, through its investments in the Underlying Funds, will invest at least 80% of its net assets in securities of small companies.
The Advisor may also increase or reduce the International Small Company Portfolio’s and/or Underlying Funds’ exposure to an eligible company, or exclude a company, based on shorter-term considerations, such as a company’s price momentum and investment characteristics. In assessing a company’s investment characteristics, the Advisor considers ratios such as recent changes in assets divided by total assets. The criteria the Advisor uses for assessing a company’s investment characteristics are subject to change from time to time. In addition, the Advisor seeks to reduce trading costs using a flexible trading approach that looks for opportunities to participate in the available market liquidity, while managing turnover and explicit transaction costs.
The International Small Company Portfolio and each Underlying Fund may invest in affiliated and unaffiliated registered and unregistered money market funds to manage its cash pending investment in other securities or to maintain liquidity for the payment of redemptions or other purposes. Investments in money market funds may involve a duplication of certain fees and expenses.
Each Underlying Fund may gain exposure to companies associated with approved markets by purchasing equity securities in the form of depositary receipts, which may be listed or traded outside the issuer’s domicile country. The International Small Company Portfolio and each Underlying Fund may purchase or sell futures contracts and options on futures contracts for equity securities and indices of its approved markets or other equity market
25
securities or indices, including those of the United States, to increase or decrease equity market exposure based on actual or expected cash inflows to or outflows from the Portfolio or Underlying Fund. Because many of the Portfolio’s and the Underlying Funds’ investments may be denominated in foreign currencies, the Portfolio and each Underlying Fund may enter into foreign currency exchange transactions, including foreign currency forward contracts, in connection with the settlement of foreign securities or to transfer cash balances from one currency to another currency.
The International Small Company Portfolio and the Underlying Funds may lend their portfolio securities to generate additional income.
A summary of the investment strategies and policies of the Underlying Funds in which the International Small Company Portfolio invests as of the date of this Prospectus is described in the Portfolio’s Prospectus in the section entitled “ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON INVESTMENT OBJECTIVES AND POLICIES”.
Fund of Funds Risk: The investment performance of the Portfolio is affected by the investment performance of the Underlying Funds in which the Portfolio invests. The ability of the Portfolio to achieve its investment objective depends on the ability of the Underlying Funds to meet their investment objectives and on the Advisor’s decisions regarding the allocation of the Portfolio’s assets among the Underlying Funds. There can be no assurance that the investment objective of the Portfolio or any Underlying Fund will be achieved. When the Portfolio invests in Underlying Funds, investors are exposed to a proportionate share of the expenses of those Underlying Funds in addition to the expenses of the Portfolio. Through its investments in the Underlying Funds, the Portfolio is subject to the risks of the Underlying Funds’ investments. The risks of the Portfolio’s and Underlying Funds’ investments are described below.
Equity Market Risk: Even a long-term investment approach cannot guarantee a profit. Economic, market, political, and issuer-specific conditions and events will cause the value of equity securities, and the Portfolio that owns them, to rise or fall. Stock markets tend to move in cycles, with periods of rising prices and periods of falling prices.
Foreign Securities and Currencies Risk: Foreign securities prices may decline or fluctuate because of: (a) economic or political actions of foreign governments, and/or (b) less regulated or liquid securities markets. Investors holding these securities may also be exposed to foreign currency risk (the possibility that foreign currency will fluctuate in value against the U.S. dollar or that a foreign government will convert, or be forced to convert, its currency to another currency, changing its value against the U.S. dollar). The Underlying Funds do not hedge foreign currency risk.
Depositary receipts are generally subject to the same risks as the foreign securities that they evidence or into which they may be converted. In addition, the underlying issuers of certain depositary receipts, particularly unsponsored or unregistered depositary receipts, are under no obligation to distribute shareholder communications to the holders of such receipts, or to pass through to them any voting rights with respect to the deposited securities. Depositary receipts that are not sponsored by the issuer may be less liquid and there may be less readily available public information about the issuer.
Small Company Risk: Securities of small companies are often less liquid than those of large companies and this could make it difficult to sell a small company security at a desired time or price. As a result, small company stocks may fluctuate relatively more in price. In general, smaller capitalization companies are also more vulnerable than larger companies to adverse business or economic developments and they may have more limited resources.
26
Profitability Investment Risk: High relative profitability stocks may perform differently from the market as a whole and an investment strategy purchasing these securities may cause the Portfolio or an Underlying Fund to at times underperform equity funds that use other investment strategies.
Value Investment Risk: Value stocks may perform differently from the market as a whole and an investment strategy purchasing these securities may cause the Portfolio or an Underlying Fund to at times underperform equity funds that use other investment strategies. Value stocks can react differently to political, economic, and industry developments than the market as a whole and other types of stocks. Value stocks also may underperform the market for long periods of time.
Derivatives Risk: Derivatives are instruments, such as futures, and options thereon, and foreign currency forward contracts, whose value is derived from that of other assets, rates or indices. The use of derivatives for non-hedging purposes may be considered to carry more risk than other types of investments. When the Portfolio or an Underlying Fund uses derivatives, the Portfolio or Underlying Fund will be directly exposed to the risks of those derivatives. Derivative instruments are subject to a number of risks including counterparty, settlement, liquidity, interest rate, market, credit and management risks, as well as the risk of improper valuation. Changes in the value of a derivative may not correlate perfectly with the underlying asset, rate or index, and the Portfolio or Underlying Fund could lose more than the principal amount invested.
Securities Lending Risk: Securities lending involves the risk that the borrower may fail to return the securities in a timely manner or at all. As a result, the Underlying Funds may lose money and there may be a delay in recovering the loaned securities. The Underlying Funds could also lose money if they do not recover the securities and/or the value of the collateral falls, including the value of investments made with cash collateral. Securities lending also may have certain adverse tax consequences. To the extent that the Portfolio holds securities directly and lends those securities, it will be also subject to the foregoing risks with respect to its loaned securities.
Operational Risk: Operational risks include human error, changes in personnel, system changes, faults in communication, and failures in systems, technology, or processes. Various operational events or circumstances are outside the Advisor’s control, including instances at third parties. The Portfolio and the Advisor seek to reduce these operational risks through controls and procedures. However, these measures do not address every possible risk and may be inadequate to address these risks.
Cyber Security Risk: The Portfolio’s and its service providers’ use of internet, technology and information systems may expose the Portfolio to potential risks linked to cyber security breaches of those technological or information systems. Cyber security breaches, amongst other things, could allow an unauthorized party to gain access to proprietary information, customer data, or fund assets, or cause the Portfolio and/or its service providers to suffer data corruption or lose operational functionality.
27
January 2013-December 2022
|
|
|
|
|
Periods ending December 31, 2022
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||
1 Year |
5 Years |
10 Years | |||||||||||||||||||
International Small Company Portfolio |
|
|
|
|
|
| |||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||
Return Before Taxes |
- |
% |
|
|
|
% |
|
|
|
% |
| ||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||
Return After Taxes on Distributions |
- |
% |
|
|
- |
% |
|
|
|
% |
| ||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||
Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Portfolio Shares |
- |
% |
|
|
|
% |
|
|
|
% |
| ||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||
MSCI World
ex USA Small Cap Index (net dividends) |
- |
% |
|
|
|
% |
|
|
|
% |
| ||||||||||
|
Investment Advisor/Portfolio Management
Dimensional Fund Advisors LP serves as the investment advisor for the International Small Company Portfolio and Underlying Funds. The following individuals are responsible for leading the day-to-day management of the Portfolio:
• |
Jed S. Fogdall, Global Head of Portfolio Management, Chairman of the Investment Committee, Vice President and Senior Portfolio Manager of the Advisor, has been a portfolio manager of the Portfolio since 2010. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
• |
Arun C. Keswani, Vice President and Senior Portfolio Manager of the Advisor, has been a portfolio manager of the Portfolio since 2015. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
• |
Joel P. Schneider, Deputy Head of Portfolio Management, North America, member of the Investment Committee, Vice President and Senior Portfolio Manager of the Advisor, has been a portfolio manager of the Portfolio since 2020. |
28
Purchase and Redemption of Fund Shares
Investors may purchase or redeem shares of the International Small Company Portfolio on each day that the NYSE is scheduled to be open for business by first contacting the Portfolio’s transfer agent at (888) 576-1167. Shareholders that invest in the Portfolio through a financial intermediary should contact their financial intermediary regarding purchase and redemption procedures. The Portfolio generally is available for investment only by institutional clients, clients of registered investment advisors, clients of financial institutions and a limited number of certain other investors as approved from time to time by the Advisor. All investments are subject to approval of the Advisor.
Tax Information
The dividends and distributions you receive from the International Small Company Portfolio are taxable and generally will be taxed as ordinary income, capital gains, or some combination of both, unless you are investing through a tax-advantaged arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or an individual retirement account, in which case distributions may be taxed as ordinary income when withdrawn from the plan or account.
Payments to Financial Intermediaries
If you purchase the International Small Company Portfolio through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Portfolio and its related companies may pay the intermediary for the sale of the Portfolio shares and/or related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the financial intermediary to recommend the Portfolio over another investment. Ask your financial advisor or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.
29
The investment objective of the Japanese Small Company Portfolio (the “Portfolio”) is to achieve long-term capital appreciation. The Japanese Small Company Portfolio is a Feeder Portfolio and pursues its objective by investing substantially all of its assets in its corresponding Master Fund, The Japanese Small Company Series (the “Japanese Small Company Series” or the “Series”) of The DFA Investment Trust Company (the “Trust”), which has the same investment objective and policies as the Portfolio.
This table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy, hold or sell shares of the Japanese Small Company Portfolio. You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the table and Example below.
year as a percentage of the value of
your investment)
|
|
|
Management Fee |
| |
| ||
Other Expenses |
| |
| ||
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses |
| |
| ||
Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement |
| |
| ||
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement |
| |
|
* |
| ||
** |
|
This Example is meant to help you compare the cost of investing in the Japanese Small Company Portfolio with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Portfolio for the time periods indicated. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Portfolio’s operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1 Year |
3 Years |
5 Years |
10 Years | |||
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ | |||
|
30
The Example reflects the aggregate annual operating expenses of the Japanese Small Company Portfolio and the Portfolio’s portion of the expenses of the Japanese Small Company Series.
The Japanese Small Company
Series pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells
securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover may
indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Portfolio
shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in
Annual Fund Operating Expenses or in the Example, affect the Japanese Small
Company Portfolio’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Series’
portfolio turnover rate was
The Japanese Small Company Portfolio is a feeder portfolio that invests substantially all of its assets in the Japanese Small Company Series. To achieve the Portfolio’s and the Series’ investment objectives, the Advisor implements an integrated investment approach that combines research, portfolio design, portfolio management, and trading functions. As further described below, the Series’ design emphasizes long-term drivers of expected returns identified by the Advisor’s research, while balancing risk through broad diversification across companies and sectors. The Advisor’s portfolio management and trading processes further balance those long-term drivers of expected returns with shorter-term drivers of expected returns and trading costs.
The Japanese Small Company Series, using a market capitalization weighted approach, is designed to purchase a broad and diverse group of readily marketable securities of small companies associated with Japan. A company’s market capitalization is the number of its shares outstanding times its price per share. Under a market capitalization weighted approach, companies with higher market capitalizations generally represent a larger proportion of the Series than companies with relatively lower market capitalizations. The Series may emphasize certain stocks, including smaller capitalization companies, lower relative price stocks, and/or higher profitability stocks as compared to their representation in the small company segment of the Japanese market. An equity issuer is considered to have a low relative price (i.e., a value stock) primarily because it has a low price in relation to its book value. In assessing relative price, the Advisor may consider additional factors such as price to cash flow or price to earnings ratios. An equity issuer is considered to have high profitability because it has high earnings or profits from operations in relation to its book value or assets. The criteria the Advisor uses for assessing relative price and profitability are subject to change from time to time.
As a non-fundamental policy, under normal circumstances, the Japanese Small Company Series will invest at least 80% of its net assets in securities of Japanese small companies. The Advisor first ranks eligible companies by market capitalization. The Advisor then determines the universe of eligible securities by defining the maximum market capitalization of a small company in Japan. Based on market capitalization data as of December 31, 2022, the Advisor would consider Japanese small companies to be those companies with a market capitalization below $2,035 million. This threshold will change due to market conditions.
The Advisor may also increase or reduce the Japanese Small Company Series’ exposure to an eligible company, or exclude a company, based on shorter-term considerations, such as a company’s price momentum and investment characteristics. In assessing a company’s investment characteristics, the Advisor considers ratios such as recent changes in assets divided by total assets. The criteria the Advisor uses for assessing a company’s investment characteristics are subject to change from time to time. In addition, the Advisor seeks to reduce trading costs using a flexible trading approach that looks for opportunities to participate in the available market liquidity, while managing turnover and explicit transaction costs.
The Japanese Small Company Series may gain exposure to companies associated with Japan by purchasing equity securities in the form of depositary receipts, which may be listed or traded outside the issuer’s domicile country. The Series and the Japanese Small Company Portfolio each may purchase or sell futures contracts and options on futures contracts for Japanese equity securities and indices or other equity market securities and indices, including those of the United States, to increase or decrease equity market exposure based on actual or
31
expected cash inflows to or outflows from the Series or Portfolio. Because many of the Series’ and the Portfolio’s investments may be denominated in foreign currencies, the Series and the Portfolio may enter into foreign currency exchange transactions, including foreign currency forward contracts, in connection with the settlement of foreign securities or to transfer cash balances from one currency to another currency.
The Japanese Small Company Series may lend its portfolio securities to generate additional income.
Equity Market Risk: Even a long-term investment approach cannot guarantee a profit. Economic, market, political, and issuer-specific conditions and events will cause the value of equity securities, and the Portfolio that owns them, to rise or fall. Stock markets tend to move in cycles, with periods of rising prices and periods of falling prices.
Foreign Securities and Currencies Risk: Foreign securities prices may decline or fluctuate because of: (a) economic or political actions of foreign governments, and/or (b) less regulated or liquid securities markets. Investors holding these securities may also be exposed to foreign currency risk (the possibility that foreign currency will fluctuate in value against the U.S. dollar or that a foreign government will convert, or be forced to convert, its currency to another currency, changing its value against the U.S. dollar). The Series does not hedge foreign currency risk.
Depositary receipts are generally subject to the same risks as the foreign securities that they evidence or into which they may be converted. In addition, the underlying issuers of certain depositary receipts, particularly unsponsored or unregistered depositary receipts, are under no obligation to distribute shareholder communications to the holders of such receipts, or to pass through to them any voting rights with respect to the deposited securities. Depositary receipts that are not sponsored by the issuer may be less liquid and there may be less readily available public information about the issuer.
Japan Market Risk: Because the Series concentrates investments in Japan, the Portfolio’s performance is expected to be closely tied to the social, political and economic conditions within Japan and to be more volatile than the performance of funds with more geographically diverse investments.
Small Company Risk: Securities of small companies are often less liquid than those of large companies and this could make it difficult to sell a small company security at a desired time or price. As a result, small company stocks may fluctuate relatively more in price. In general, smaller capitalization companies are also more vulnerable than larger companies to adverse business or economic developments and they may have more limited resources.
Profitability Investment Risk: High relative profitability stocks may perform differently from the market as a whole and an investment strategy purchasing these securities may cause the Series to at times underperform equity funds that use other investment strategies.
Value Investment Risk: Value stocks may perform differently from the market as a whole and an investment strategy purchasing these securities may cause the Series to at times underperform equity funds that use other investment strategies. Value stocks can react differently to political, economic, and industry developments than the market as a whole and other types of stocks. Value stocks also may underperform the market for long periods of time.
Derivatives Risk: Derivatives are instruments, such as futures, and options thereon, and foreign currency forward contracts, whose value is derived from that of other assets, rates or indices. The use of derivatives for
32
non-hedging purposes may be considered to carry more risk than other types of investments. When the Series and the Portfolio use derivatives, the Portfolio will be directly exposed to the risks of those derivatives. Derivative instruments are subject to a number of risks including counterparty, settlement, liquidity, interest rate, market, credit and management risks, as well as the risk of improper valuation. Changes in the value of a derivative may not correlate perfectly with the underlying asset, rate or index, and the Portfolio could lose more than the principal amount invested.
Securities Lending Risk: Securities lending involves the risk that the borrower may fail to return the securities in a timely manner or at all. As a result, the Series may lose money and there may be a delay in recovering the loaned securities. The Series could also lose money if it does not recover the securities and/or the value of the collateral falls, including the value of investments made with cash collateral. Securities lending also may have certain adverse tax consequences.
Operational Risk: Operational risks include human error, changes in personnel, system changes, faults in communication, and failures in systems, technology, or processes. Various operational events or circumstances are outside the Advisor’s control, including instances at third parties. The Portfolio and the Advisor seek to reduce these operational risks through controls and procedures. However, these measures do not address every possible risk and may be inadequate to address these risks.
Cyber Security Risk: The Portfolio’s and its service providers’ use of internet, technology and information systems may expose the Portfolio to potential risks linked to cyber security breaches of those technological or information systems. Cyber security breaches, amongst other things, could allow an unauthorized party to gain access to proprietary information, customer data, or fund assets, or cause the Portfolio and/or its service providers to suffer data corruption or lose operational functionality.
33
January 2013-December 2022
|
|
|
|
|
Periods ending December 31, 2022
|
|
|
|
|
| ||||||||||||||||
1 Year |
5 Years |
10 Years | |||||||||||||||||||
Japanese Small Company Portfolio |
|
|
|
|
|
| |||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||
Return Before Taxes |
- |
% |
|
|
- |
% |
|
|
|
% |
| ||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||
Return After Taxes on Distributions |
- |
% |
|
|
- |
% |
|
|
|
% |
| ||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||
Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Portfolio Shares |
- |
% |
|
|
- |
% |
|
|
|
% |
| ||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||
MSCI Japan
Small Cap Index (net dividends) |
- |
% |
|
|
- |
% |
|
|
|
% |
| ||||||||||
|
Investment Advisor/Portfolio Management
Dimensional Fund Advisors LP serves as the investment advisor for the Japanese Small Company Portfolio and Japanese Small Company Series. DFA Australia Limited serves as the sub-advisor for the Series. The following individuals are responsible for leading the day-to-day management of the Portfolio and the Series:
• |
Jed S. Fogdall, Global Head of Portfolio Management, Chairman of the Investment Committee, Vice President and Senior Portfolio Manager of the Advisor, has been a portfolio manager of the Portfolio since 2010. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
• |
Arun C. Keswani, Vice President and Senior Portfolio Manager of the Advisor, has been a portfolio manager of the Portfolio since 2015. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
• |
Joel P. Schneider, Deputy Head of Portfolio Management, North America, member of the Investment Committee, Vice President and Senior Portfolio Manager of the Advisor, has been a portfolio manager of the Portfolio since 2020. |
34
Purchase and Redemption of Fund Shares
Investors may purchase or redeem shares of the Japanese Small Company Portfolio on each day that the NYSE is scheduled to be open for business by first contacting the Portfolio’s transfer agent at (888) 576-1167. Shareholders that invest in the Portfolio through a financial intermediary should contact their financial intermediary regarding purchase and redemption procedures. The Portfolio generally is available for investment only by institutional clients, clients of registered investment advisors, clients of financial institutions and a limited number of certain other investors as approved from time to time by the Advisor. All investments are subject to approval of the Advisor.
Tax Information
The dividends and distributions you receive from the Japanese Small Company Portfolio are taxable and generally will be taxed as ordinary income, capital gains, or some combination of both, unless you are investing through a tax-advantaged arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or an individual retirement account, in which case distributions may be taxed as ordinary income when withdrawn from the plan or account.
Payments to Financial Intermediaries
If you purchase the Japanese Small Company Portfolio through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Portfolio and its related companies may pay the intermediary for the sale of the Portfolio shares and/or related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the financial intermediary to recommend the Portfolio over another investment. Ask your financial advisor or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.
35
The investment objective of the Asia Pacific Small Company Portfolio (the “Portfolio”) is to achieve long-term capital appreciation. The Asia Pacific Small Company Portfolio is a Feeder Portfolio and pursues its objective by investing substantially all of its assets in its corresponding Master Fund, The Asia Pacific Small Company Series (the “Asia Pacific Small Company Series” or the “Series”) of The DFA Investment Trust Company (the “Trust”), which has the same investment objective and policies as the Portfolio.
This table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy, hold or sell shares of the Asia Pacific Small Company Portfolio. You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the table and Example below.
year as a percentage of the value of
your investment)
|
|
|
Management Fee |
| |
| ||
Other Expenses |
| |
| ||
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses |
| |
| ||
Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement |
| |
| ||
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement |
| |
|
* |
| ||
** |
|
This Example is meant to help you compare the cost of investing in the Asia Pacific Small Company Portfolio with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Portfolio for the time periods indicated. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Portfolio’s operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1 Year |
3 Years |
5 Years |
10 Years | |||
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ | |||
|
36
The Example reflects the aggregate annual operating expenses of the Asia Pacific Small Company Portfolio and the Portfolio’s portion of the expenses of the Asia Pacific Small Company Series.
The Asia Pacific Small Company
Series pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells
securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover may
indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Portfolio
shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in
Annual Fund Operating Expenses or in the Example, affect the Asia Pacific Small
Company Portfolio’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Series’
portfolio turnover rate was
The Asia Pacific Small Company Portfolio is a feeder portfolio that invests substantially all of its assets in the Asia Pacific Small Company Series. To achieve the Portfolio’s and the Series’ investment objectives, the Advisor implements an integrated investment approach that combines research, portfolio design, portfolio management, and trading functions. As further described below, the Series’ design emphasizes long-term drivers of expected returns identified by the Advisor’s research, while balancing risk through broad diversification across companies and sectors. The Advisor’s portfolio management and trading processes further balance those long-term drivers of expected returns with shorter-term drivers of expected returns and trading costs.
The Asia Pacific Small Company Series, using a market capitalization weighted approach, is designed to purchase a broad and diverse group of readily marketable securities of small companies associated with Australia, New Zealand and Pacific Rim Asian countries designated by the Advisor as approved markets for investment. A company’s market capitalization is the number of its shares outstanding times its price per share. Under a market capitalization weighted approach, companies with higher market capitalizations generally represent a larger proportion of the Series than companies with relatively lower market capitalizations. The Series may emphasize certain stocks, including smaller capitalization companies, lower relative price stocks, and/or higher profitability stocks as compared to their representation in the small company segment of the region in which the Series is authorized to invest. An equity issuer is considered to have a low relative price (i.e., a value stock) primarily because it has a low price in relation to its book value. In assessing relative price, the Advisor may consider additional factors such as price to cash flow or price to earnings ratios. An equity issuer is considered to have high profitability because it has high earnings or profits from operations in relation to its book value or assets. The criteria the Advisor uses for assessing relative price and profitability are subject to change from time to time.
As a non-fundamental policy, under normal circumstances, the Asia Pacific Small Company Series will invest at least 80% of its net assets in securities of small companies located in Australia, New Zealand and Pacific Rim Asian countries. The Advisor determines the maximum market capitalization of a small company with respect to each country in which the Series invests. Based on market capitalization data as of December 31, 2022, for the Series, the market capitalization of a small company in any country in which the Series invests would be below $4,411 million. This threshold will change due to market conditions.
The Advisor may also increase or reduce the Asia Pacific Small Company Series’ exposure to an eligible company, or exclude a company, based on shorter-term considerations, such as a company’s price momentum and investment characteristics. In assessing a company’s investment characteristics, the Advisor considers ratios such as recent changes in assets divided by total assets. The criteria the Advisor uses for assessing a company’s investment characteristics are subject to change from time to time. In addition, the Advisor seeks to reduce trading costs using a flexible trading approach that looks for opportunities to participate in the available market liquidity, while managing turnover and explicit transaction costs.
The Asia Pacific Small Company Series may gain exposure to companies associated with approved markets by purchasing equity securities in the form of depositary receipts, which may be listed or traded outside the issuer’s domicile country. The Series and the Asia Pacific Small Company Portfolio each may purchase or sell futures
37
contracts and options on futures contracts for Asia Pacific equity securities and indices or other equity market securities and indices, including those of the United States, to increase or decrease equity market exposure based on actual or expected cash inflows to or outflows from the Series or Portfolio. Because many of the Series’ and the Portfolio’s investments may be denominated in foreign currencies, the Series and the Portfolio may enter into foreign currency exchange transactions, including foreign currency forward contracts, in connection with the settlement of foreign securities or to transfer cash balances from one currency to another currency.
The Asia Pacific Small Company Series may lend its portfolio securities to generate additional income.
Equity Market Risk: Even a long-term investment approach cannot guarantee a profit. Economic, market, political, and issuer-specific conditions and events will cause the value of equity securities, and the Portfolio that owns them, to rise or fall. Stock markets tend to move in cycles, with periods of rising prices and periods of falling prices.
Foreign Securities and Currencies Risk: Foreign securities prices may decline or fluctuate because of: (a) economic or political actions of foreign governments, and/or (b) less regulated or liquid securities markets. Investors holding these securities may also be exposed to foreign currency risk (the possibility that foreign currency will fluctuate in value against the U.S. dollar or that a foreign government will convert, or be forced to convert, its currency to another currency, changing its value against the U.S. dollar). The Series does not hedge foreign currency risk.
Depositary receipts are generally subject to the same risks as the foreign securities that they evidence or into which they may be converted. In addition, the underlying issuers of certain depositary receipts, particularly unsponsored or unregistered depositary receipts, are under no obligation to distribute shareholder communications to the holders of such receipts, or to pass through to them any voting rights with respect to the deposited securities. Depositary receipts that are not sponsored by the issuer may be less liquid and there may be less readily available public information about the issuer.
Asia Pacific Market Risk: Because the Series concentrates investments in Asia Pacific countries, the Portfolio’s performance is expected to be closely tied to the social, political and economic conditions within such Asia Pacific countries and to be more volatile than the performance of funds with more geographically diverse investments.
Small Company Risk: Securities of small companies are often less liquid than those of large companies and this could make it difficult to sell a small company security at a desired time or price. As a result, small company stocks may fluctuate relatively more in price. In general, smaller capitalization companies are also more vulnerable than larger companies to adverse business or economic developments and they may have more limited resources.
Profitability Investment Risk: High relative profitability stocks may perform differently from the market as a whole and an investment strategy purchasing these securities may cause the Series to at times underperform equity funds that use other investment strategies.
Value Investment Risk: Value stocks may perform differently from the market as a whole and an investment strategy purchasing these securities may cause the Series to at times underperform equity funds that use other investment strategies. Value stocks can react differently to political, economic, and industry developments than the market as a whole and other types of stocks. Value stocks also may underperform the market for long periods of time.
38
Derivatives Risk: Derivatives are instruments, such as futures, and options thereon, and foreign currency forward contracts, whose value is derived from that of other assets, rates or indices. The use of derivatives for non-hedging purposes may be considered to carry more risk than other types of investments. When the Series and the Portfolio use derivatives, the Portfolio will be directly exposed to the risks of those derivatives. Derivative instruments are subject to a number of risks including counterparty, settlement, liquidity, interest rate, market, credit and management risks, as well as the risk of improper valuation. Changes in the value of a derivative may not correlate perfectly with the underlying asset, rate or index, and the Portfolio could lose more than the principal amount invested.
Securities Lending Risk: Securities lending involves the risk that the borrower may fail to return the securities in a timely manner or at all. As a result, the Series may lose money and there may be a delay in recovering the loaned securities. The Series could also lose money if it does not recover the securities and/or the value of the collateral falls, including the value of investments made with cash collateral. Securities lending also may have certain adverse tax consequences.
Operational Risk: Operational risks include human error, changes in personnel, system changes, faults in communication, and failures in systems, technology, or processes. Various operational events or circumstances are outside the Advisor’s control, including instances at third parties. The Portfolio and the Advisor seek to reduce these operational risks through controls and procedures. However, these measures do not address every possible risk and may be inadequate to address these risks.
Cyber Security Risk: The Portfolio’s and its service providers’ use of internet, technology and information systems may expose the Portfolio to potential risks linked to cyber security breaches of those technological or information systems. Cyber security breaches, amongst other things, could allow an unauthorized party to gain access to proprietary information, customer data, or fund assets, or cause the Portfolio and/or its service providers to suffer data corruption or lose operational functionality.
39
January 2013-December 2022
|
|
|
|
|
Periods ending December 31, 2022
|
|
|
|
|
| ||||||||||||||||
1 Year |
5 Years |
10 Years | |||||||||||||||||||
Asia Pacific Small Company Portfolio |
|
|
|
|
|
| |||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||
Return Before Taxes |
- |
% |
|
|
|
% |
|
|
|
% |
| ||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||
Return After Taxes on Distributions |
- |
% |
|
|
- |
% |
|
|
|
% |
| ||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||
Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Portfolio Shares |
- |
% |
|
|
|
% |
|
|
|
% |
| ||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||
MSCI Pacific
ex Japan Small Cap Index (net dividends) |
- |
% |
|
|
|
% |
|
|
|
% |
| ||||||||||
|
Investment Advisor/Portfolio Management
Dimensional Fund Advisors LP serves as the investment advisor for the Asia Pacific Small Company Portfolio and Asia Pacific Small Company Series. DFA Australia Limited serves as the sub-advisor for the Series. The following individuals are responsible for leading the day-to-day management of the Portfolio and the Series:
• |
Jed S. Fogdall, Global Head of Portfolio Management, Chairman of the Investment Committee, Vice President and Senior Portfolio Manager of the Advisor, has been a portfolio manager of the Portfolio since 2010. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
• |
Arun C. Keswani, Vice President and Senior Portfolio Manager of the Advisor, has been a portfolio manager of the Portfolio since 2015. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
• |
Joel P. Schneider, Deputy Head of Portfolio Management, North America, member of the Investment Committee, Vice President and Senior Portfolio Manager of the Advisor, has been a portfolio manager of the Portfolio since 2022. |
40
Purchase and Redemption of Fund Shares
Investors may purchase or redeem shares of the Asia Pacific Small Company Portfolio on each day that the NYSE is scheduled to be open for business by first contacting the Portfolio’s transfer agent at (888) 576-1167. Shareholders that invest in the Portfolio through a financial intermediary should contact their financial intermediary regarding purchase and redemption procedures. The Portfolio generally is available for investment only by institutional clients, clients of registered investment advisors, clients of financial institutions and a limited number of certain other investors as approved from time to time by the Advisor. All investments are subject to approval of the Advisor.
Tax Information
The dividends and distributions you receive from the Asia Pacific Small Company Portfolio are taxable and generally will be taxed as ordinary income, capital gains, or some combination of both, unless you are investing through a tax-advantaged arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or an individual retirement account, in which case distributions may be taxed as ordinary income when withdrawn from the plan or account.
Payments to Financial Intermediaries
If you purchase the Asia Pacific Small Company Portfolio through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Portfolio and its related companies may pay the intermediary for the sale of the Portfolio shares and/or related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the financial intermediary to recommend the Portfolio over another investment. Ask your financial advisor or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.
41
The investment objective of the United Kingdom Small Company Portfolio (the “Portfolio”) is to achieve long-term capital appreciation. The United Kingdom Small Company Portfolio is a Feeder Portfolio and pursues its objective by investing substantially all of its assets in its corresponding Master Fund, The United Kingdom Small Company Series (the “United Kingdom Small Company Series” or the “Series”) of The DFA Investment Trust Company (the “Trust”), which has the same investment objective and policies as the Portfolio.
This table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy, hold or sell shares of the United Kingdom Small Company Portfolio. You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the table and Example below.
year as a percentage of the value of
your investment)
|
|
|
Management Fee |
| |
| ||
Other Expenses |
| |
| ||
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses |
| |
| ||
Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement*** |
| |
| ||
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement |
| |
|
* |
| ||
** |
| ||
*** |
|
This Example is meant to help you compare the cost of investing in the United Kingdom Small Company Portfolio with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Portfolio for the time periods indicated. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Portfolio’s operating expenses remain the same. The costs for the Portfolio reflect the net
42
expenses of the Portfolio that result from the Temporary Fee Waiver in the first year only. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1 Year |
3 Years |
5 Years |
10 Years | |||
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ | |||
|
The Example reflects the aggregate annual operating expenses of the United Kingdom Small Company Portfolio and the Portfolio’s portion of the expenses of the United Kingdom Small Company Series.
The United Kingdom Small
Company Series pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and
sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover
may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when
Portfolio shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not
reflected in Annual Fund Operating Expenses or in the Example, affect the United
Kingdom Small Company Portfolio’s performance. During the most recent fiscal
year, the Series’ portfolio turnover rate was
The United Kingdom Small Company Portfolio is a feeder portfolio that invests substantially all of its assets in the United Kingdom Small Company Series. To achieve the Portfolio’s and the Series’ investment objectives, the Advisor implements an integrated investment approach that combines research, portfolio design, portfolio management, and trading functions. As further described below, the Series’ design emphasizes long-term drivers of expected returns identified by the Advisor’s research, while balancing risk through broad diversification across companies and sectors. The Advisor’s portfolio management and trading processes further balance those long-term drivers of expected returns with shorter-term drivers of expected returns and trading costs.
The United Kingdom Small Company Series, using a market capitalization weighted approach, is designed to purchase a broad and diverse group of readily marketable securities of small companies associated with the United Kingdom. A company’s market capitalization is the number of its shares outstanding times its price per share. Under a market capitalization weighted approach, companies with higher market capitalizations generally represent a larger proportion of the Series than companies with relatively lower market capitalizations. The Series may emphasize certain stocks, including smaller capitalization companies, lower relative price stocks, and/or higher profitability stocks as compared to their representation in the small company segment of the United Kingdom market. An equity issuer is considered to have a low relative price (i.e., a value stock) primarily because it has a low price in relation to its book value. In assessing relative price, the Advisor may consider additional factors such as price to cash flow or price to earnings ratios. An equity issuer is considered to have high profitability because it has high earnings or profits from operations in relation to its book value or assets. The criteria the Advisor uses for assessing relative price and profitability are subject to change from time to time.
As a non-fundamental policy, under normal circumstances, the United Kingdom Small Company Series will invest at least 80% of its net assets in securities of United Kingdom small companies. Based on market capitalization data as of December 31, 2022, the Advisor would consider United Kingdom small companies to be those companies with a market capitalization below $3,773 million. This threshold will change due to market conditions.
The Advisor may also increase or reduce the United Kingdom Small Company Series’ exposure to an eligible company, or exclude a company, based on shorter-term considerations, such as a company’s price momentum and investment characteristics. In assessing a company’s investment characteristics, the Advisor considers ratios such as recent changes in assets divided by total assets. The criteria the Advisor uses for assessing a company’s investment characteristics are subject to change from time to time. In addition, the Advisor seeks to reduce trading costs using a flexible trading approach that looks for opportunities to participate in the available market liquidity, while managing turnover and explicit transaction costs.
43
The United Kingdom Small Company Series may gain exposure to companies associated with the United Kingdom by purchasing equity securities in the form of depositary receipts, which may be listed or traded outside the issuer’s domicile country. The Series and the United Kingdom Small Company Portfolio each may purchase or sell futures contracts and options on futures contracts for United Kingdom equity securities and indices or other equity market securities and indices, including those of the United States, to increase or decrease equity market exposure based on actual or expected cash inflows to or outflows from the Series or Portfolio. Because many of the Series’ and the Portfolio’s investments may be denominated in foreign currencies, the Series and the Portfolio may enter into foreign currency exchange transactions, including foreign currency forward contracts, in connection with the settlement of foreign securities or to transfer cash balances from one currency to another currency.
The United Kingdom Small Company Series may lend its portfolio securities to generate additional income.
Equity Market Risk: Even a long-term investment approach cannot guarantee a profit. Economic, market, political, and issuer-specific conditions and events will cause the value of equity securities, and the Portfolio that owns them, to rise or fall. Stock markets tend to move in cycles, with periods of rising prices and periods of falling prices.
Foreign Securities and Currencies Risk: Foreign securities prices may decline or fluctuate because of: (a) economic or political actions of foreign governments, and/or (b) less regulated or liquid securities markets. Investors holding these securities may also be exposed to foreign currency risk (the possibility that foreign currency will fluctuate in value against the U.S. dollar or that a foreign government will convert, or be forced to convert, its currency to another currency, changing its value against the U.S. dollar). The Series does not hedge foreign currency risk.
Depositary receipts are generally subject to the same risks as the foreign securities that they evidence or into which they may be converted. In addition, the underlying issuers of certain depositary receipts, particularly unsponsored or unregistered depositary receipts, are under no obligation to distribute shareholder communications to the holders of such receipts, or to pass through to them any voting rights with respect to the deposited securities. Depositary receipts that are not sponsored by the issuer may be less liquid and there may be less readily available public information about the issuer.
United Kingdom Market Risk: Because the Series concentrates investments in the United Kingdom, the Portfolio’s performance is expected to be closely tied to the social, political and economic conditions within the United Kingdom and to be more volatile than the performance of funds with more geographically diverse investments.
Small Company Risk: Securities of small companies are often less liquid than those of large companies and this could make it difficult to sell a small company security at a desired time or price. As a result, small company stocks may fluctuate relatively more in price. In general, smaller capitalization companies are also more vulnerable than larger companies to adverse business or economic developments and they may have more limited resources.
Profitability Investment Risk: High relative profitability stocks may perform differently from the market as a whole and an investment strategy purchasing these securities may cause the Series to at times underperform equity funds that use other investment strategies.
44
Value Investment Risk: Value stocks may perform differently from the market as a whole and an investment strategy purchasing these securities may cause the Series to at times underperform equity funds that use other investment strategies. Value stocks can react differently to political, economic, and industry developments than the market as a whole and other types of stocks. Value stocks also may underperform the market for long periods of time.
Derivatives Risk: Derivatives are instruments, such as futures, and options thereon, and foreign currency forward contracts, whose value is derived from that of other assets, rates or indices. The use of derivatives for non-hedging purposes may be considered to carry more risk than other types of investments. When the Series and the Portfolio use derivatives, the Portfolio will be directly exposed to the risks of those derivatives. Derivative instruments are subject to a number of risks including counterparty, settlement, liquidity, interest rate, market, credit and management risks, as well as the risk of improper valuation. Changes in the value of a derivative may not correlate perfectly with the underlying asset, rate or index, and the Portfolio could lose more than the principal amount invested.
Securities Lending Risk: Securities lending involves the risk that the borrower may fail to return the securities in a timely manner or at all. As a result, the Series may lose money and there may be a delay in recovering the loaned securities. The Series could also lose money if it does not recover the securities and/or the value of the collateral falls, including the value of investments made with cash collateral. Securities lending also may have certain adverse tax consequences.
Operational Risk: Operational risks include human error, changes in personnel, system changes, faults in communication, and failures in systems, technology, or processes. Various operational events or circumstances are outside the Advisor’s control, including instances at third parties. The Portfolio and the Advisor seek to reduce these operational risks through controls and procedures. However, these measures do not address every possible risk and may be inadequate to address these risks.
Cyber Security Risk: The Portfolio’s and its service providers’ use of internet, technology and information systems may expose the Portfolio to potential risks linked to cyber security breaches of those technological or information systems. Cyber security breaches, amongst other things, could allow an unauthorized party to gain access to proprietary information, customer data, or fund assets, or cause the Portfolio and/or its service providers to suffer data corruption or lose operational functionality.
45
January 2013-December 2022
|
|
|
|
|
Periods ending December 31, 2022
|
|
|
|
|
| ||||||||||||||||
1 Year |
5 Years |
10 Years | |||||||||||||||||||
United Kingdom Small Company Portfolio |
|
|
|
|
|
| |||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||
Return Before Taxes |
- |
% |
|
|
- |
% |
|
|
|
% |
| ||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||
Return After Taxes on Distributions |
- |
% |
|
|
- |
% |
|
|
|
% |
| ||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||
Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Portfolio Shares |
- |
% |
|
|
- |
% |
|
|
|
% |
| ||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||
MSCI UK
Small Cap Index (net dividends) |
- |
% |
|
|
- |
% |
|
|
|
% |
| ||||||||||
|
Investment Advisor/Portfolio Management
Dimensional Fund Advisors LP serves as the investment advisor for the United Kingdom Small Company Portfolio and United Kingdom Small Company Series. Dimensional Fund Advisors Ltd. serves as the sub-advisor for the Series. The following individuals are responsible for leading the day-to-day management of the Portfolio and the Series:
• |
Jed S. Fogdall, Global Head of Portfolio Management, Chairman of the Investment Committee, Vice President and Senior Portfolio Manager of the Advisor, has been a portfolio manager of the Portfolio since 2010. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
• |
Arun C. Keswani, Vice President and Senior Portfolio Manager of the Advisor, has been a portfolio manager of the Portfolio since 2015. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
• |
Joel P. Schneider, Deputy Head of Portfolio Management, North America, member of the Investment Committee, Vice President and Senior Portfolio Manager of the Advisor, has been a portfolio manager of the Portfolio since 2020. |
46
Purchase and Redemption of Fund Shares
Investors may purchase or redeem shares of the United Kingdom Small Company Portfolio on each day that the NYSE is scheduled to be open for business by first contacting the Portfolio’s transfer agent at (888) 576-1167. Shareholders that invest in the Portfolio through a financial intermediary should contact their financial intermediary regarding purchase and redemption procedures. The Portfolio generally is available for investment only by institutional clients, clients of registered investment advisors, clients of financial institutions and a limited number of certain other investors as approved from time to time by the Advisor. All investments are subject to approval of the Advisor.
Tax Information
The dividends and distributions you receive from the United Kingdom Small Company Portfolio are taxable and generally will be taxed as ordinary income, capital gains, or some combination of both, unless you are investing through a tax-advantaged arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or an individual retirement account, in which case distributions may be taxed as ordinary income when withdrawn from the plan or account.
Payments to Financial Intermediaries
If you purchase the United Kingdom Small Company Portfolio through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Portfolio and its related companies may pay the intermediary for the sale of the Portfolio shares and/or related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the financial intermediary to recommend the Portfolio over another investment. Ask your financial advisor or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.
47
The investment objective of the Continental Small Company Portfolio (the “Portfolio”) is to achieve long-term capital appreciation. The Continental Small Company Portfolio is a Feeder Portfolio and pursues its objective by investing substantially all of its assets in its corresponding Master Fund, The Continental Small Company Series (the “Continental Small Company Series” or the “Series”) of The DFA Investment Trust Company (the “Trust”), which has the same investment objective and policies as the Portfolio.
This table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy, hold or sell shares of the Continental Small Company Portfolio. You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the table and Example below.
year as a percentage of the value of
your investment)
|
|
|
Management Fee |
| |
| ||
Other Expenses |
| |
| ||
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses |
| |
| ||
Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement |
| |
| ||
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement |
| |
|
* |
| ||
** |
|
This Example is meant to help you compare the cost of investing in the Continental Small Company Portfolio with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Portfolio for the time periods indicated. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Portfolio’s operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1 Year |
3 Years |
5 Years |
10 Years | |||
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ | |||
|
48
The Example reflects the aggregate annual operating expenses of the Continental Small Company Portfolio and the Portfolio’s portion of the expenses of the Continental Small Company Series.
The Continental Small Company
Series pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells
securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover may
indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Portfolio
shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in
Annual Fund Operating Expenses or in the Example, affect the Continental Small
Company Portfolio’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Series’
portfolio turnover rate was
The Continental Small Company Portfolio is a feeder portfolio that invests substantially all of its assets in the Continental Small Company Series. To achieve the Portfolio’s and the Series’ investment objectives, the Advisor implements an integrated investment approach that combines research, portfolio design, portfolio management, and trading functions. As further described below, the Series’ design emphasizes long-term drivers of expected returns identified by the Advisor’s research, while balancing risk through broad diversification across companies and sectors. The Advisor’s portfolio management and trading processes further balance those long-term drivers of expected returns with shorter-term drivers of expected returns and trading costs.
The Continental Small Company Series, using a market capitalization weighted approach, is designed to purchase a broad and diverse group of readily marketable securities of small companies associated with European countries designated by the Advisor as approved markets for investment. A company’s market capitalization is the number of its shares outstanding times its price per share. Under a market capitalization weighted approach, companies with higher market capitalizations generally represent a larger proportion of the Series than companies with relatively lower market capitalizations. The Series may emphasize certain stocks, including smaller capitalization companies, lower relative price stocks, and/or higher profitability stocks as compared to their representation in the small company segment of the region in which the Series is authorized to invest. An equity issuer is considered to have a low relative price (i.e., a value stock) primarily because it has a low price in relation to its book value. In assessing relative price, the Advisor may consider additional factors such as price to cash flow or price to earnings ratios. An equity issuer is considered to have high profitability because it has high earnings or profits from operations in relation to its book value or assets. The criteria the Advisor uses for assessing relative price and profitability are subject to change from time to time.
As a non-fundamental policy, under normal circumstances, the Continental Small Company Series will invest at least 80% of its net assets in securities of small companies located in continental Europe. The Advisor determines the maximum market capitalization of a small company with respect to each country or region in which the Series invests. Based on market capitalization data as of December 31, 2022, for the Series, the market capitalization of a small company in any country or region in which the Series invests would be below $8,202 million. This threshold will change due to market conditions. The Series also may invest up to 20% of its net assets in small companies associated with non-European countries that the Advisor has identified as approved markets for investment.
The Advisor may also increase or reduce the Continental Small Company Series’ exposure to an eligible company, or exclude a company, based on shorter-term considerations, such as a company’s price momentum and investment characteristics. In assessing a company’s investment characteristics, the Advisor considers ratios such as recent changes in assets divided by total assets. The criteria the Advisor uses for assessing a company’s investment characteristics are subject to change from time to time. In addition, the Advisor seeks to reduce trading costs using a flexible trading approach that looks for opportunities to participate in the available market liquidity, while managing turnover and explicit transaction costs.
The Continental Small Company Series may gain exposure to companies associated with approved markets by purchasing equity securities in the form of depositary receipts, which may be listed or traded outside the issuer’s
49
domicile country. The Series and the Continental Small Company Portfolio each may purchase or sell futures contracts and options on futures contracts for continental European equity securities and indices or other equity market securities and indices, including those of the United States, to increase or decrease equity market exposure based on actual or expected cash inflows to or outflows from the Series or Portfolio. Because many of the Series’ and the Portfolio’s investments may be denominated in foreign currencies, the Series and the Portfolio may enter into foreign currency exchange transactions, including foreign currency forward contracts, in connection with the settlement of foreign securities or to transfer cash balances from one currency to another currency.
The Continental Small Company Series may lend its portfolio securities to generate additional income.
Equity Market Risk: Even a long-term investment approach cannot guarantee a profit. Economic, market, political, and issuer-specific conditions and events will cause the value of equity securities, and the Portfolio that owns them, to rise or fall. Stock markets tend to move in cycles, with periods of rising prices and periods of falling prices.
Foreign Securities and Currencies Risk: Foreign securities prices may decline or fluctuate because of: (a) economic or political actions of foreign governments, and/or (b) less regulated or liquid securities markets. Investors holding these securities may also be exposed to foreign currency risk (the possibility that foreign currency will fluctuate in value against the U.S. dollar or that a foreign government will convert, or be forced to convert, its currency to another currency, changing its value against the U.S. dollar). The Series does not hedge foreign currency risk.
Depositary receipts are generally subject to the same risks as the foreign securities that they evidence or into which they may be converted. In addition, the underlying issuers of certain depositary receipts, particularly unsponsored or unregistered depositary receipts, are under no obligation to distribute shareholder communications to the holders of such receipts, or to pass through to them any voting rights with respect to the deposited securities. Depositary receipts that are not sponsored by the issuer may be less liquid and there may be less readily available public information about the issuer.
European Market Risk: Because the Series concentrates investments in European countries, the Portfolio’s performance is expected to be closely tied to the social, political and economic conditions within such European countries and to be more volatile than the performance of funds with more geographically diverse investments.
Small Company Risk: Securities of small companies are often less liquid than those of large companies and this could make it difficult to sell a small company security at a desired time or price. As a result, small company stocks may fluctuate relatively more in price. In general, smaller capitalization companies are also more vulnerable than larger companies to adverse business or economic developments and they may have more limited resources.
Profitability Investment Risk: High relative profitability stocks may perform differently from the market as a whole and an investment strategy purchasing these securities may cause the Series to at times underperform equity funds that use other investment strategies.
Value Investment Risk: Value stocks may perform differently from the market as a whole and an investment strategy purchasing these securities may cause the Series to at times underperform equity funds that use other investment strategies. Value stocks can react differently to political, economic, and industry developments than
50
the market as a whole and other types of stocks. Value stocks also may underperform the market for long periods of time.
Derivatives Risk: Derivatives are instruments, such as futures, and options thereon, and foreign currency forward contracts, whose value is derived from that of other assets, rates or indices. The use of derivatives for non-hedging purposes may be considered to carry more risk than other types of investments. When the Series and the Portfolio use derivatives, the Portfolio will be directly exposed to the risks of those derivatives. Derivative instruments are subject to a number of risks including counterparty, settlement, liquidity, interest rate, market, credit and management risks, as well as the risk of improper valuation. Changes in the value of a derivative may not correlate perfectly with the underlying asset, rate or index, and the Portfolio could lose more than the principal amount invested.
Securities Lending Risk: Securities lending involves the risk that the borrower may fail to return the securities in a timely manner or at all. As a result, the Series may lose money and there may be a delay in recovering the loaned securities. The Series could also lose money if it does not recover the securities and/or the value of the collateral falls, including the value of investments made with cash collateral. Securities lending also may have certain adverse tax consequences.
Operational Risk: Operational risks include human error, changes in personnel, system changes, faults in communication, and failures in systems, technology, or processes. Various operational events or circumstances are outside the Advisor’s control, including instances at third parties. The Portfolio and the Advisor seek to reduce these operational risks through controls and procedures. However, these measures do not address every possible risk and may be inadequate to address these risks.
Cyber Security Risk: The Portfolio’s and its service providers’ use of internet, technology and information systems may expose the Portfolio to potential risks linked to cyber security breaches of those technological or information systems. Cyber security breaches, amongst other things, could allow an unauthorized party to gain access to proprietary information, customer data, or fund assets, or cause the Portfolio and/or its service providers to suffer data corruption or lose operational functionality.
51
January 2013-December 2022
|
|
|
|
|
Periods ending December 31, 2022
|
|
|
|
|
| ||||||||||||||||
1 Year |
5 Years |
10 Years | |||||||||||||||||||
Continental Small Company Portfolio |
|
|
|
|
|
| |||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||
Return Before Taxes |
- |
% |
|
|
|
% |
|
|
|
% |
| ||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||
Return After Taxes on Distributions |
- |
% |
|
|
|
% |
|
|
|
% |
| ||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||
Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Portfolio Shares |
- |
% |
|
|
|
% |
|
|
|
% |
| ||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||
MSCI Europe
ex UK Small Cap Index (net dividends) |
- |
% |
|
|
|
% |
|
|
|
% |
| ||||||||||
|
Investment Advisor/Portfolio Management
Dimensional Fund Advisors LP serves as the investment advisor for the Continental Small Company Portfolio and Continental Small Company Series. Dimensional Fund Advisors Ltd. serves as the sub-advisor for the Series. The following individuals are responsible for leading the day-to-day management of the Portfolio and the Series:
• |
Jed S. Fogdall, Global Head of Portfolio Management, Chairman of the Investment Committee, Vice President and Senior Portfolio Manager of the Advisor, has been a portfolio manager of the Portfolio since 2010. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
• |
Arun C. Keswani, Vice President and Senior Portfolio Manager of the Advisor, has been a portfolio manager of the Portfolio since 2015. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
• |
Joel P. Schneider, Deputy Head of Portfolio Management, North America, member of the Investment Committee, Vice President and Senior Portfolio Manager of the Advisor, has been a portfolio manager of the Portfolio since 2020. |
52
Purchase and Redemption of Fund Shares
Investors may purchase or redeem shares of the Continental Small Company Portfolio on each day that the NYSE is scheduled to be open for business by first contacting the Portfolio’s transfer agent at (888) 576-1167. Shareholders that invest in the Portfolio through a financial intermediary should contact their financial intermediary regarding purchase and redemption procedures. The Portfolio generally is available for investment only by institutional clients, clients of registered investment advisors, clients of financial institutions and a limited number of certain other investors as approved from time to time by the Advisor. All investments are subject to approval of the Advisor.
Tax Information
The dividends and distributions you receive from the Continental Small Company Portfolio are taxable and generally will be taxed as ordinary income, capital gains, or some combination of both, unless you are investing through a tax-advantaged arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or an individual retirement account, in which case distributions may be taxed as ordinary income when withdrawn from the plan or account.
Payments to Financial Intermediaries
If you purchase the Continental Small Company Portfolio through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Portfolio and its related companies may pay the intermediary for the sale of the Portfolio shares and/or related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the financial intermediary to recommend the Portfolio over another investment. Ask your financial advisor or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.
53
The investment objective of the DFA International Real Estate Securities Portfolio (the “Portfolio”) is to achieve long-term capital appreciation.
This table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy, hold or sell shares of the DFA International Real Estate Securities Portfolio. You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the table and Example below.
year as a percentage of the value of
your investment)
|
|
|
Management Fee |
| |
| ||
Other Expenses |
| |
| ||
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses |
| |
|
This Example is meant to help you compare the cost of investing in the DFA International Real Estate Securities Portfolio with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Portfolio for the time periods indicated. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Portfolio’s operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1 Year |
3 Years |
5 Years |
10 Years | |||
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ | |||
|
The DFA International Real
Estate Securities Portfolio pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it
buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio
turnover may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes
when Portfolio shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not
reflected in Annual Fund Operating Expenses or in the Example, affect the
Portfolio’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Portfolio’s
portfolio turnover rate was
To achieve the DFA International Real Estate Securities Portfolio’s investment objective, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP (the “Advisor”) implements an integrated investment approach that combines research, portfolio design, portfolio management, and trading functions.
The Portfolio, using a market capitalization weighted approach, purchases a broad and diverse set of securities of non-U.S. companies principally engaged in the real estate industry, including developed and emerging markets, with a particular focus on non-U.S. real estate investment trusts (“REITs”) and companies the Advisor considers to
54
be REIT-like entities. The Portfolio invests in companies of all sizes. A company’s market capitalization is the number of its shares outstanding times its price per share. Under a market capitalization weighted approach, companies with higher market capitalizations generally represent a larger proportion of the Portfolio than companies with relatively lower market capitalizations. The Advisor may adjust the representation in the Portfolio of an eligible company, or exclude a company, after considering such factors as free float, price momentum, trading strategies, liquidity, size, relative price, profitability, and other factors that the Advisor determines to be appropriate. An equity issuer is considered to have a low relative price (i.e., a value stock) primarily because it has a low price in relation to its book value. In assessing relative price, the Advisor may consider additional factors such as price to cash flow or price to earnings ratios. An equity issuer is considered to have high profitability because it has high earnings or profits from operations in relation to its book value or assets. The criteria the Advisor uses for assessing relative price and profitability are subject to change from time to time. The Advisor also may limit or fix the Portfolio’s exposure to a particular country or issuer.
The DFA International Real Estate Securities Portfolio considers a company to be principally engaged in the real estate industry if the company’s principal activities include ownership, management, development, construction, or sale of residential, commercial or industrial real estate. REITs and REIT-like entities are types of real estate companies that pool investors’ funds for investment primarily in income producing real estate or real estate related loans or interests.
The DFA International Real Estate Securities Portfolio intends to purchase securities of companies associated with developed and emerging markets countries that the Advisor has designated as approved markets for investment. As a non-fundamental policy, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of the Portfolio’s net assets will be invested in securities of companies in the real estate industry. The Portfolio concentrates (i.e., invests more than 25% of its net assets) its investments in securities of companies in the real estate industry. The Portfolio generally considers a company to be principally engaged in the real estate industry if the company (i) derives at least 50% of its revenue or profits from the ownership, management, development, construction, or sale of residential, commercial, industrial, or other real estate; (ii) has at least 50% of the value of its assets invested in residential, commercial, industrial, or other real estate; or (iii) is organized as a REIT or REIT-like entity. The Portfolio also may invest in stapled securities, where one or more of the underlying securities represents interests in a company or subsidiary in the real estate industry.
The DFA International Real Estate Securities Portfolio may gain exposure to companies associated with approved markets by purchasing equity securities in the form of depositary receipts, which may be listed or traded outside the issuer’s domicile country. The Portfolio may purchase or sell futures contracts and options on futures contracts for equity securities and indices to increase or decrease equity market exposure based on actual or expected cash inflows to or outflows from the Portfolio. Because many of the Portfolio’s investments may be denominated in foreign currencies, the Portfolio may enter into foreign currency exchange transactions, including foreign currency forward contracts, in connection with the settlement of foreign securities or to transfer cash balances from one currency to another currency.
The DFA International Real Estate Securities Portfolio may lend its portfolio securities to generate additional income.
Equity Market Risk: Even a long-term investment approach cannot guarantee a profit. Economic, market, political, and issuer-specific conditions and events will cause the value of equity securities, and the Portfolio that owns them, to rise or fall. Stock markets tend to move in cycles, with periods of rising prices and periods of falling prices.
55
Foreign Securities and Currencies Risk: Foreign securities prices may decline or fluctuate because of: (a) economic or political actions of foreign governments, and/or (b) less regulated or liquid securities markets. Investors holding these securities may also be exposed to foreign currency risk (the possibility that foreign currency will fluctuate in value against the U.S. dollar or that a foreign government will convert, or be forced to convert, its currency to another currency, changing its value against the U.S. dollar). The Portfolio does not hedge foreign currency risk.
Depositary receipts are generally subject to the same risks as the foreign securities that they evidence or into which they may be converted. In addition, the underlying issuers of certain depositary receipts, particularly unsponsored or unregistered depositary receipts, are under no obligation to distribute shareholder communications to the holders of such receipts, or to pass through to them any voting rights with respect to the deposited securities. Depositary receipts that are not sponsored by the issuer may be less liquid and there may be less readily available public information about the issuer.
Small and Mid-Cap Company Risk: Securities of small and mid-cap companies are often less liquid than those of large companies and this could make it difficult to sell a small or mid-cap company security at a desired time or price. As a result, small and mid-cap company stocks may fluctuate relatively more in price. In general, small and mid- capitalization companies are also more vulnerable than larger companies to adverse business or economic developments and they may have more limited resources.
Risks of Concentrating in the Real Estate Industry: The Portfolio concentrates (i.e., invests more than 25% of its net assets) its investments in securities of companies in the real estate industry. The exclusive focus by the Portfolio on the real estate industry will cause the Portfolio to be exposed to the general risks of direct real estate ownership. The value of securities in the real estate industry can be affected by changes in real estate values and rental income, property taxes, and tax and regulatory requirements. Also, the value of securities in the real estate industry may decline with changes in interest rates. Investing in REITs and REIT-like entities involves certain unique risks in addition to those risks associated with investing in the real estate industry in general. REITs and REIT-like entities are dependent upon management skill, may not be diversified, and are subject to heavy cash flow dependency and self-liquidation. REITs and REIT-like entities also are subject to the possibility of failing to qualify for tax free pass-through of income. Also, many foreign REIT-like entities are deemed for tax purposes as passive foreign investment companies (PFICs), which could result in the receipt of taxable dividends to shareholders at an unfavorable tax rate. Also, because REITs and REIT-like entities typically are invested in a limited number of projects or in a particular market segment, these entities are more susceptible to adverse developments affecting a single project or market segment than more broadly diversified investments. The performance of the Portfolio may be materially different from the broad equity market.
Emerging Markets Risk: Numerous emerging market countries have a history of, and continue to experience serious, and potentially continuing, economic and political problems. Stock markets in many emerging market countries are relatively small, expensive to trade in and generally have higher risks than those in developed markets. Securities in emerging markets also may be less liquid than those in developed markets and foreigners are often limited in their ability to invest in, and withdraw assets from, these markets. Additional restrictions may be imposed under other conditions. Frontier market countries generally have smaller economies or less developed capital markets and, as a result, the risks of investing in emerging market countries are magnified in frontier market countries.
Derivatives Risk: Derivatives are instruments, such as futures, and options thereon, and foreign currency forward contracts, whose value is derived from that of other assets, rates or indices. The use of derivatives for non-hedging purposes may be considered to carry more risk than other types of investments. When the Portfolio uses derivatives, the Portfolio will be directly exposed to the risks of those derivatives. Derivative instruments are subject to a number of risks including counterparty, settlement, liquidity, interest rate, market, credit and management risks, as well as the risk of improper valuation. Changes in the value of a derivative may not correlate perfectly with the underlying asset, rate or index, and the Portfolio could lose more than the principal amount invested.
Securities Lending Risk: Securities lending involves the risk that the borrower may fail to return the securities in a timely manner or at all. As a result, the Portfolio may lose money and there may be a delay in recovering the loaned securities. The Portfolio could also lose money if it does not recover the securities and/or the value of the
56
collateral falls, including the value of investments made with cash collateral. Securities lending also may have certain adverse tax consequences.
Operational Risk: Operational risks include human error, changes in personnel, system changes, faults in communication, and failures in systems, technology, or processes. Various operational events or circumstances are outside the Advisor’s control, including instances at third parties. The Portfolio and the Advisor seek to reduce these operational risks through controls and procedures. However, these measures do not address every possible risk and may be inadequate to address these risks.
Cyber Security Risk: The Portfolio’s and its service providers’ use of internet, technology and information systems may expose the Portfolio to potential risks linked to cyber security breaches of those technological or information systems. Cyber security breaches, amongst other things, could allow an unauthorized party to gain access to proprietary information, customer data, or fund assets, or cause the Portfolio and/or its service providers to suffer data corruption or lose operational functionality.
January 2013-December 2022
|
|
|
|
|
57
Periods ending December 31, 2022
|
|
|
|
|
| ||||||||||||||||
1 Year |
5 Years |
10 Years | |||||||||||||||||||
DFA International Real Estate Securities Portfolio |
|
|
|
|
|
| |||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||
Return Before Taxes |
- |
% |
|
|
- |
% |
|
|
|
% |
| ||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||
Return After Taxes on Distributions |
- |
% |
|
|
- |
% |
|
|
- |
% |
| ||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||
Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Portfolio Shares |
- |
% |
|
|
- |
% |
|
|
|
% |
| ||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||
S&P
Global ex U.S. REIT Index(1) (net
dividends) |
- |
% |
|
|
- |
% |
|
|
|
% |
| ||||||||||
|
(1) |
|
Investment Advisor/Portfolio Management
Dimensional Fund Advisors LP serves as the investment advisor for the DFA International Real Estate Securities Portfolio. Dimensional Fund Advisors Ltd. and DFA Australia Limited serve as the sub-advisors for the Portfolio. The following individuals are responsible for leading the day-to-day management of the Portfolio:
• |
Jed S. Fogdall, Global Head of Portfolio Management, Chairman of the Investment Committee, Vice President and Senior Portfolio Manager of the Advisor, has been a portfolio manager of the Portfolio since 2010. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
• |
Allen Pu, Deputy Head of Portfolio Management, North America, member of the Investment Committee, Vice President and Senior Portfolio Manager of the Advisor, has been a portfolio manager of the Portfolio since 2015. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
• |
Mary T. Phillips, Deputy Head of Portfolio Management, North America, member of the Investment Committee, Vice President and Senior Portfolio Manager of the Advisor, has been a portfolio manager of the Portfolio since 2017. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
• |
William B. Collins-Dean, Vice President and Senior Portfolio Manager of the Advisor, has been a portfolio manager of the Portfolio since 2019. |
Purchase and Redemption of Fund Shares
Investors may purchase or redeem shares of the DFA International Real Estate Securities Portfolio on each day that the NYSE is scheduled to be open for business by first contacting the Portfolio’s transfer agent at (888) 576-1167. Shareholders that invest in the Portfolio through a financial intermediary should contact their financial intermediary regarding purchase and redemption procedures. The Portfolio generally is available for investment only by institutional clients, clients of registered investment advisors, clients of financial institutions and a limited number of certain other investors as approved from time to time by the Advisor. All investments are subject to approval of the Advisor.
Tax Information
The dividends and distributions you receive from the DFA International Real Estate Securities Portfolio are taxable and generally will be taxed as ordinary income, capital gains, or some combination of both, unless you are investing through a tax-advantaged arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or an individual retirement account, in which case distributions may be taxed as ordinary income when withdrawn from the plan or account. See “Dividends, Capital Gains Distributions and Taxes—Tax Considerations” in the Portfolio’s Prospectus for special tax considerations with respect to the Portfolio.
58
Payments to Financial Intermediaries
If you purchase the DFA International Real Estate Securities Portfolio through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Portfolio and its related companies may pay the intermediary for the sale of the Portfolio shares and/or related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the financial intermediary to recommend the Portfolio over another investment. Ask your financial advisor or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.
59
The investment objective of the DFA Global Real Estate Securities Portfolio (the “Portfolio”) is to achieve long-term capital appreciation.
This table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy, hold or sell shares of the DFA Global Real Estate Securities Portfolio. You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the table and Example below.
year as a percentage of the value of
your investment)
|
|
|
Management Fee |
| |
| ||
Other Expenses |
| |
| ||
Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses |
| |
| ||
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses |
| |
| ||
Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement** |
| |
| ||
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement |
| |
|
* |
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
** |
|
This Example is meant to help you compare the cost of investing in the DFA Global Real Estate Securities Portfolio with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Portfolio for the time periods indicated. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Portfolio’s operating expenses remain the same. The costs for the Portfolio reflect the net expenses of the Portfolio that result from the contractual expense waiver in the first year only. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1 Year |
3 Years |
5 Years |
10 Years | |||
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ | |||
|
A mutual fund generally pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when mutual fund shares are held in a taxable account. The DFA Global Real Estate Securities Portfolio
60
does not pay transaction costs
when buying and selling shares of the Underlying Funds; however, the Underlying
Funds pay transaction costs when buying and selling securities for their
portfolio and the Portfolio pays transaction costs when buying and selling
securities directly. These costs, which are not reflected in Annual Fund
Operating Expenses or in the Example, affect the Portfolio’s performance. During
the most recent fiscal year, the Portfolio’s portfolio turnover rate was
To achieve the DFA Global Real Estate Securities Portfolio’s investment objective, the Advisor implements an integrated investment approach that combines research, portfolio design, portfolio management, and trading functions. The Portfolio seeks to achieve exposure to a broad portfolio of securities of U.S. and non-U.S. companies in the real estate industry, with a focus on real estate investment trusts (“REITs”) or companies that the Advisor considers to be REIT-like entities. The Portfolio invests in companies of all sizes. The Portfolio may pursue its investment objective by investing its assets in the DFA Real Estate Securities Portfolio, DFA International Real Estate Securities Portfolio (the “Underlying Funds”), and/or directly in securities of companies in the real estate industry. Periodically, the Advisor will review the allocations for the Portfolio in each Underlying Fund and may adjust allocations to the Underlying Funds or may add or remove Underlying Funds in the Portfolio without notice to shareholders. The Portfolio and Underlying Funds generally consider a company to be principally engaged in the real estate industry if the company (i) derives at least 50% of its revenue or profits from the ownership, management, development, construction, or sale of residential, commercial, industrial, or other real estate; (ii) has at least 50% of the value of its assets invested in residential, commercial, industrial, or other real estate; or (iii) is organized as a REIT or REIT-like entity. REITs and REIT-like entities are types of real estate companies that pool investors’ funds for investment primarily in income producing real estate or real estate related loans or interests. The Portfolio and each Underlying Fund invest in companies principally engaged in the real estate industry in its designated market using a market capitalization weighted approach. A company’s market capitalization is the number of its shares outstanding times its price per share. Under a market capitalization weighted approach, companies with higher market capitalizations generally represent a larger proportion of the Portfolio and each Underlying Fund than companies with relatively lower market capitalizations. The Advisor may adjust the representation in the Portfolio or the Underlying Funds of an eligible company, or exclude a company, after considering such factors as free float, price momentum, trading strategies, liquidity, size, relative price, profitability, and other factors that the Advisor determines to be appropriate. An equity issuer is considered to have a low relative price (i.e., a value stock) primarily because it has a low price in relation to its book value. In assessing relative price, the Advisor may consider additional factors such as price to cash flow or price to earnings ratios. An equity issuer is considered to have high profitability because it has high earnings or profits from operations in relation to its book value or assets. The criteria the Advisor uses for assessing relative price and profitability are subject to change from time to time. The Advisor also may limit or fix the Portfolio’s exposure to a particular country or issuer.
As a non-fundamental policy, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of the DFA Global Real Estate Securities Portfolio’s net assets will be invested directly, or indirectly through its investment in the Underlying Funds, in securities of companies in the real estate industry. The Portfolio concentrates (i.e., invests more than 25% of its net assets) its investments in securities of companies in the real estate industry. In addition to, or in place of, investments in the Underlying Funds, the Portfolio also is permitted to invest directly in the same types of securities of companies in the real estate industry that are eligible investments for the Underlying Funds. The Portfolio and each Underlying Fund intend to purchase securities of companies associated with countries that the Advisor has identified as approved markets for investment for the Portfolio or Underlying Fund. The Portfolio, directly or indirectly through its investment in the Underlying Funds, intends to invest its assets to gain exposure to at least three different countries, including the United States. The Advisor will generally seek to set country weights based on the relative market capitalizations of eligible companies within each approved market of the Underlying Funds. As of the date of the Prospectus, the Portfolio, directly or indirectly through its investment in the Underlying Funds, invests approximately 65% of its net assets in U.S. companies. This percentage will change due to market conditions.
The DFA Global Real Estate Securities Portfolio and each Underlying Fund may purchase or sell futures contracts and options on futures contracts for equity securities and indices to increase or decrease equity market exposure
61
based on actual or expected cash inflows to or outflows from the Portfolio or Underlying Fund. Because many of the Portfolio’s and an Underlying Fund’s investments may be denominated in foreign currencies, the Portfolio and Underlying Fund may enter into foreign currency exchange transactions, including foreign currency forward contracts, in connection with the settlement of foreign securities or to transfer cash balances from one currency to another currency.
The DFA Global Real Estate Securities Portfolio and the Underlying Funds may lend their portfolio securities to generate additional income.
A summary of the investment strategies and policies of the Underlying Funds in which the DFA Global Real Estate Securities Portfolio invests as of the date of this Prospectus (other than the Underlying Funds that are included elsewhere in the Portfolio’s Prospectus) is described in the Portfolio’s Prospectus in the section entitled “ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON INVESTMENT OBJECTIVES AND POLICIES”.
Fund of Funds Risk: The investment performance of the Portfolio is affected by the investment performance of the Underlying Funds in which the Portfolio invests. The ability of the Portfolio to achieve its investment objective depends on the ability of the Underlying Funds to meet their investment objectives and on the Advisor’s decisions regarding the allocation of the Portfolio’s assets among Underlying Funds. The Portfolio may allocate assets to an Underlying Fund or asset class that under performs other funds or asset classes. There can be no assurance that the investment objective of the Portfolio or any Underlying Fund will be achieved. When the Portfolio invests in Underlying Funds, investors are exposed to a proportionate share of the expenses of those Underlying Funds in addition to the expenses of the Portfolio. Through its investments in the Underlying Funds, the Portfolio is subject to the risks of the Underlying Funds’ investments. The risks of the Portfolio’s and Underlying Funds’ investments are described below.
Equity Market Risk: Even a long-term investment approach cannot guarantee a profit. Economic, market, political, and issuer-specific conditions and events will cause the value of equity securities, and the Portfolio or Underlying Fund that owns them, to rise or fall. Stock markets tend to move in cycles, with periods of rising prices and periods of falling prices.
Foreign Securities and Currencies Risk: Foreign securities prices may decline or fluctuate because of: (a) economic or political actions of foreign governments, and/or (b) less regulated or liquid securities markets. Investors holding these securities may also be exposed to foreign currency risk (the possibility that foreign currency will fluctuate in value against the U.S. dollar or that a foreign government will convert, or be forced to convert, its currency to another currency, changing its value against the U.S. dollar). The Underlying Funds do not hedge foreign currency risk.
Small and Mid-Cap Company Risk: Securities of small and mid-cap companies are often less liquid than those of large companies and this could make it difficult to sell a small or mid-cap company security at a desired time or price. As a result, small and mid-cap company stocks may fluctuate relatively more in price. In general, small and mid-capitalization companies are also more vulnerable than larger companies to adverse business or economic developments and they may have more limited resources.
Risks of Concentrating in the Real Estate Industry: The Portfolio concentrates (i.e., invests more than 25% of its net assets) its investments in securities of companies in the real estate industry. The exclusive focus by the Portfolio on the real estate industry will cause the Portfolio to be exposed to the general risks of direct real estate ownership. The value of securities in the real estate industry can be affected by changes in real estate values and rental income, property taxes, and tax and regulatory requirements. Also, the value of securities in the real estate
62
industry may decline with changes in interest rates. Investing in REITs and REIT-like entities involves certain unique risks in addition to those risks associated with investing in the real estate industry in general. REITs and REIT-like entities are dependent upon management skill, may not be diversified, and are subject to heavy cash flow dependency and self-liquidation. REITs and REIT-like entities also are subject to the possibility of failing to qualify for tax free pass-through of income. Also, many foreign REIT-like entities are deemed for tax purposes as passive foreign investment companies (PFICs), which could result in the receipt of taxable dividends to shareholders at an unfavorable tax rate. Also, because REITs and REIT-like entities typically are invested in a limited number of projects or in a particular market segment, these entities are more susceptible to adverse developments affecting a single project or market segment than more broadly diversified investments. The performance of the Portfolio may be materially different from the broad equity market.
Emerging Markets Risk: Numerous emerging market countries have a history of, and continue to experience serious, and potentially continuing, economic and political problems. Stock markets in many emerging market countries are relatively small, expensive to trade in and generally have higher risks than those in developed markets. Securities in emerging markets also may be less liquid than those in developed markets and foreigners are often limited in their ability to invest in, and withdraw assets from, these markets. Additional restrictions may be imposed under other conditions. Frontier market countries generally have smaller economies or less developed capital markets and, as a result, the risks of investing in emerging market countries are magnified in frontier market countries.
Derivatives Risk: Derivatives are instruments, such as futures, and options thereon, and foreign currency forward contracts, whose value is derived from that of other assets, rates or indices. The use of derivatives for non-hedging purposes may be considered to carry more risk than other types of investments. When the Portfolio or an Underlying Fund uses derivatives, the Portfolio or Underlying Fund will be directly exposed to the risks of those derivatives. Derivative instruments are subject to a number of risks including counterparty, settlement, liquidity, interest rate, market, credit and management risks, as well as the risk of improper valuation. Changes in the value of a derivative may not correlate perfectly with the underlying asset, rate or index, and the Portfolio or Underlying Fund could lose more than the principal amount invested.
Securities Lending Risk: Securities lending involves the risk that the borrower may fail to return the securities in a timely manner or at all. As a result, the Underlying Funds may lose money and there may be a delay in recovering the loaned securities. The Underlying Funds could also lose money if it does not recover the securities and/or the value of the collateral falls, including the value of investments made with cash collateral. Securities lending also may have certain adverse tax consequences. To the extent that the Portfolio holds securities directly and lends those securities, it will be also subject to the foregoing risks with respect to its loaned securities.
Operational Risk: Operational risks include human error, changes in personnel, system changes, faults in communication, and failures in systems, technology, or processes. Various operational events or circumstances are outside the Advisor’s control, including instances at third parties. The Portfolio and the Advisor seek to reduce these operational risks through controls and procedures. However, these measures do not address every possible risk and may be inadequate to address these risks.
Cyber Security Risk: The Portfolio’s and its service providers’ use of internet, technology and information systems may expose the Portfolio to potential risks linked to cyber security breaches of those technological or information systems. Cyber security breaches, amongst other things, could allow an unauthorized party to gain access to proprietary information, customer data, or fund assets, or cause the Portfolio and/or its service providers to suffer data corruption or lose operational functionality.
63
performance.
January 2013-December 2022
|
|
|
|
|
Periods ending December 31, 2022
|
|
|
|
|
| ||||||||||||||||
1 Year |
5 Years |
10 Years | |||||||||||||||||||
DFA Global Real Estate Securities Portfolio |
|
|
|
|
|
| |||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||
Return Before Taxes |
- |
% |
|
|
|
% |
|
|
|
% |
| ||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||
Return After Taxes on Distributions |
- |
% |
|
|
|
% |
|
|
|
% |
| ||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||
Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Portfolio Shares |
- |
% |
|
|
|
% |
|
|
|
% |
| ||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||
S&P
Global REIT Index(1) (net
dividends) |
- |
% |
|
|
|
% |
|
|
|
% |
| ||||||||||
|
(1) |
|
Investment Advisor/Portfolio Management
Dimensional Fund Advisors LP serves as the investment advisor for the DFA Global Real Estate Securities Portfolio and the Underlying Funds. Dimensional Fund Advisors Ltd. and DFA Australia Limited serve as the sub-advisors for the Portfolio and one of the Underlying Funds. The following individuals are responsible for leading day-to-day management of the Portfolio:
64
• |
Jed S. Fogdall, Global Head of Portfolio Management, Chairman of the Investment Committee, Vice President and Senior Portfolio Manager of the Advisor, has been a portfolio manager of the Portfolio since 2010. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
• |
Allen Pu, Deputy Head of Portfolio Management, North America, member of the Investment Committee, Vice President and Senior Portfolio Manager of the Advisor, has been a portfolio manager of the Portfolio since 2015. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
• |
Mary T. Phillips, Deputy Head of Portfolio Management, North America, member of the Investment Committee, Vice President and Senior Portfolio Manager of the Advisor, has been a portfolio manager of the Portfolio since 2017. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
• |
William B. Collins-Dean, Vice President and Senior Portfolio Manager of the Advisor, has been a portfolio manager of the Portfolio since 2019. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
• |
Ashish P. Bhagwanjee, Vice President and Senior Portfolio Manager of the Advisor, has been a portfolio manager of the Portfolio since 2020. |
Purchase and Redemption of Fund Shares
Investors may purchase or redeem shares of the DFA Global Real Estate Securities Portfolio on each day that the NYSE is scheduled to be open for business by first contacting the Portfolio’s transfer agent at (888) 576-1167. Shareholders that invest in the Portfolio through a financial intermediary should contact their financial intermediary regarding purchase and redemption procedures. The Portfolio generally is available for investment only by institutional clients, clients of registered investment advisors, clients of financial institutions and a limited number of certain other investors as approved from time to time by the Advisor. All investments are subject to approval of the Advisor.
Tax Information
The dividends and distributions you receive from the DFA Global Real Estate Securities Portfolio are taxable and generally will be taxed as ordinary income, capital gains, or some combination of both, unless you are investing through a tax-advantaged arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or an individual retirement account, in which case distributions may be taxed as ordinary income when withdrawn from the plan or account. See “Dividends, Capital Gains Distributions and Taxes—Tax Considerations” in the Portfolio’s Prospectus for special tax considerations with respect to the Portfolio.
Payments to Financial Intermediaries
If you purchase the DFA Global Real Estate Securities Portfolio through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Portfolio and its related companies may pay the intermediary for the sale of the Portfolio shares and/or related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the financial intermediary to recommend the Portfolio over another investment. Ask your financial advisor or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.
65
The investment objective of the DFA International Small Cap Value Portfolio (the “Portfolio”) is to achieve long-term capital appreciation.
This table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy, hold or sell shares of the DFA International Small Cap Value Portfolio. You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the table and Example below.
year as a percentage of the value of
your investment)
|
|
|
Management Fee |
| |
| ||
Other Expenses |
| |
| ||
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses |
| |
|
* |
|
This Example is meant to help you compare the cost of investing in the DFA International Small Cap Value Portfolio with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Portfolio for the time periods indicated. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Portfolio’s operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
|
|
|
|
|
| |
1 Year |
3 Years |
5 Years |
10 Years | |||
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ | |||
|
The DFA International Small
Cap Value Portfolio pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys
and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio
turnover may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes
when Portfolio shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not
reflected in Annual Fund Operating Expenses or in the Example, affect the
Portfolio’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Portfolio’s
portfolio turnover rate was
To achieve the DFA International Small Cap Value Portfolio’s investment objective, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP (the “Advisor”) implements an integrated investment approach that combines research, portfolio design, portfolio management, and trading functions. As further described below, the Portfolio’s design emphasizes long-term drivers of expected returns identified by the Advisor’s research, while balancing risk through broad
66
diversification across companies and sectors. The Advisor’s portfolio management and trading processes further balance those long-term drivers of expected returns with shorter-term drivers of expected returns and trading costs.
The DFA International Small Cap Value Portfolio, using a market capitalization weighted approach, is designed to purchase securities of small, non-U.S. companies in countries with developed markets that the Advisor determines to be value stocks at the time of purchase. A company’s market capitalization is the number of its shares outstanding times its price per share. Under a market capitalization weighted approach, companies with higher market capitalizations generally represent a larger proportion of the Portfolio than companies with relatively lower market capitalizations. The Portfolio may emphasize certain stocks, including smaller capitalization companies, lower relative price stocks, and/or higher profitability stocks as compared to their representation in the small-cap value segment of developed ex-U.S. markets. An equity issuer is considered to have a low relative price (i.e., a value stock) primarily because it has a low price in relation to its book value. In assessing relative price, the Advisor may consider additional factors such as price to cash flow or price to earnings ratios. An equity issuer is considered to have high profitability because it has high earnings or profits from operations in relation to its book value or assets. The criteria the Advisor uses for assessing relative price and profitability are subject to change from time to time.
The DFA International Small Cap Value Portfolio intends to purchase securities of small value companies associated with developed market countries that the Advisor has designated as approved markets. As a non-fundamental policy, under normal circumstances, the Portfolio will invest at least 80% of its net assets in securities of small companies in the particular markets in which it invests. The Advisor determines the maximum market capitalization of a small company with respect to each country in which the Portfolio invests. In the countries or regions authorized for investment, the Advisor first ranks eligible companies listed on selected exchanges based on the companies’ market capitalizations. The Advisor then determines the universe of eligible securities by defining the maximum market capitalization of a small company that may be purchased by the Portfolio with respect to each country or region. Based on market capitalization data as of December 31, 2022, for the Portfolio, the market capitalization of a small company in any country in which the Portfolio invests would be below $8,202 million. This threshold will vary by country or region. For example, based on market capitalization data as of December 31, 2022, the Advisor would consider a small company in Switzerland to have a market capitalization below $8,202 million, a small company in Norway to have a market capitalization below $1,765 million, and a small company in Japan to have a market capitalization below $2,035 million. These thresholds will change due to market conditions.
The Advisor may also increase or reduce the DFA International Small Cap Value Portfolio’s exposure to an eligible company, or exclude a company, based on shorter-term considerations, such as a company’s price momentum and investment characteristics. In assessing a company’s investment characteristics, the Advisor considers ratios such as recent changes in assets divided by total assets. The criteria the Advisor uses for assessing a company’s investment characteristics are subject to change from time to time. In addition, the Advisor seeks to reduce trading costs using a flexible trading approach that looks for opportunities to participate in the available market liquidity, while managing turnover and explicit transaction costs.
The DFA International Small Cap Value Portfolio may gain exposure to companies associated with approved markets by purchasing equity securities in the form of depositary receipts, which may be listed or traded outside the issuer’s domicile country. The Portfolio also may purchase or sell futures contracts and options on futures contracts for foreign and U.S. equity securities and indices to increase or decrease equity market exposure based on actual or expected cash inflows to or outflows from the Portfolio. Because many of the Portfolio’s investments may be denominated in foreign currencies, the Portfolio may enter into foreign currency exchange transactions, including foreign currency forward contracts, in connection with the settlement of foreign securities or to transfer cash balances from one currency to another currency.
The DFA International Small Cap Value Portfolio may lend its portfolio securities to generate additional income.
67
Equity Market Risk: Even a long-term investment approach cannot guarantee a profit. Economic, market, political, and issuer-specific conditions and events will cause the value of equity securities, and the Portfolio that owns them, to rise or fall. Stock markets tend to move in cycles, with periods of rising prices and periods of falling prices.
Small Company Risk: Securities of small companies are often less liquid than those of large companies and this could make it difficult to sell a small company security at a desired time or price. As a result, small company stocks may fluctuate relatively more in price. In general, smaller capitalization companies are also more vulnerable than larger companies to adverse business or economic developments and they may have more limited resources.
Foreign Securities and Currencies Risk: Foreign securities prices may decline or fluctuate because of: (a) economic or political actions of foreign governments, and/or (b) less regulated or liquid securities markets. Investors holding these securities may also be exposed to foreign currency risk (the possibility that foreign currency will fluctuate in value against the U.S. dollar or that a foreign government will convert, or be forced to convert, its currency to another currency, changing its value against the U.S. dollar). The Portfolio does not hedge foreign currency risk.
Depositary receipts are generally subject to the same risks as the foreign securities that they evidence or into which they may be converted. In addition, the underlying issuers of certain depositary receipts, particularly unsponsored or unregistered depositary receipts, are under no obligation to distribute shareholder communications to the holders of such receipts, or to pass through to them any voting rights with respect to the deposited securities. Depositary receipts that are not sponsored by the issuer may be less liquid and there may be less readily available public information about the issuer.
Value Investment Risk: Value stocks may perform differently from the market as a whole and an investment strategy purchasing these securities may cause the Portfolio to at times underperform equity funds that use other investment strategies. Value stocks can react differently to political, economic, and industry developments than the market as a whole and other types of stocks. Value stocks also may underperform the market for long periods of time.
Profitability Investment Risk: High relative profitability stocks may perform differently from the market as a whole and an investment strategy purchasing these securities may cause the Portfolio to at times underperform equity funds that use other investment strategies.
Derivatives Risk: Derivatives are instruments, such as futures, and options thereon, and foreign currency forward contracts, whose value is derived from that of other assets, rates or indices. The use of derivatives for non-hedging purposes may be considered to carry more risk than other types of investments. When the Portfolio uses derivatives, the Portfolio will be directly exposed to the risks of those derivatives. Derivative instruments are subject to a number of risks including counterparty, settlement, liquidity, interest rate, market, credit and management risks, as well as the risk of improper valuation. Changes in the value of a derivative may not correlate perfectly with the underlying asset, rate or index, and the Portfolio could lose more than the principal amount invested.
Securities Lending Risk: Securities lending involves the risk that the borrower may fail to return the securities in a timely manner or at all. As a result, the Portfolio may lose money and there may be a delay in recovering the loaned securities. The Portfolio could also lose money if it does not recover the securities and/or the value of the collateral falls, including the value of investments made with cash collateral. Securities lending also may have certain adverse tax consequences.
68
Operational Risk: Operational risks include human error, changes in personnel, system changes, faults in communication, and failures in systems, technology, or processes. Various operational events or circumstances are outside the Advisor’s control, including instances at third parties. The Portfolio and the Advisor seek to reduce these operational risks through controls and procedures. However, these measures do not address every possible risk and may be inadequate to address these risks.
Cyber Security Risk: The Portfolio’s and its service providers’ use of internet, technology and information systems may expose the Portfolio to potential risks linked to cyber security breaches of those technological or information systems. Cyber security breaches, amongst other things, could allow an unauthorized party to gain access to proprietary information, customer data, or fund assets, or cause the Portfolio and/or its service providers to suffer data corruption or lose operational functionality.
January 2013-December 2022
|
|
|
|
|
69
Periods ending December 31, 2022
|
|
|
|
|
| ||||||||||||||||
1 Year |
5 Years |
10 Years | |||||||||||||||||||
DFA International Small Cap Value Portfolio |
|
|
|
|
|
| |||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||
Return Before Taxes |
- |
% |
|
|
- |
% |
|
|
|
% |
| ||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||
Return After Taxes on Distributions |
- |
% |
|
|
- |
% |
|
|
|
% |
| ||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||
Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Portfolio Shares |
- |
% |
|
|
- |
% |
|
|
|
% |
| ||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||
MSCI World
ex USA Small Value Index (net dividend) |
|
- |
% |
|
|
|
% |
|
|
|
% |
| |||||||||
|
Investment Advisor/Portfolio Management
Dimensional Fund Advisors LP serves as the investment advisor for the DFA International Small Cap Value Portfolio. Dimensional Fund Advisors Ltd. and DFA Australia Limited serve as the sub-advisors for the Portfolio. The following individuals are responsible for leading the day-to-day management of the Portfolio:
• |
Jed S. Fogdall, Global Head of Portfolio Management, Chairman of the Investment Committee, Vice President and Senior Portfolio Manager of the Advisor, has been a portfolio manager of the Portfolio since 2010. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
• |
Arun C. Keswani, Vice President and Senior Portfolio Manager of the Advisor, has been a portfolio manager of the Portfolio since 2015. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
• |
Joel P. Schneider, Deputy Head of Portfolio Management, North America, member of the Investment Committee, Vice President and Senior Portfolio Manager of the Advisor, has been a portfolio manager of the Portfolio since 2020. |
Purchase and Redemption of Fund Shares
Investors may purchase or redeem shares of the DFA International Small Cap Value Portfolio on each day that the NYSE is scheduled to be open for business by first contacting the Portfolio’s transfer agent at (888) 576-1167. Shareholders that invest in the Portfolio through a financial intermediary should contact their financial intermediary regarding purchase and redemption procedures. The Portfolio generally is available for investment only by institutional clients, clients of registered investment advisors, clients of financial institutions and a limited number of certain other investors as approved from time to time by the Advisor. All investments are subject to approval of the Advisor.
Tax Information
The dividends and distributions you receive from the DFA International Small Cap Value Portfolio are taxable and generally will be taxed as ordinary income, capital gains, or some combination of both, unless you are investing through a tax-advantaged arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or an individual retirement account, in which case distributions may be taxed as ordinary income when withdrawn from the plan or account.
Payments to Financial Intermediaries
If you purchase the DFA International Small Cap Value Portfolio through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Portfolio and its related companies may pay the intermediary for the sale of the Portfolio shares and/or related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the financial intermediary to recommend the Portfolio over another investment. Ask your financial advisor or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.
70
The investment objective of the International Vector Equity Portfolio (the “Portfolio”) is to achieve long-term capital appreciation.
This table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy, hold or sell shares of the International Vector Equity Portfolio. You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the table and Example below.
year as a percentage of the value of
your investment)
|
|
|
Management Fee |
| |
| ||
Other Expenses |
| |
| ||
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses |
| |
|
* |
|
This Example is meant to help you compare the cost of investing in the International Vector Equity Portfolio with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Portfolio for the time periods indicated. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Portfolio’s operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
|
|
|
|
|
| |
1 Year |
3 Years |
5 Years |
10 Years | |||
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ | |||
|
The International Vector
Equity Portfolio pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and
sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover
may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when
Portfolio shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not
reflected in Annual Fund Operating Expenses or in the Example, affect the
Portfolio’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Portfolio’s
portfolio turnover rate was
To achieve the International Vector Equity Portfolio’s investment objective, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP (the “Advisor”) implements an integrated investment approach that combines research, portfolio design, portfolio management, and trading functions. As further described below, the Portfolio’s design emphasizes long-term drivers of expected returns identified by the Advisor’s research, while balancing risk through broad diversification
71
across companies and sectors. The Advisor’s portfolio management and trading processes further balance those long-term drivers of expected returns with shorter-term drivers of expected returns and trading costs.
The International Vector Equity Portfolio is designed to purchase a broad and diverse group of securities of non-U.S. companies in developed markets. The Portfolio invests in companies of all sizes, with increased exposure to smaller capitalization, lower relative price, and higher profitability companies as compared to their representation in the International Universe. For purposes of this Portfolio, the Advisor defines the International Universe as a market capitalization weighted set (e.g., the larger the company, the greater the proportion of the International Universe it represents) of non-U.S. companies in developed markets that have been authorized for investment by the Advisor’s Investment Committee. The Portfolio’s increased exposure to smaller capitalization, lower relative price, and higher profitability companies may be achieved by decreasing the allocation of the Portfolio’s assets to larger capitalization, higher relative price, or lower profitability companies relative to their weight in the International Universe or by avoiding purchases in that segment of the market. An equity issuer is considered to have a high relative price (i.e., a growth stock) primarily because it has a high price in relation to its book value. An equity issuer is considered to have a low relative price (i.e., a value stock) primarily because it has a low price in relation to its book value. In assessing relative price, the Advisor may consider additional factors such as price to cash flow or price to earnings ratios. An equity issuer is considered to have high profitability because it has high earnings or profits from operations in relation to its book value or assets. The criteria the Advisor uses for assessing relative price and profitability are subject to change from time to time.
The Advisor determines company size on a country or region specific basis and based primarily on market capitalization. The Advisor will also establish a minimum market capitalization that a company must meet in order to be considered for purchase, which minimum will change due to market conditions.
The International Vector Equity Portfolio intends to purchase securities of companies associated with developed market countries that the Advisor has designated as approved markets for investment. As a non-fundamental policy, under normal circumstances, the Portfolio will invest at least 80% of its net assets in equity securities. The percentage allocation of the assets of the Portfolio to securities of the largest high relative price companies will generally be reduced by between 5% and 50% of their percentage weight in the International Universe. For example, as of December 31, 2022, securities of the largest high relative price companies in the International Universe comprised approximately 16% of the International Universe and the Advisor allocated approximately less than 1% of the Portfolio to securities of the largest high relative price companies in the International Universe. The percentage by which the Portfolio’s allocation to securities of the largest high relative price companies is reduced, as compared to their representation in the International Universe, will change due to market movements and other factors.
The Advisor may also increase or reduce the International Vector Equity Portfolio’s exposure to an eligible company, or exclude a company, based on shorter-term considerations, such as a company’s price momentum and investment characteristics. In assessing a company’s investment characteristics, the Advisor considers ratios such as recent changes in assets divided by total assets. The criteria the Advisor uses for assessing a company’s investment characteristics are subject to change from time to time. In addition, the Advisor seeks to reduce trading costs using a flexible trading approach that looks for opportunities to participate in the available market liquidity, while managing turnover and explicit transaction costs.
The International Vector Equity Portfolio may gain exposure to companies associated with approved markets by purchasing equity securities in the form of depositary receipts, which may be listed or traded outside the issuer’s domicile country. The Portfolio may purchase or sell futures contracts and options on futures contracts for foreign or U.S. equity securities and indices to increase or decrease equity market exposure based on actual or expected cash inflows to or outflows from the Portfolio. Because many of the Portfolio’s investments may be denominated in foreign currencies, the Portfolio may enter into foreign currency exchange transactions, including foreign currency forward contracts, in connection with the settlement of foreign securities or to transfer cash balances from one currency to another currency.
The International Vector Equity Portfolio may lend its portfolio securities to generate additional income.
72
Equity Market Risk: Even a long-term investment approach cannot guarantee a profit. Economic, market, political, and issuer-specific conditions and events will cause the value of equity securities, and the Portfolio that owns them, to rise or fall. Stock markets tend to move in cycles, with periods of rising prices and periods of falling prices.
Small and Mid-Cap Company Risk: Securities of small and mid-cap companies are often less liquid than those of large companies and this could make it difficult to sell a small or mid-cap company security at a desired time or price. As a result, small and mid-cap company stocks may fluctuate relatively more in price. In general, small and mid- capitalization companies are also more vulnerable than larger companies to adverse business or economic developments and they may have more limited resources.
Foreign Securities and Currencies Risk: Foreign securities prices may decline or fluctuate because of: (a) economic or political actions of foreign governments, and/or (b) less regulated or liquid securities markets. Investors holding these securities may also be exposed to foreign currency risk (the possibility that foreign currency will fluctuate in value against the U.S. dollar or that a foreign government will convert, or be forced to convert, its currency to another currency, changing its value against the U.S. dollar). The Portfolio does not hedge foreign currency risk.
Depositary receipts are generally subject to the same risks as the foreign securities that they evidence or into which they may be converted. In addition, the underlying issuers of certain depositary receipts, particularly unsponsored or unregistered depositary receipts, are under no obligation to distribute shareholder communications to the holders of such receipts, or to pass through to them any voting rights with respect to the deposited securities. Depositary receipts that are not sponsored by the issuer may be less liquid and there may be less readily available public information about the issuer.
Profitability Investment Risk: High relative profitability stocks may perform differently from the market as a whole and an investment strategy purchasing these securities may cause the Portfolio to at times underperform equity funds that use other investment strategies.
Value Investment Risk: Value stocks may perform differently from the market as a whole and an investment strategy purchasing these securities may cause the Portfolio to at times underperform equity funds that use other investment strategies. Value stocks can react differently to political, economic, and industry developments than the market as a whole and other types of stocks. Value stocks also may underperform the market for long periods of time.
Derivatives Risk: Derivatives are instruments, such as futures, and options thereon, and foreign currency forward contracts, whose value is derived from that of other assets, rates or indices. The use of derivatives for non-hedging purposes may be considered to carry more risk than other types of investments. When the Portfolio uses derivatives, the Portfolio will be directly exposed to the risks of those derivatives. Derivative instruments are subject to a number of risks including counterparty, settlement, liquidity, interest rate, market, credit and management risks, as well as the risk of improper valuation. Changes in the value of a derivative may not correlate perfectly with the underlying asset, rate or index, and the Portfolio could lose more than the principal amount invested.
Securities Lending Risk: Securities lending involves the risk that the borrower may fail to return the securities in a timely manner or at all. As a result, the Portfolio may lose money and there may be a delay in recovering the loaned securities. The Portfolio could also lose money if it does not recover the securities and/or the value of the collateral falls, including the value of investments made with cash collateral. Securities lending also may have certain adverse tax consequences.
73
Operational Risk: Operational risks include human error, changes in personnel, system changes, faults in communication, and failures in systems, technology, or processes. Various operational events or circumstances are outside the Advisor’s control, including instances at third parties. The Portfolio and the Advisor seek to reduce these operational risks through controls and procedures. However, these measures do not address every possible risk and may be inadequate to address these risks.
Cyber Security Risk: The Portfolio’s and its service providers’ use of internet, technology and information systems may expose the Portfolio to potential risks linked to cyber security breaches of those technological or information systems. Cyber security breaches, amongst other things, could allow an unauthorized party to gain access to proprietary information, customer data, or fund assets, or cause the Portfolio and/or its service providers to suffer data corruption or lose operational functionality.
January 2013-December 2022
|
|
|
|
|
74
Periods ending December 31, 2022
|
|
|
|
|
| ||||||||||||||||
1 Year |
5 Years |
10 Years | |||||||||||||||||||
International Vector Equity Portfolio |
|
|
|
|
|
| |||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||
Return Before Taxes |
- |
% |
|
|
|
% |
|
|
|
% |
| ||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||
Return After Taxes on Distributions |
- |
% |
|
|
|
% |
|
|
|
% |
| ||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||
Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Portfolio Shares |
- |
% |
|
|
|
% |
|
|
|
% |
| ||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||
MSCI World
ex USA Index (net dividends) |
- |
% |
|
|
|
% |
|
|
|
% |
| ||||||||||
|
Investment Advisor/Portfolio Management
Dimensional Fund Advisors LP serves as the investment advisor for the International Vector Equity Portfolio. Dimensional Fund Advisors Ltd. and DFA Australia Limited serve as the sub-advisors for the Portfolio. The following individuals are responsible for leading the day-to-day management of the Portfolio:
• |
Jed S. Fogdall, Global Head of Portfolio Management, Chairman of the Investment Committee, Vice President and Senior Portfolio Manager of the Advisor, has been a portfolio manager of the Portfolio since 2010. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
• |
Allen Pu, Deputy Head of Portfolio Management, North America, member of the Investment Committee, Vice President and Senior Portfolio Manager of the Advisor, has been a portfolio manager of the Portfolio since 2015. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
• |
Mary T. Phillips, Deputy Head of Portfolio Management, North America, member of the Investment Committee, Vice President and Senior Portfolio Manager of the Advisor, has been a portfolio manager of the Portfolio since 2017. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
• |
William B. Collins-Dean, Vice President and Senior Portfolio Manager of the Advisor, has been a portfolio manager of the Portfolio since 2019. |
Purchase and Redemption of Fund Shares
Investors may purchase or redeem shares of the International Vector Equity Portfolio on each day that the NYSE is scheduled to be open for business by first contacting the Portfolio’s transfer agent at (888) 576-1167. Shareholders that invest in the Portfolio through a financial intermediary should contact their financial intermediary regarding purchase and redemption procedures. The Portfolio generally is available for investment only by institutional clients, clients of registered investment advisors, clients of financial institutions and a limited number of certain other investors as approved from time to time by the Advisor. All investments are subject to approval of the Advisor.
Tax Information
The dividends and distributions you receive from the International Vector Equity Portfolio are taxable and generally will be taxed as ordinary income, capital gains, or some combination of both, unless you are investing through a tax-advantaged arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or an individual retirement account, in which case distributions may be taxed as ordinary income when withdrawn from the plan or account.
75
Payments to Financial Intermediaries
If you purchase the International Vector Equity Portfolio through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Portfolio and its related companies may pay the intermediary for the sale of the Portfolio shares and/or related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the financial intermediary to recommend the Portfolio over another investment. Ask your financial advisor or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.
76
The investment objective of the International High Relative Profitability Portfolio (the “Portfolio”) is to achieve long-term capital appreciation.
This table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy, hold or sell shares of the International High Relative Profitability Portfolio. You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the table and Example below.
year as a percentage of the value of
your investment)
|
|
|
Management Fee |
| |
| ||
Other Expenses |
| |
| ||
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses |
| |
|
This Example is meant to help you compare the cost of investing in the International High Relative Profitability Portfolio with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Portfolio for the time periods indicated. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Portfolio’s operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1 Year |
3 Years |
5 Years |
10 Years | |||
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ | |||
|
The International High
Relative Profitability Portfolio pays transaction costs, such as commissions,
when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher
portfolio turnover may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in
higher taxes when mutual fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs,
which are not reflected in Annual Fund Operating Expenses or in the Example,
affect the Portfolio’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the
Portfolio’s portfolio turnover rate was
To achieve the International High Relative Profitability Portfolio’s investment objective, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP (the “Advisor”) implements an integrated investment approach that combines research, portfolio design, portfolio management, and trading functions. As further described below, the Portfolio’s design emphasizes long-term drivers of expected returns identified by the Advisor’s research, while balancing risk through broad diversification across companies and sectors. The Advisor’s portfolio management and trading processes further balance those long-term drivers of expected returns with shorter-term drivers of expected returns and trading costs.
77
The International High Relative Profitability Portfolio is designed to purchase securities of large non-U.S. companies that the Advisor determines to have high profitability relative to other large capitalization companies in the same country or region, at the time of purchase. An equity issuer is considered to have high profitability because it has high earnings or profits from operations in relation to its book value or assets. The Portfolio may emphasize certain stocks, including smaller capitalization companies, lower relative price stocks, and/or higher profitability stocks as compared to their representation in the large-cap high profitability segments of developed non-U.S. markets. The Portfolio’s increased exposure to such stocks may be achieved by overweighting and/or underweighting eligible stocks based on their market capitalization, relative price, and/or profitability characteristics. An equity issuer is considered to have a low relative price (i.e., a value stock) primarily because it has a low price in relation to its book value. In assessing relative price, the Advisor may consider additional factors such as price to cash flow or price to earnings ratios. The criteria the Advisor uses for assessing relative price and profitability are subject to change from time to time.
The International High Relative Profitability Portfolio intends to purchase securities of large non-U.S. companies associated with developed market countries that the Advisor has designated as approved markets. As a non-fundamental policy, under normal circumstances, the Portfolio will invest at least 80% of its net assets in securities of companies in the particular non-U.S. markets in which the Portfolio invests. The Advisor determines the minimum market capitalization of a large company with respect to each country or region in which the Portfolio invests. Based on market capitalization data as of December 31, 2022, the market capitalization of a large company in any country or region in which the Portfolio invests would be $1,325 million or above. This threshold will change due to market conditions.
The Advisor may also increase or reduce the International High Relative Profitability Portfolio’s exposure to an eligible company, or exclude a company, based on shorter-term considerations, such as a company’s price momentum. In addition, the Advisor seeks to reduce trading costs using a flexible trading approach that looks for opportunities to participate in the available market liquidity, while managing turnover and explicit transaction costs.
The International High Relative Profitability Portfolio may gain exposure to companies in an approved market by purchasing equity securities in the form of depositary receipts, which may be listed or traded outside the issuer’s domicile country. The Portfolio also may purchase or sell futures contracts and options on futures contracts for foreign or U.S. equity securities and indices to increase or decrease equity market exposure based on actual or expected cash inflows to or outflows from the Portfolio. Because many of the Portfolio’s investments may be denominated in foreign currencies, the Portfolio may enter into foreign currency exchange transactions, including foreign currency forward contracts, in connection with the settlement of foreign securities or to transfer cash balances from one currency to another currency. The Portfolio may invest in exchange-traded funds (ETFs) for the purpose of gaining exposure to the equity markets while maintaining liquidity.
The International High Relative Profitability Portfolio may lend its portfolio securities to generate additional income.
Foreign Securities and Currencies Risk: Foreign securities prices may decline or fluctuate because of: (a) economic or political actions of foreign governments, and/or (b) less regulated or liquid securities markets. Investors holding these securities may also be exposed to foreign currency risk (the possibility that foreign currency will fluctuate in value against the U.S. dollar or that a foreign government will convert, or be forced to convert, its currency to another currency, changing its value against the U.S. dollar). The Portfolio does not hedge foreign currency risk.
78
Depositary receipts are generally subject to the same risks as the foreign securities that they evidence or into which they may be converted. In addition, the underlying issuers of certain depositary receipts, particularly unsponsored or unregistered depositary receipts, are under no obligation to distribute shareholder communications to the holders of such receipts, or to pass through to them any voting rights with respect to the deposited securities. Depositary receipts that are not sponsored by the issuer may be less liquid and there may be less readily available public information about the issuer.
Equity Market Risk: Even a long-term investment approach cannot guarantee a profit. Economic, market, political, and issuer-specific conditions and events will cause the value of equity securities, and the Portfolio that owns them, to rise or fall. Stock markets tend to move in cycles, with periods of rising prices and periods of falling prices.
Profitability Investment Risk: High relative profitability stocks may perform differently from the market as a whole and an investment strategy purchasing these securities may cause the Portfolio to at times underperform equity funds that use other investment strategies.
Value Investment Risk: Value stocks may perform differently from the market as a whole and an investment strategy purchasing these securities may cause the Portfolio to at times underperform equity funds that use other investment strategies. Value stocks can react differently to political, economic, and industry developments than the market as a whole and other types of stocks. Value stocks also may underperform the market for long periods of time.
Derivatives Risk: Derivatives are instruments, such as futures contracts, and options thereon, and foreign currency forward contracts, whose value is derived from that of other assets, rates or indices. The use of derivatives for non-hedging purposes may be considered to carry more risk than other types of investments. When the Portfolio uses derivatives, the Portfolio will be directly exposed to the risks of those derivatives. Derivative instruments are subject to a number of risks including counterparty, settlement, liquidity, interest rate, market, credit and management risks, as well as the risk of improper valuation. Changes in the value of a derivative may not correlate perfectly with the underlying asset, rate or index, and the Portfolio could lose more than the principal amount invested.
Securities Lending Risk: Securities lending involves the risk that the borrower may fail to return the securities in a timely manner or at all. As a result, the Portfolio may lose money and there may be a delay in recovering the loaned securities. The Portfolio could also lose money if it does not recover the securities and/or the value of the collateral falls, including the value of investments made with cash collateral. Securities lending also may have certain adverse tax consequences.
Operational Risk: Operational risks include human error, changes in personnel, system changes, faults in communication, and failures in systems, technology, or processes. Various operational events or circumstances are outside the Advisor’s control, including instances at third parties. The Portfolio and the Advisor seek to reduce these operational risks through controls and procedures. However, these measures do not address every possible risk and may be inadequate to address these risks.
Cyber Security Risk: The Portfolio’s and its service providers’ use of internet, technology and information systems may expose the Portfolio to potential risks linked to cyber security breaches of those technological or information systems. Cyber security breaches, amongst other things, could allow an unauthorized party to gain access to proprietary information, customer data, or fund assets, or cause the Portfolio and/or its service providers to suffer data corruption or lose operational functionality.
79
performance.
January 2018-December 2022
|
|
|
|
|
Periods ending December 31, 2022
|
|
|
|
|
| ||||||||||||||||
1 Year |
5 Years |
Since
| |||||||||||||||||||
International High Relative Profitability Portfolio |
|
|
|
|
|
| |||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||
Return Before Taxes |
- |
% |
|
|
|
% |
|
|
|
% |
| ||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||
Return After Taxes on Distributions |
- |
% |
|
|
|
% |
|
|
|
% |
| ||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||
Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Portfolio Shares |
- |
% |
|
|
|
% |
|
|
|
% |
| ||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||
MSCI World
ex USA Index (net dividends) |
- |
% |
|
|
|
% |
|
|
|
% |
| ||||||||||
|
80
Investment Advisor/Portfolio Management
Dimensional Fund Advisors LP serves as the investment advisor for the International High Relative Profitability Portfolio. Dimensional Fund Advisors Ltd. and DFA Australia Limited serve as the sub-advisors for the Portfolio. The following individuals are responsible for leading the day-to-day management of the Portfolio:
• |
Jed S. Fogdall, Global Head of Portfolio Management, Chairman of the Investment Committee, Vice President and Senior Portfolio Manager of the Advisor, has been a portfolio manager of the Portfolio since inception (2017). | ||
• |
Arun C. Keswani, Vice President and Senior Portfolio Manager of the Advisor, has been a portfolio manager of the Portfolio since 2020. | ||
• |
Joel P. Schneider, Deputy Head of Portfolio Management, North America, member of the Investment Committee, Vice President and Senior Portfolio Manager of the Advisor, has been a portfolio manager of the Portfolio since 2022. |
Purchase and Redemption of Fund Shares
Investors may purchase or redeem shares of the International High Relative Profitability Portfolio on each day that the NYSE is scheduled to be open for business by first contacting the Portfolio’s transfer agent at (888) 576-1167. Shareholders that invest in the Portfolio through a financial intermediary should contact their financial intermediary regarding purchase and redemption procedures. The Portfolio generally is available for investment only by institutional clients, clients of registered investment advisors, clients of financial institutions and a limited number of certain other investors as approved from time to time by the Advisor. All investments are subject to approval of the Advisor.
Tax Information
The dividends and distributions you receive from the International High Relative Profitability Portfolio are taxable and generally will be taxed as ordinary income, capital gains, or some combination of both, unless you are investing through a tax-advantaged arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or an individual retirement account, in which case distributions may be taxed as ordinary income when withdrawn from the plan or account.
Payments to Financial Intermediaries
If you purchase the International High Relative Profitability Portfolio through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Portfolio and its related companies may pay the intermediary for the sale of the Portfolio shares and/or related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the financial intermediary to recommend the Portfolio over another investment. Ask your financial advisor or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.
81
The investment objective of the World ex U.S. Value Portfolio (the “Portfolio”) is to achieve long-term capital appreciation.
This table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy, hold or sell shares of the World ex U.S. Value Portfolio. You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the table and Example below.
year as a percentage of the value of
your investment)
|
|
|
Management Fee |
| |
| ||
Other Expenses |
| |
| ||
Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses |
| |
| ||
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses |
| |
| ||
Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement** |
| |
| ||
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement |
| |
|
* |
| ||
** |
|
This Example is meant to help you compare the cost of investing in the World ex U.S. Value Portfolio with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Portfolio for the time periods indicated. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Portfolio’s operating expenses remain the same. The costs for the Portfolio reflect the net expenses of the Portfolio that result from the contractual expense waiver in the first year only. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1 Year |
3 Years |
5 Years |
10 Years | |||
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ | |||
|
A mutual fund generally pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when mutual fund shares are held in a taxable account. The World ex U.S. Value Portfolio does not pay
82
transaction costs when buying
and selling shares of other mutual funds (the “Underlying Funds”); however, the
Underlying Funds pay transaction costs when buying and selling securities for
their portfolios. The transaction costs incurred by the Underlying Funds, which
are not reflected in Annual Fund Operating Expenses or in the Example, affect
the Portfolio’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Portfolio’s
portfolio turnover rate was
To achieve the World ex U.S. Value Portfolio’s and the Underlying Funds’ investment objectives, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP (the “Advisor”) implements an integrated investment approach that combines research, portfolio design, portfolio management, and trading functions. As further described below, the Portfolio’s and the Underlying Funds’ designs emphasize long-term drivers of expected returns identified by the Advisor’s research, while balancing risk through broad diversification across companies and sectors. The Advisor’s portfolio management and trading processes further balance those long-term drivers of expected returns with shorter-term drivers of expected returns and trading costs.
The World ex U.S. Value Portfolio seeks to achieve its investment objective through exposure to a broad portfolio of securities of non-U.S. companies associated with countries with developed and emerging markets, which may include frontier markets (emerging market countries in an earlier stage of development), that the Advisor believes to be value stocks at the time of purchase. To achieve this exposure, the Advisor will generally purchase shares of The DFA International Value Series (the “DFA International Value Series”), DFA International Small Cap Value Portfolio, and Dimensional Emerging Markets Value Fund (the “Underlying Funds”), which are other funds managed by the Advisor. The Portfolio currently intends to allocate its investments among the Underlying Funds in the following manner: 50% to 80% in the DFA International Value Series; 5% to 20% in the DFA International Small Cap Value Portfolio; and 15% to 45% in the Dimensional Emerging Markets Value Fund. Periodically, the Advisor will review the allocations for the Portfolio in each Underlying Fund and may adjust allocations to the Underlying Funds or may add or remove Underlying Funds in the Portfolio without notice to shareholders. In addition to, or in place of, investments in the Underlying Funds, the Portfolio also is permitted to invest directly in the same types of securities of companies that are described in this Prospectus as eligible investments for the Underlying Funds. An equity issuer is considered to have a low relative price (i.e., a value stock) primarily because it has a low price in relation to its book value. In assessing relative price, the Advisor may consider additional factors such as price to cash flow or price to earnings ratios. The Advisor may consider the relative market capitalization weighting of developed and emerging markets within the universe of eligible securities when allocating Portfolio investments among the Underlying Funds or securities.
The DFA International Value Series invests in large value companies associated with developed market countries and the DFA International Small Cap Value Portfolio invests in small value companies associated with developed market countries. Generally, the Advisor determines if a company is large or small based on its market capitalization. A company’s market capitalization is the number of its shares outstanding times its price per share. Under a market capitalization weighted approach, companies with higher market capitalizations generally represent a larger proportion of an Underlying Fund than companies with relatively lower market capitalizations. The Dimensional Emerging Markets Value Fund may purchase securities of value companies associated with emerging markets, including frontier markets, across all market capitalizations. With respect to each Underlying Fund, the Advisor may limit or fix the Underlying Fund’s exposure to a particular country, region or issuer. The Portfolio and Underlying Funds may emphasize certain stocks, including smaller capitalization companies, lower relative price stocks, and/or higher profitability stocks as compared to their representation in the countries and/or regions in which the Portfolio and/or Underlying Funds are authorized to invest. An equity issuer is considered to have high profitability because it has high earnings or profits from operations in relation to its book value or assets. The criteria the Advisor uses for assessing relative price and profitability are subject to change from time to time.
The World ex U.S. Value Portfolio and each Underlying Fund intend to purchase securities of companies associated with countries that the Advisor has identified as approved markets for investment for such Portfolio or Underlying Fund. As a non-fundamental policy, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of the Portfolio’s net
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assets will be invested directly, or indirectly through its investment in the Underlying Funds, in securities of non-U.S. companies.
The Advisor may also increase or reduce the World ex U.S. Value Portfolio’s and/or Underlying Funds’ exposure to an eligible company, or exclude a company, based on shorter-term considerations, such as a company’s price momentum and investment characteristics. In assessing a company’s investment characteristics, the Advisor considers ratios such as recent changes in assets divided by total assets. The criteria the Advisor uses for assessing a company’s investment characteristics are subject to change from time to time. In addition, the Advisor seeks to reduce trading costs using a flexible trading approach that looks for opportunities to participate in the available market liquidity, while managing turnover and explicit transaction costs.
The World ex U.S. Value Portfolio and Underlying Funds may gain exposure to companies associated with approved markets by purchasing equity securities in the form of depositary receipts which may be domiciled or traded outside the issuer’s domicile country.
The World ex U.S. Value Portfolio and each Underlying Fund may purchase or sell futures contracts and options on futures contracts for equity securities and indices to increase or decrease equity market exposure based on actual or expected cash inflows to or outflows from the Portfolio or Underlying Fund. Because many of the Portfolio’s and Underlying Funds’ investments may be denominated in foreign currencies, the Portfolio and each Underlying Fund may enter into foreign currency exchange transactions, including foreign currency forward contracts, in connection with the settlement of foreign securities or to transfer cash balances from one currency to another currency.
The World ex U.S. Value Portfolio and Underlying Funds may lend their portfolio securities to generate additional income.
A summary of the investment strategies and policies of the Underlying Funds in which the World ex U.S. Value Portfolio invests as of the date of this Prospectus (other than the Underlying Funds that are included elsewhere in the Portfolio’s Prospectus) is described in the Portfolio’s Prospectus in the section entitled “ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON INVESTMENT OBJECTIVES AND POLICIES”.
Fund of Funds Risk: The investment performance of the Portfolio is affected by the investment performance of the Underlying Funds in which the Portfolio invests. The ability of the Portfolio to achieve its investment objective depends on the ability of the Underlying Funds to meet their investment objectives and on the Advisor’s decisions regarding the allocation of the Portfolio’s assets among Underlying Funds. The Portfolio may allocate assets to an Underlying Fund or asset class that underperforms other funds or asset classes. There can be no assurance that the investment objective of the Portfolio or any Underlying Fund will be achieved. When the Portfolio invests in Underlying Funds, investors are exposed to a proportionate share of the expenses of those Underlying Funds in addition to the expenses of the Portfolio. Through its investments in the Underlying Funds, the Portfolio is subject to the risks of the Underlying Funds’ investments. The risks of the Portfolio’s and Underlying Funds’ investments are described below.
Equity Market Risk: Even a long-term investment approach cannot guarantee a profit. Economic, market, political, and issuer-specific conditions and events will cause the value of equity securities, and the Portfolio or Underlying Fund that owns them, to rise or fall. Stock markets tend to move in cycles, with periods of rising prices and periods of falling prices.
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Foreign Securities and Currencies Risk: Foreign securities prices may decline or fluctuate because of: (a) economic or political actions of foreign governments, and/or (b) less regulated or liquid securities markets. Investors holding these securities may also be exposed to foreign currency risk (the possibility that foreign currency will fluctuate in value against the U.S. dollar or that a foreign government will convert, or be forced to convert, its currency to another currency, changing its value against the U.S. dollar). The Underlying Funds do not hedge foreign currency risk.
Depositary receipts are generally subject to the same risks as the foreign securities that they evidence or into which they may be converted. In addition, the underlying issuers of certain depositary receipts, particularly unsponsored or unregistered depositary receipts, are under no obligation to distribute shareholder communications to the holders of such receipts, or to pass through to them any voting rights with respect to the deposited securities. Depositary receipts that are not sponsored by the issuer may be less liquid and there may be less readily available public information about the issuer.
Small and Mid-Cap Company Risk: Securities of small and mid-cap companies are often less liquid than those of large companies and this could make it difficult to sell a small or mid-cap company security at a desired time or price. As a result, small and mid-cap company stocks may fluctuate relatively more in price. In general, small and mid- capitalization companies are also more vulnerable than larger companies to adverse business or economic developments and they may have more limited resources.
Value Investment Risk: Value stocks may perform differently from the market as a whole and an investment strategy purchasing these securities may cause the Portfolio or an Underlying Fund to at times underperform equity funds that use other investment strategies. Value stocks can react differently to political, economic, and industry developments than the market as a whole and other types of stocks. Value stocks also may underperform the market for long periods of time.
Profitability Investment Risk: High relative profitability stocks may perform differently from the market as a whole and an investment strategy purchasing these securities may cause the Portfolio or an Underlying Fund to at times underperform equity funds that use other investment strategies.
Emerging Markets Risk: Numerous emerging market countries have a history of, and continue to experience serious, and potentially continuing, economic and political problems. Stock markets in many emerging market countries are relatively small, expensive to trade in and generally have higher risks than those in developed markets. Securities in emerging markets also may be less liquid than those in developed markets and foreigners are often limited in their ability to invest in, and withdraw assets from, these markets. Additional restrictions may be imposed under other conditions. Frontier market countries generally have smaller economies or less developed capital markets and, as a result, the risks of investing in emerging market countries are magnified in frontier market countries.
Derivatives Risk: Derivatives are instruments, such as futures, and options thereon, and foreign currency forward contracts, whose value is derived from that of other assets, rates or indices. The use of derivatives for non-hedging purposes may be considered to carry more risk than other types of investments. When the Portfolio or an Underlying Fund uses derivatives, the Portfolio or Underlying Fund will be exposed to the risks of those derivatives. Derivative instruments are subject to a number of risks including counterparty, settlement, liquidity, interest rate, market, credit and management risks, as well as the risk of improper valuation. Changes in the value of a derivative may not correlate perfectly with the underlying asset, rate or index, and the Portfolio or Underlying Fund could lose more than the principal amount invested.
Securities Lending Risk: Securities lending involves the risk that the borrower may fail to return the securities in a timely manner or at all. As a result, an Underlying Fund may lose money and there may be a delay in recovering the loaned securities. An Underlying Fund could also lose money if it does not recover the securities and/or the value of the collateral falls, including the value of investments made with cash collateral. Securities lending also may have certain adverse tax consequences. To the extent that the Portfolio holds securities directly and lends those securities, it will be also subject to the foregoing risks with respect to its loaned securities.
Operational Risk: Operational risks include human error, changes in personnel, system changes, faults in communication, and failures in systems, technology, or processes. Various operational events or circumstances
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are outside the Advisor’s control, including instances at third parties. The Portfolio and the Advisor seek to reduce these operational risks through controls and procedures. However, these measures do not address every possible risk and may be inadequate to address these risks.
Cyber Security Risk: The Portfolio’s and its service providers’ use of internet, technology and information systems may expose the Portfolio to potential risks linked to cyber security breaches of those technological or information systems. Cyber security breaches, amongst other things, could allow an unauthorized party to gain access to proprietary information, customer data, or fund assets, or cause the Portfolio and/or its service providers to suffer data corruption or lose operational functionality.
January 2013-December 2022
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Periods ending December 31, 2022
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World ex USA Value Index (net dividends) |
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