Prospectus

February 28, 2024

 

DFA INVESTMENT DIMENSIONS GROUP INC.

DFA Municipal Real Return Portfolio (DMREX)

DFA California Municipal Real Return Portfolio (DCARX)

DFA Municipal Bond Portfolio (DFMPX)

DFA Short-Term Municipal Bond Portfolio (DFSMX)

DFA Intermediate-Term Municipal Bond Portfolio (DFTIX)

DFA Selective State Municipal Bond Portfolio (DSSMX)

DFA Short-Term Selective State Municipal Bond Portfolio (DFABX)

DFA California Short-Term Municipal Bond Portfolio (DFCMX)

DFA California Intermediate-Term Municipal Bond Portfolio (DCIBX)

DFA MN Municipal Bond Portfolio (DMNBX)

DFA NY Municipal Bond Portfolio (DNYMX)

DFA Oregon Municipal Bond Portfolio (DOGMX)

 

This Prospectus describes the Institutional Class shares of each Portfolio which:
Are for long-term investors.
Are generally only available 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.


 


 

Table of Contents

   

DFA Municipal Real Return Portfolio

1

Investment Objective

1

Fees and Expenses of the Portfolio

1

Principal Investment Strategies

1

Principal Risks

2

Performance

5

Investment Advisor/Portfolio Management

6

Purchase and Redemption of Fund Shares

6

Tax Information

6

Payments to Financial Intermediaries

7

DFA California Municipal Real Return Portfolio

8

Investment Objective

8

Fees and Expenses of the Portfolio

8

Principal Investment Strategies

8

Principal Risks

9

Performance

12

Investment Advisor/Portfolio Management

13

Purchase and Redemption of Fund Shares

13

Tax Information

13

Payments to Financial Intermediaries

14

DFA Municipal Bond Portfolio

15

Investment Objective

15

Fees and Expenses of the Portfolio

15

Principal Investment Strategies

15

Principal Risks

16

Performance

18

Investment Advisor/Portfolio Management

19

Purchase and Redemption of Fund Shares

20

Tax Information

20

Payments to Financial Intermediaries

20

DFA Short-Term Municipal Bond Portfolio

21

Investment Objective

21

Fees and Expenses of the Portfolio

21

Principal Investment Strategies

21

Principal Risks

22

Performance

24

Investment Advisor/Portfolio Management

25

Purchase and Redemption of Fund Shares

26

Tax Information

26


 

   

Payments to Financial Intermediaries

26

DFA Intermediate-Term Municipal Bond Portfolio

27

Investment Objective

27

Fees and Expenses of the Portfolio

27

Principal Investment Strategies

28

Principal Risks

29

Performance

30

Investment Advisor/Portfolio Management

31

Purchase and Redemption of Fund Shares

32

Tax Information

32

Payments to Financial Intermediaries

32

DFA Selective State Municipal Bond Portfolio

33

Investment Objective

33

Fees and Expenses of the Portfolio

33

Principal Investment Strategies

34

Principal Risks

35

Performance

36

Investment Advisor/Portfolio Management

37

Purchase and Redemption of Fund Shares

38

Tax Information

38

Payments to Financial Intermediaries

38

DFA Short-Term Selective State Municipal Bond Portfolio

39

Investment Objective

39

Fees and Expenses of the Portfolio

39

Principal Investment Strategies

40

Principal Risks

41

Performance

42

Investment Advisor/Portfolio Management

43

Purchase and Redemption of Fund Shares

44

Tax Information

44

Payments to Financial Intermediaries

44

DFA California Short-Term Municipal Bond Portfolio

45

Investment Objective

45

Fees and Expenses of the Portfolio

45

Principal Investment Strategies

46

Principal Risks

47

Performance

48

Investment Advisor/Portfolio Management

50

Purchase and Redemption of Fund Shares

50

Tax Information

50


 

   

Payments to Financial Intermediaries

50

DFA California Intermediate-Term Municipal Bond Portfolio

51

Investment Objective

51

Fees and Expenses of the Portfolio

51

Principal Investment Strategies

51

Principal Risks

52

Performance

54

Investment Advisor/Portfolio Management

55

Purchase and Redemption of Fund Shares

56

Tax Information

56

Payments to Financial Intermediaries

56

DFA MN Municipal Bond Portfolio

57

Investment Objective

57

Fees and Expenses of the Portfolio

57

Principal Investment Strategies

58

Principal Risks

59

Performance

60

Investment Advisor/Portfolio Management

61

Purchase and Redemption of Fund Shares

62

Tax Information

62

Payments to Financial Intermediaries

62

DFA NY Municipal Bond Portfolio

63

Investment Objective

63

Fees and Expenses of the Portfolio

63

Principal Investment Strategies

64

Principal Risks

65

Performance

66

Investment Advisor/Portfolio Management

67

Purchase and Redemption of Fund Shares

68

Tax Information

68

Payments to Financial Intermediaries

68

DFA Oregon Municipal Bond Portfolio

69

Investment Objective

69

Fees and Expenses of the Portfolio

69

Principal Investment Strategies

70

Principal Risks

71

Performance

72

Investment Advisor/Portfolio Management

73

Purchase and Redemption of Fund Shares

74

Tax Information

74


 

   

Payments to Financial Intermediaries

74

Additional Information on Investment Objectives and Policies

75

Portfolio Strategies

75

Additional Information Regarding Investment Risks

76

Other Information

80

Commodity Pool Operator Exemption

80

Management of the Portfolios

80

Management Fees

82

Shareholder Services

83

Fee Waiver and Expense Assumption Agreements

83

Dividends, Capital Gains Distributions and Taxes

84

Purchase of Shares

89

Cash Purchases

89

In-Kind Purchases

90

Policy Regarding Excessive Short-Term Trading

90

Valuation of Shares

92

Net Asset Value

92

Public Offering Price

93

Exchange of Shares

93

Redemption of Shares

94

Redemption Procedure

94

Redemption of Small Accounts

95

In-Kind Redemptions

95

Disclosure of Portfolio Holdings

95

Delivery of Shareholder Documents

95

Financial Highlights

95


DFA Municipal Real Return Portfolio

Investment Objective

The investment objective of the DFA Municipal Real Return Portfolio (the “Municipal Real Return Portfolio” or the “Portfolio”) is to seek inflation protection and to provide current income from municipal securities.

Fees and Expenses of the Portfolio

This table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy, hold or sell shares of the 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.

     

 

 

Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment): None

 

 

 

 

Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each
year as a percentage of the value of your investment)

 

 

 

 

Management Fee

0.20%

Other Expenses

0.04%

Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses

0.24%

 

EXAMPLE

This Example is meant to help you compare the cost of investing in the Portfolio with the cost of investing in other 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 whether you redeem or hold your shares would be:

       

1 Year

3 Years

5 Years

10 Years

$25

$77

$135

$306

PORTFOLIO TURNOVER

A 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 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 62% of the average value of its investment portfolio.

Principal Investment Strategies

The Municipal Real Return Portfolio seeks its investment objective by investing primarily in a universe of investment grade municipal securities, including inflation-protected municipal securities, and in derivative instruments to provide inflation protection. Municipal securities in which the Portfolio may invest include, among others, revenue bonds, general obligation bonds, industrial development bonds, municipal lease obligations, commercial paper, variable rate demand obligations and other instruments (including participation interests in such securities) issued by or on behalf of the states, territories and possessions of the United States (including the District of Columbia) and their political subdivisions, agencies and instrumentalities. The interest on the municipal securities purchased by the Portfolio, in the opinion of bond counsel for the issuers and under current tax law, is exempt from federal income tax (i.e., excludable from gross income for individuals for federal income tax purposes but not necessarily exempt from state or local taxes). As a fundamental investment policy, under normal market conditions, the Portfolio will invest at

1


least 80% of its net assets in municipal securities that pay interest exempt from federal income tax. The Portfolio does not currently intend to invest its assets in municipal securities whose interest is subject to the federal alternative minimum tax.

Under normal circumstances, the Municipal Real Return Portfolio will maintain a weighted average duration of no greater than five years. If a security has been redeemed by the issuer at a date prior to the stated final maturity date for the purposes of the above duration restriction, the early redemption date shall be considered the maturity date regardless of the stated final maturity. Duration is a measure of the sensitivity of a security’s price to changes in interest rates. The longer a security’s duration, the more sensitive it will be to changes in interest rates.

At least 75% of the assets of the Municipal Real Return Portfolio will be invested in municipal securities that, at the time of purchase, are rated in the top three credit-rating categories (e.g., Aaa, Aa and A for Moody’s Investor’s Service, Inc. (“Moody’s”) or AAA, AA and A for S&P Global Ratings (“S&P”) or Fitch Ratings Ltd. (“Fitch”), or an equivalent rating assigned by another nationally recognized statistical rating organization, or that are unrated but have been determined by Dimensional Fund Advisors LP (the “Advisor”) to be of comparable quality). No more than 25% of the Portfolio’s assets will be invested in municipal securities that, at the time of purchase, are rated in the lowest quarter of the investment grade spectrum (e.g., rated Baa1 to Baa3 (by Moody’s) or BBB+ to BBB- (by S&P or Fitch), or an equivalent rating assigned by another nationally recognized statistical rating organization, or that are unrated but have been determined by the Advisor to be of comparable quality). The fixed income securities in which the Portfolio invests are considered investment grade at the time of purchase.

Municipal securities are often issued to obtain funds for various public purposes, including the construction of a wide range of public facilities, such as bridges, highways, housing, hospitals, mass transportation facilities, schools, streets and public utilities, such as water and sewer works. Municipal securities include municipal leases, certificates of participation, municipal obligation components and municipal custody receipts. The Municipal Real Return Portfolio may invest more than 25% of its assets in municipal securities issued to finance projects in a particular segment of the bond market including, but not limited to, health care, housing, education, utilities, and transportation. The Portfolio also may invest more than 25% of its assets in industrial development bonds.

The Municipal Real Return Portfolio may (1) purchase certain municipal securities that are insured, (2) invest in municipal securities secured by mortgages on single-family homes and multi-family projects, (3) invest in pre-refunded municipal securities, (4) purchase tax-exempt municipal securities on a “when-issued” basis, and (5) use derivatives, such as fixed income related futures and options contracts, credit default swaps and interest rate swaps, to hedge against changes in interest rates. The Portfolio may also invest in exchange-traded funds (ETFs) to gain exposure to the municipal bond market pending investment in municipal bonds. The Portfolio may also invest in money market funds.

The Municipal Real Return Portfolio may enter into swaps, such as inflation swaps, to seek inflation protection. The Portfolio also may enter into credit default swaps on issuers or indices to buy or sell credit protection to hedge its credit exposure; gain market or issuer exposure without owning the underlying securities; or increase the Portfolio’s total return. The Portfolio also may purchase or sell futures contracts and options on futures contracts, to hedge its interest rate exposure or for non-hedging purposes, such as a substitute for direct investment or to increase or decrease market exposure based on actual or expected cash inflows to or outflows from the Portfolio.

Although the Municipal Real Return Portfolio attempts to invest all of its assets in tax-exempt securities, it is possible, although not anticipated, that a portion of its assets may be invested in securities that pay taxable interest, including interest that may be subject to the federal alternative minimum tax. These investments could generate taxable income for shareholders.

Principal Risks

Because the value of your investment in the Portfolio will fluctuate, there is the risk that you will lose money. An investment in the Portfolio is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. The following is a description of principal risks of investing in the Portfolio.

2


Market Risk: Even a long-term investment approach cannot guarantee a profit. Economic, political, and issuer-specific events will cause the value of securities, and a fund that owns them, to rise or fall.

Interest Rate Risk: Fixed income securities are subject to interest rate risk because the prices of fixed income securities tend to move in the opposite direction of interest rates. When interest rates rise, fixed income security prices fall. During periods of very low or negative interest rates, a fund may be subject to a greater risk of rising interest rates. When interest rates fall, fixed income security prices rise. In general, fixed income securities with longer maturities are more sensitive to changes in interest rates.

Credit Risk: Credit risk is the risk that the issuer of a security, including a governmental entity, may be unable to make interest payments and/or repay principal when due. A downgrade to an issuer’s credit rating or a perceived change in an issuer’s financial strength may affect a security’s value, and thus, impact the performance of a fund holding such securities. The ability of a municipal securities issuer to make payments could be affected by litigation, legislation or other political events or the bankruptcy of the issuer.

Inflation-Protected Securities Interest Rate Risk: Inflation-protected securities may react differently from other fixed income securities to changes in interest rates. Because interest rates on inflation-protected securities are adjusted for inflation, the values of these securities are not materially affected by inflation expectations. Therefore, the value of inflation-protected securities are anticipated to change in response to changes in “real” interest rates, which represent nominal (stated) interest rates reduced by the expected impact of inflation. Generally, the value of an inflation-protected security will fall when real interest rates rise and will rise when real interest rates fall.

Inflation-Protected Securities Tax Risk: Any increase in the principal amount of an inflation-protected security may be included for tax purposes in a fund’s gross income, even though no cash attributable to such gross income has been received by a fund. In such event, a fund may be required to make annual gross distributions to shareholders that exceed the cash it has otherwise received. In order to pay such distributions, a fund may be required to raise cash by selling its investments. The sale of such investments could result in capital gains to a fund and additional capital gain distributions to shareholders. In addition, adjustments during the taxable year for deflation to an inflation-indexed bond held by a fund may cause amounts previously distributed to shareholders in the taxable year as income to be characterized as a return of capital.

Risks of Investing for Inflation Protection: Because the interest and/or principal payments on an inflation-protected security are adjusted periodically for changes in inflation, the income distributed by a fund investing in such securities may be irregular. Although the U.S. Treasury guarantees to pay at maturity at least the original face value of any inflation-protected securities the Treasury issues, other issuers may not offer the same guarantee. Inflation-protected securities are not protected against deflation. As a result, in a period of deflation, the principal and income of inflation-protected securities held by a fund will decline and the fund may suffer a loss during such periods. While inflation-protected securities are expected to be protected from long-term inflationary trends, short-term increases in inflation may lead to a decline in the value of a fund holding such securities. For example, if interest rates rise due to reasons other than inflation, a fund’s investment in these securities may not be protected to the extent that the increase is not reflected in the securities’ inflation measures. In addition, positive adjustments to principal generally will result in taxable income to a fund at the time of such adjustments (which generally would be distributed by the fund as part of its taxable dividends), even though the principal amount is not paid until maturity. The current market value of inflation-protected securities is not guaranteed and will fluctuate.

Income Risk: Income risk is the risk that falling interest rates will cause a fund’s income to decline because, among other reasons, the proceeds from maturing short-term securities in its portfolio may be reinvested in lower-yielding securities.

Call Risk: Call risk is the risk that during periods of falling interest rates, an issuer will call or repay a higher-yielding fixed income security before its maturity date, forcing a fund to reinvest in fixed income securities with lower interest rates than the original obligations.

Tax Liability Risk: Tax liability risk is the risk that distributions by a fund become taxable to shareholders due to noncompliant conduct by a municipal bond issuer, unfavorable changes in federal or state tax laws, or adverse interpretations of tax laws by the Internal Revenue Service or state tax authorities or other factors. Such adverse interpretations or actions could cause interest from a security to become taxable, possibly retroactively, subjecting shareholders to increased tax liability. In addition, such adverse interpretations or actions could cause the value of a

3


security, and therefore, the value of a fund’s shares, to decline. Additionally, if a fund's use of derivative instruments for hedging and non-hedging purposes cause the fund to invest less than 50% of its assets in municipal securities in any quarter, which a fund does not anticipate, the fund may fail to qualify to pay exempt-interest dividends to its shareholders, resulting in the distributions by the fund becoming taxable to shareholders as ordinary income.

Municipal Securities Risk: The risk of a municipal security generally depends on the financial and credit status of the issuer. Municipal securities can be significantly affected by political, regulatory or economic changes, including changes made in the law after issuance of the securities, as well as uncertainties in the municipal market related to taxation, legislative changes or the rights of municipal security holders, including in connection with an issuer’s insolvency.

Municipal Project-Specific Risk: A fund may be more sensitive to adverse economic, business or political developments if it invests a substantial portion of its assets in municipal securities that finance similar types of projects in a segment of the municipal bond market (such as education, health care, housing, education, utilities or transportation) or industrial development bonds. A change that affects one project in a particular segment of the market, such as proposed legislation on the financing of the project, a shortage of the materials needed for the project, or a declining need for the project, would likely affect all similar projects, thereby increasing market risk.

Derivatives Risk: Derivatives are instruments, such as swaps, futures contracts, and options thereon, whose value is derived from that of other assets, rates or indices. Derivatives can be used for hedging (attempting to reduce risk by offsetting one investment position with another) or non-hedging purposes. Hedging with derivatives may increase expenses, and there is no guarantee that a hedging strategy will work. While hedging can reduce or eliminate losses, it can also reduce or eliminate gains or cause losses if the market moves in a manner different from that anticipated by a fund or if the cost of the derivative outweighs the benefit of the hedge. The use of derivatives for non-hedging purposes may be considered to carry more risk than other types of investments. When a fund uses derivatives, the fund will be directly exposed to the risks of those derivatives. Derivative instruments are subject to a number of risks including counterparty, 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 a fund could lose more than the principal amount invested. Additional risks are associated with the use of swaps including counterparty and credit risk (the risk that the other party to a swap agreement will not fulfill its contractual obligations, whether because of bankruptcy or other default) and liquidity risk (the possible lack of a secondary market for the swap agreement). Credit risk increases when a fund is the seller of swaps and counterparty risk increases when the fund is a buyer of swaps. In addition, where a fund is the seller of swaps, it may be required to liquidate portfolio securities at inopportune times in order to meet payment obligations. Swaps may be illiquid or difficult to value. Additionally, payments made or received by a fund under such derivatives may increase the amount of distributions taxable to you as ordinary income, increase or decrease the amount of capital gain distributions to you and/or decrease the amount available for distribution to you as exempt-interest dividends.

Liquidity Risk: Liquidity risk exists when particular portfolio investments are difficult to purchase or sell. To the extent that a fund holds illiquid investments, the fund’s performance may be reduced due to an inability to sell the investments at opportune prices or times. Liquid portfolio investments may become illiquid or less liquid after purchase by a fund due to low trading volume, adverse investor perceptions and/or other market developments. Liquidity risk includes the risk that a fund will experience significant net redemptions at a time when it cannot find willing buyers for its portfolio securities or can only sell its portfolio securities at a material loss or at increased costs. Liquidity risk can be more pronounced in periods of market turmoil or in situations where ownership of shares of a fund are concentrated in one or a few investors.

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 a fund’s or its advisor’s control, including instances at third parties. A fund and its advisor seek to reduce these operational risks through controls and procedures. However, measures that seek to reduce these operational risks through controls and procedures may not address every possible risk and may be inadequate to address these risks.

Cyber Security Risk: A fund and its service providers’ use of internet, technology and information systems may expose the fund 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

4


information, customer data, or fund assets, or cause the fund and/or its service providers to suffer data corruption or lose operational functionality.

Performance

The bar chart and table immediately following illustrate the variability of the Portfolio’s returns and are meant to provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Portfolio. The bar chart shows the changes in the Portfolio’s performance from year to year. The table illustrates how annualized returns for certain periods, both before and after taxes, compare with those of a broad measure of market performance. The table also includes the performance of an additional index with a similar investment universe as the Portfolio. The Portfolio’s past performance (before and after taxes) is not an indication of future results. Updated performance information for the Portfolio can be obtained by visiting https://www.dimensional.com/us-en/funds.

The after-tax returns presented in the table for the Portfolio are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on an investor’s tax situation and may differ from those shown in the table. In addition, the after-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold shares of the Portfolio through tax-advantaged arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts.

 

DFA Municipal Real Return PortfolioInstitutional Class Shares —Total Returns

PerformanceBarChartData(2015:1.09,2016:1.56,2017:2.57,2018:-0.51,2019:5.92,2020:4.11,2021:6.75,2022:-1.42,2023:2.56)

   

January 2015-December 2023

 

Highest Quarter

Lowest Quarter

 

5.26% 2020, Q2

-5.41% 2020, Q1

5


                 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Annualized Returns (%)
Periods ended December 31, 2023

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Since

 

 

 

1 Year

 

5 Years

 

Inception

 

DFA Municipal Real Return Portfolio

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Return Before Taxes

 

2.56%

 

3.54%

 

2.17%

1

 

Return After Taxes on Distributions

 

2.56%

 

3.54%

 

2.17%

1

 

Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Portfolio Shares

 

2.33%

 

3.08%

 

1.98%

1

S&P Intermediate Term National AMT-Free Municipal Bond Index

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes on sales)

 

5.21%

 

2.22%

 

2.20%

1

S&P National AMT-Free Municipal Bond Index2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes on sales)

 

6.24%

 

2.26%

 

2.39%

1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1.

Since inception November 4, 2014.

2.

Effective February 28, 2024, the Portfolio incorporated this broad-based securities market index to reflect the overall applicable securities market of the Portfolio.

Investment Advisor/Portfolio Management

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP serves as the investment advisor for the 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:

 Joseph F. Kolerich, Head of Fixed Income, Americas, member of the Investment Committee, Vice President, and Senior Portfolio Manager of the Advisor, has been a portfolio manager of the Portfolio since inception (2014).

 David A. Plecha, Global Head of Fixed Income Portfolio Management, member of the Investment Committee, Vice President, and Senior Portfolio Manager of the Advisor, has been a portfolio manager of the Portfolio since inception (2014).

 Travis A. Meldau, Vice President and Senior Portfolio Manager of the Advisor, has been a portfolio manager of the Portfolio since 2015.

Purchase and Redemption of Fund Shares

Investors may purchase or redeem shares of the Portfolio on each day that the New York Stock Exchange 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 distributions you receive from the Portfolio primarily are exempt from regular federal income tax. A portion of these distributions, however, may be subject to the federal alternative minimum tax and state and local taxes. The Portfolio may also make distributions that are taxable to you as ordinary income or capital gains.

6


Payments to Financial Intermediaries

If you purchase the 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.

7


DFA California Municipal Real Return Portfolio

Investment Objective

The investment objective of the DFA California Municipal Real Return Portfolio (the “California Municipal Real Return Portfolio” or the “Portfolio”) is to seek to provide inflation protection and earn current income that is expected to be exempt from federal personal income taxes and California state personal income taxes.

Fees and Expenses of the Portfolio

This table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy, hold or sell shares of the 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.

     

 

 

Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment): None

 

 

 

 

Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each
year as a percentage of the value of your investment)

 

 

 

 

Management Fee

0.20%

Other Expenses

0.06%

Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses

0.26%

 

EXAMPLE

This Example is meant to help you compare the cost of investing in the Portfolio with the cost of investing in other 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 whether you redeem or hold your shares would be:

       

1 Year

3 Years

5 Years

10 Years

$27

$84

$146

$331

PORTFOLIO TURNOVER

A 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 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 61% of the average value of its investment portfolio.

Principal Investment Strategies

The California Municipal Real Return Portfolio seeks to achieve its investment objective by investing primarily in a universe of municipal securities, including inflation-protected municipal securities, issued by or on behalf of California state or local governments and their agencies, instrumentalities, and regional governmental authorities, and in derivative instruments to provide inflation protection. The Portfolio may also invest a portion of its assets in municipal securities issued by U.S. territories that are exempt from state taxation under federal law. Municipal securities in which the Portfolio may invest include, among others, revenue bonds, general obligation bonds, industrial development bonds, municipal lease obligations, commercial paper, variable rate demand obligations and other instruments (including participation interests in such securities). The interest on the municipal securities purchased by the Portfolio, in the opinion of bond counsel for the issuers and under current tax law, is exempt from

8


federal income tax (i.e., excludable from gross income for individuals for federal income tax purposes) and California state personal income tax. As a fundamental investment policy, under normal market conditions, the Portfolio will invest at least 80% of its net assets in municipal securities that pay interest exempt from federal income tax and California state personal income tax. The Portfolio does not currently intend to invest its assets in municipal securities whose interest is subject to the federal alternative minimum tax.

Under normal circumstances, the California Municipal Real Return Portfolio will maintain a weighted average duration of no greater than five years. If a security has been redeemed by the issuer at a date prior to the stated final maturity date for the purposes of the above duration restriction, the early redemption date shall be considered the maturity date regardless of the stated final maturity. Duration is a measure of the sensitivity of a security’s price to changes in interest rates. The longer a security’s duration, the more sensitive it will be to changes in interest rates.

Municipal securities are often issued to obtain funds for various public purposes, including the construction of a wide range of public facilities, such as bridges, highways, housing, hospitals, mass transportation facilities, schools, streets and public utilities, such as water and sewer works. Municipal securities include municipal leases, certificates of participation, municipal obligation components and municipal custody receipts. The California Municipal Real Return Portfolio may invest more than 25% of its assets in municipal securities issued to finance projects in a particular segment of the bond market including, but not limited to, health care, housing, education, utilities, and transportation. The Portfolio also may invest more than 25% of its assets in industrial development bonds.

The California Municipal Real Return Portfolio intends to maintain a dollar-weighted average credit quality equal to or better than the lower of: (i) a credit quality rating of AA by S&P Global Ratings (“S&P”) or Fitch Ratings Ltd. (“Fitch”) or Aa2 by Moody’s Investor’s Services, Inc. (“Moody’s”) or (ii) the credit quality of general obligation bonds issued by the State of California. For purposes of the above policy on dollar-weighted average credit quality, unrated securities may be included if such securities have been determined by the Dimensional Fund Advisors LP (the “Advisor”) to be of comparable quality.

The California Municipal Real Return Portfolio may (1) purchase certain municipal securities that are insured, (2) invest in municipal securities secured by mortgages on single-family homes and multi-family projects, (3) invest in pre-refunded municipal securities, (4) purchase tax-exempt municipal securities on a “when-issued” basis and (5) use derivatives, such as fixed income related futures and options contracts, credit default swaps and interest rate swaps, to hedge against changes in interest rates. The Portfolio may also invest in exchange-traded funds (ETFs) to gain exposure to the municipal bond market pending investment in municipal bonds. The Portfolio may also invest in money market funds.

The California Municipal Real Return Portfolio may enter into swaps, such as inflation swaps, to seek inflation protection. The Portfolio also may enter into credit default swaps on issuers or indices to buy or sell credit protection to hedge its credit exposure; gain market or issuer exposure without owning the underlying securities; or increase the Portfolio’s total return. The Portfolio also may purchase or sell futures contracts and options on futures contracts, to hedge its interest rate exposure or for non-hedging purposes, such as a substitute for direct investment or to increase or decrease market exposure based on actual or expected cash inflows to or outflows from the Portfolio.

Although the California Municipal Real Return Portfolio attempts to invest all of its assets in tax-exempt securities (federal and State of California), it is possible, although not anticipated, that a portion of its assets may be invested in securities that pay taxable interest, including interest that may be subject to the federal alternative minimum tax. These investments could generate taxable income for shareholders.

The California Municipal Real Return Portfolio is primarily designed for investment by California taxpayers.

Principal Risks

Because the value of your investment in the Portfolio will fluctuate, there is the risk that you will lose money. An investment in the Portfolio is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. The following is a description of principal risks of investing in the Portfolio.

9


Market Risk: Even a long-term investment approach cannot guarantee a profit. Economic, political, and issuer-specific events will cause the value of securities, and a fund that owns them, to rise or fall.

Interest Rate Risk: Fixed income securities are subject to interest rate risk because the prices of fixed income securities tend to move in the opposite direction of interest rates. When interest rates rise, fixed income security prices fall. During periods of very low or negative interest rates, a fund may be subject to a greater risk of rising interest rates. When interest rates fall, fixed income security prices rise. In general, fixed income securities with longer maturities are more sensitive to changes in interest rates.

Inflation-Protected Securities Interest Rate Risk: Inflation-protected securities may react differently from other fixed income securities to changes in interest rates. Because interest rates on inflation-protected securities are adjusted for inflation, the values of these securities are not materially affected by inflation expectations. Therefore, the value of inflation-protected securities are anticipated to change in response to changes in “real” interest rates, which represent nominal (stated) interest rates reduced by the expected impact of inflation. Generally, the value of an inflation-protected security will fall when real interest rates rise and will rise when real interest rates fall.

Credit Risk: Credit risk is the risk that the issuer of a security, including a governmental entity, may be unable to make interest payments and/or repay principal when due. A downgrade to an issuer’s credit rating or a perceived change in an issuer’s financial strength may affect a security’s value, and thus, impact the performance of a fund holding such securities. The ability of a municipal securities issuer to make payments could be affected by litigation, legislation or other political events or the bankruptcy of the issuer. Credit risk is greater for fixed income securities with ratings below investment grade (e.g., BB+ or below by S&P or Fitch or Ba1 or below by Moody’s). Fixed income securities that are below investment grade involve high credit risk and are considered speculative. Below investment grade fixed income securities may also fluctuate in value more than higher quality fixed income securities and, during periods of market volatility, may be more difficult to sell at the time and price the Portfolio desires.

Inflation-Protected Securities Tax Risk: Any increase in the principal amount of an inflation-protected security may be included for tax purposes in a fund’s gross income, even though no cash attributable to such gross income has been received by a fund. In such event, a fund may be required to make annual gross distributions to shareholders that exceed the cash it has otherwise received. In order to pay such distributions, a fund may be required to raise cash by selling its investments. The sale of such investments could result in capital gains to a fund and additional capital gain distributions to shareholders. In addition, adjustments during the taxable year for deflation to an inflation-indexed bond held by a fund may cause amounts previously distributed to shareholders in the taxable year as income to be characterized as a return of capital.

Risks of Investing for Inflation Protection: Because the interest and/or principal payments on an inflation-protected security are adjusted periodically for changes in inflation, the income distributed by a fund investing in such securities may be irregular. Some issuers may not guarantee to pay at maturity at least the original face value of any inflation-protected securities. Inflation-protected securities are not protected against deflation. As a result, in a period of deflation, the principal and income of inflation-protected securities held by a fund will decline and the fund may suffer a loss during such periods. While inflation-protected securities are expected to be protected from long-term inflationary trends, short-term increases in inflation may lead to a decline in the value of a fund holding such securities. For example, if interest rates rise due to reasons other than inflation, a fund’s investment in these securities may not be protected to the extent that the increase is not reflected in the securities’ inflation measures. In addition, positive adjustments to principal generally will result in taxable income to a fund at the time of such adjustments (which generally would be distributed by the fund as part of its taxable dividends), even though the principal amount is not paid until maturity. The current market value of inflation-protected securities is not guaranteed and will fluctuate.

Income Risk: Income risk is the risk that falling interest rates will cause a fund’s income to decline because, among other reasons, the proceeds from maturing short-term securities in its portfolio may be reinvested in lower-yielding securities.

Call Risk: Call risk is the risk that during periods of falling interest rates, an issuer will call or repay a higher-yielding fixed income security before its maturity date, forcing a fund to reinvest in fixed income securities with lower interest rates than the original obligations.

10


Tax Liability Risk: Tax liability risk is the risk that distributions by a fund become taxable to shareholders due to noncompliant conduct by a municipal bond issuer, unfavorable changes in federal or state tax laws, or adverse interpretations of tax laws by the Internal Revenue Service or state tax authorities or other factors. Such adverse interpretations or actions could cause interest from a security to become taxable, possibly retroactively, subjecting shareholders to increased tax liability. In addition, such adverse interpretations or actions could cause the value of a security, and therefore, the value of a fund’s shares, to decline.

Municipal Securities Risk: The risk of a municipal security generally depends on the financial and credit status of the issuer. Municipal securities can be significantly affected by political, regulatory or economic changes, including changes made in the law after issuance of the securities, as well as uncertainties in the municipal market related to taxation, legislative changes or the rights of municipal security holders, including in connection with an issuer’s insolvency.

Municipal Project-Specific Risk: A fund may be more sensitive to adverse economic, business or political developments if it invests a substantial portion of its assets in municipal securities that finance similar types of projects in a segment of the municipal bond market (such as education, health care, housing, education, utilities or transportation) or industrial development bonds. A change that affects one project in a particular segment of the market, such as proposed legislation on the financing of the project, a shortage of the materials needed for the project, or a declining need for the project, would likely affect all similar projects, thereby increasing market risk.

State-Specific Risk: A fund that focuses its investments primarily in California municipal securities will be highly sensitive to events affecting the fiscal stability of the State of California and its agencies, municipalities, authorities and other instrumentalities that issue securities. Having a significant percentage of its assets invested in the securities of fewer issuers, particularly obligations of government issuers of a single state, could result in greater credit risk exposure to a smaller number of issuers due to economic, regulatory or political problems in California. These issues may include economic or political policy changes, tax base erosion, unfunded pension and healthcare liabilities, state constitutional limits on tax increases, budget deficits and other financial difficulties, and changes in the credit ratings assigned to municipal issuers of California. Also, to the extent that a fund makes significant investments in securities issued to finance projects in a particular segment of the California municipal securities market such focused investment may cause the value of the fund’s shares to change more than the value of shares of funds that invest more broadly. These risks are disclosed in more detail in the Portfolio’s Statement of Additional Information.

Derivatives Risk: Derivatives are instruments, such as swaps, futures contracts, and options thereon, whose value is derived from that of other assets, rates or indices. Derivatives can be used for hedging (attempting to reduce risk by offsetting one investment position with another) or non-hedging purposes. Hedging with derivatives may increase expenses, and there is no guarantee that a hedging strategy will work. While hedging can reduce or eliminate losses, it can also reduce or eliminate gains or cause losses if the market moves in a manner different from that anticipated by a fund or if the cost of the derivative outweighs the benefit of the hedge. The use of derivatives for non-hedging purposes may be considered to carry more risk than other types of investments. When a fund uses derivatives, the fund will be directly exposed to the risks of those derivatives. Derivative instruments are subject to a number of risks including counterparty, 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 a fund could lose more than the principal amount invested. Additional risks are associated with the use of swaps including counterparty and credit risk (the risk that the other party to a swap agreement will not fulfill its contractual obligations, whether because of bankruptcy or other default) and liquidity risk (the possible lack of a secondary market for the swap agreement). Credit risk increases when a fund is the seller of swaps and counterparty risk increases when the fund is a buyer of swaps. In addition, where a fund is the seller of swaps, it may be required to liquidate portfolio securities at inopportune times in order to meet payment obligations. Swaps may be illiquid or difficult to value. Additionally, payments made or received by a fund under such derivatives may increase the amount of distributions taxable to you as ordinary income, increase or decrease the amount of capital gain distributions to you and/or decrease the amount available for distribution to you as exempt-interest dividends.

Liquidity Risk: Liquidity risk exists when particular portfolio investments are difficult to purchase or sell. To the extent that a fund holds illiquid investments, the fund’s performance may be reduced due to an inability to sell the investments at opportune prices or times. Liquid portfolio investments may become illiquid or less liquid after purchase by a fund due to low trading volume, adverse investor perceptions and/or other market developments. Liquidity risk includes the risk that a fund will experience significant net redemptions at a time when it cannot find

11


willing buyers for its portfolio securities or can only sell its portfolio securities at a material loss or at increased costs. Liquidity risk can be more pronounced in periods of market turmoil or in situations where ownership of shares of a fund are concentrated in one or a few investors.

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 a fund’s or its advisor’s control, including instances at third parties. A fund and its advisor seek to reduce these operational risks through controls and procedures. However, measures that seek to reduce these operational risks through controls and procedures may not address every possible risk and may be inadequate to address these risks.

Cyber Security Risk: A fund and its service providers’ use of internet, technology and information systems may expose the fund 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 fund and/or its service providers to suffer data corruption or lose operational functionality.

Performance

The bar chart and table immediately following illustrate the variability of the Portfolio’s returns and are meant to provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Portfolio. The bar chart shows the changes in the Portfolio’s performance from year to year. The table illustrates how annualized returns for certain periods, both before and after taxes, compare with those of a broad measure of market performance. The table also includes the performance of an additional index with a similar investment universe as the Portfolio. The Portfolio’s past performance (before and after taxes) is not an indication of future results. Updated performance information for the Portfolio can be obtained by visiting https://www.dimensional.com/us-en/funds.

The after-tax returns presented in the table for the Portfolio are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on an investor’s tax situation and may differ from those shown in the table. In addition, the after-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold shares of the Portfolio through tax-advantaged arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts.

 

DFA California Municipal Real Return PortfolioInstitutional Class Shares —Total Returns

PerformanceBarChartData(2018:-0.46,2019:5.08,2020:2.35,2021:6.21,2022:-1.06,2023:2.63)

   

January 2018-December 2023

 

Highest Quarter

Lowest Quarter

 

4.74% 2020, Q2

-5.97% 2020, Q1

12


                 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Annualized Returns (%)
Periods ended December 31, 2023

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Since

 

 

 

1 Year

 

5 Years

 

Inception

 

DFA California Municipal Real Return Portfolio

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Return Before Taxes

 

2.63%

 

3.01%

 

2.32%

1

 

Return After Taxes on Distributions

 

2.63%

 

3.01%

 

2.32%

1

 

Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Portfolio Shares

 

2.32%

 

2.61%

 

2.07%

1

S&P Intermediate Term California AMT-Free Municipal Bond Index

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes on sales)

 

4.77%

 

1.98%

 

1.83%

1

S&P National AMT-Free Municipal Bond Index2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes on sales)

 

6.24%

 

2.26%

 

2.08%

1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1.

Since inception November 1, 2017.

2.

Effective February 28, 2024, the Portfolio incorporated this broad-based securities market index to reflect the overall applicable securities market of the Portfolio.

Investment Advisor/Portfolio Management

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP serves as the investment advisor for the 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:

 Joseph F. Kolerich, Head of Fixed Income, Americas, 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).

 Travis A. Meldau, Vice President and Senior Portfolio Manager of the Advisor, has been a portfolio manager of the Portfolio since inception (2017).

 David A. Plecha, Global Head of Fixed Income Portfolio Management, 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).

Purchase and Redemption of Fund Shares

Investors may purchase or redeem shares of the Portfolio on each day that the New York Stock Exchange 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 distributions you receive from the Portfolio primarily are exempt from regular federal income tax and state income taxes for individual residents of California. A portion of these distributions, however, may be subject to the federal alternative minimum tax. The Portfolio may also make distributions that are taxable to you as ordinary income or capital gains.

13


Payments to Financial Intermediaries

If you purchase the 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.

14


DFA Municipal Bond Portfolio

Investment Objective

The investment objective of the DFA Municipal Bond Portfolio (the “Municipal Bond Portfolio” or the “Portfolio”) is to seek to provide current income that is exempt from federal personal income tax.

Fees and Expenses of the Portfolio

This table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy, hold or sell shares of the 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.

     

 

 

Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment): None

 

 

 

 

Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each
year as a percentage of the value of your investment)

 

 

 

 

Management Fee

0.16%

Other Expenses

0.05%

Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses

0.21%

 

EXAMPLE

This Example is meant to help you compare the cost of investing in the Portfolio with the cost of investing in other 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 whether you redeem or hold your shares would be:

       

1 Year

3 Years

5 Years

10 Years

$22

$68

$118

$268

PORTFOLIO TURNOVER

A 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 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 26% of the average value of its investment portfolio.

Principal Investment Strategies

The Municipal Bond Portfolio seeks its investment objective by investing primarily in a universe of investment grade municipal securities, the interest on which is exempt from regular federal income tax. Municipal securities in which the Portfolio may invest include, among others, revenue bonds, general obligation bonds, industrial development bonds, municipal lease obligations, commercial paper, variable rate demand obligations and other instruments (including participation interests in such securities) issued by or on behalf of the states, territories and possessions of the United States (including the District of Columbia) and their political subdivisions, agencies and instrumentalities. The interest on the municipal securities purchased by the Portfolio, in the opinion of bond counsel for the issuers and under current tax law, is exempt from federal income tax (i.e., excludable from gross income for individuals for federal income tax purposes but not necessarily exempt from state or local taxes). As a fundamental investment policy, under normal market conditions, the Portfolio will invest at least 80% of its net assets in municipal securities

15


that pay interest exempt from federal income tax. The Portfolio does not currently intend to invest its assets in municipal securities whose interest is subject to the federal alternative minimum tax.

Generally, the Municipal Bond Portfolio will acquire obligations that mature within fifteen years from the date of settlement, and in variable rate demand obligations with longer maturities. Under normal circumstances, the Portfolio will maintain a weighted average duration of more than three years but less than five years. In making purchase decisions, if the expected term premium is greater for longer-term securities in the eligible maturity range, the Advisor will focus investment in the longer-term area, otherwise, the Portfolio will focus investment in the shorter-term area of the eligible maturity range. If a security has been redeemed by the issuer at a date prior to the stated final maturity date for the purposes of the above duration restriction, the early redemption date shall be considered the maturity date regardless of the stated final maturity. Duration is a measure of the sensitivity of a security’s price to changes in interest rates. The longer a security’s duration, the more sensitive it will be to changes in interest rates.

At least 75% of the assets of the Municipal Bond Portfolio will be invested in municipal securities that, at the time of purchase, are rated in the top three credit-rating categories (e.g., Aaa, Aa and A for Moody’s Investor’s Service, Inc. (“Moody’s”) or AAA, AA and A for S&P Global Ratings (“S&P”) or Fitch Ratings Ltd. (“Fitch”), or an equivalent rating assigned by another nationally recognized statistical rating organization, or that are unrated but have been determined by the Advisor to be of comparable quality). No more than 25% of the Portfolio’s assets will be invested in municipal securities that, at the time of purchase, are rated in the lowest quarter of the investment grade spectrum (e.g., rated Baa1 to Baa3 (by Moody’s) or BBB+ to BBB- (by S&P or Fitch), or an equivalent rating assigned by another nationally recognized statistical rating organization, or that are unrated but have been determined by the Advisor to be of comparable quality). The fixed income securities in which the Portfolio invests are considered investment grade at the time of purchase.

Municipal securities are often issued to obtain funds for various public purposes, including the construction of a wide range of public facilities, such as bridges, highways, housing, hospitals, mass transportation facilities, schools, streets and public utilities, such as water and sewer works. Municipal securities include municipal leases, certificates of participation, municipal obligation components and municipal custody receipts. The Municipal Bond Portfolio may invest more than 25% of its assets in municipal securities issued to finance projects in a particular segment of the bond market including, but not limited to, health care, housing, education, utilities, and transportation. The Portfolio also may invest more than 25% of its assets in industrial development bonds.

The Municipal Bond Portfolio may (1) purchase certain municipal securities that are insured, (2) invest in municipal securities secured by mortgages on single-family homes and multi-family projects, (3) invest in pre-refunded municipal securities, (4) purchase tax-exempt municipal securities on a “when-issued” basis, and (5) use derivatives, such as fixed income related futures and options contracts, credit default swaps and interest rate swaps, to hedge against changes in interest rates. The Portfolio may also invest in exchange-traded funds (ETFs) to gain exposure to the municipal bond market pending investment in municipal bonds. The Portfolio may also invest in money market funds. The Portfolio also may purchase or sell futures contracts and options on futures contracts, to hedge its interest rate exposure or for non-hedging purposes, such as a substitute for direct investment or to increase or decrease market exposure based on actual or expected cash inflows or outflows from the Portfolio.

Although the Municipal Bond Portfolio attempts to invest all of its assets in tax-exempt securities, it is possible, although not anticipated, that a portion of its assets may be invested in securities that pay taxable interest, including interest that may be subject to the federal alternative minimum tax. These investments could generate taxable income for shareholders.

Principal Risks

Because the value of your investment in the Portfolio will fluctuate, there is the risk that you will lose money. An investment in the Portfolio is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. The following is a description of principal risks of investing in the Portfolio.

Market Risk: Even a long-term investment approach cannot guarantee a profit. Economic, political, and issuer-specific events will cause the value of securities, and a fund that owns them, to rise or fall.

16


Interest Rate Risk: Fixed income securities are subject to interest rate risk because the prices of fixed income securities tend to move in the opposite direction of interest rates. When interest rates rise, fixed income security prices fall. During periods of very low or negative interest rates, a fund may be subject to a greater risk of rising interest rates. When interest rates fall, fixed income security prices rise. In general, fixed income securities with longer maturities are more sensitive to changes in interest rates.

Credit Risk: Credit risk is the risk that the issuer of a security, including a governmental entity, may be unable to make interest payments and/or repay principal when due. A downgrade to an issuer’s credit rating or a perceived change in an issuer’s financial strength may affect a security’s value, and thus, impact the performance of a fund holding such securities. The ability of a municipal securities issuer to make payments could be affected by litigation, legislation or other political events or the bankruptcy of the issuer.

Income Risk: Income risk is the risk that falling interest rates will cause a fund’s income to decline because, among other reasons, the proceeds from maturing short-term securities in its portfolio may be reinvested in lower-yielding securities.

Call Risk: Call risk is the risk that during periods of falling interest rates, an issuer will call or repay a higher-yielding fixed income security before its maturity date, forcing a fund to reinvest in fixed income securities with lower interest rates than the original obligations.

Tax Liability Risk: Tax liability risk is the risk that distributions by a fund become taxable to shareholders due to noncompliant conduct by a municipal bond issuer, unfavorable changes in federal or state tax laws, or adverse interpretations of tax laws by the Internal Revenue Service or state tax authorities or other factors. Such adverse interpretations or actions could cause interest from a security to become taxable, possibly retroactively, subjecting shareholders to increased tax liability. In addition, such adverse interpretations or actions could cause the value of a security, and therefore, the value of a fund’s shares, to decline.

Municipal Securities Risk: The risk of a municipal security generally depends on the financial and credit status of the issuer. Municipal securities can be significantly affected by political, regulatory or economic changes, including changes made in the law after issuance of the securities, as well as uncertainties in the municipal market related to taxation, legislative changes or the rights of municipal security holders, including in connection with an issuer’s insolvency.

Municipal Project-Specific Risk: A fund may be more sensitive to adverse economic, business or political developments if it invests a substantial portion of its assets in municipal securities that finance similar types of projects in a segment of the municipal bond market (such as education, health care, housing, education, utilities or transportation) or industrial development bonds. A change that affects one project in a particular segment of the market, such as proposed legislation on the financing of the project, a shortage of the materials needed for the project, or a declining need for the project, would likely affect all similar projects, thereby increasing market risk.

Derivatives Risk: Derivatives are instruments, such as swaps, futures contracts, and options thereon, whose value is derived from that of other assets, rates or indices. Derivatives can be used for hedging (attempting to reduce risk by offsetting one investment position with another) or non-hedging purposes. Hedging with derivatives may increase expenses, and there is no guarantee that a hedging strategy will work. While hedging can reduce or eliminate losses, it can also reduce or eliminate gains or cause losses if the market moves in a manner different from that anticipated by a fund or if the cost of the derivative outweighs the benefit of the hedge. The use of derivatives for non-hedging purposes may be considered to carry more risk than other types of investments. When a fund uses derivatives, the fund will be directly exposed to the risks of those derivatives. Derivative instruments are subject to a number of risks including counterparty, 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 a fund could lose more than the principal amount invested. Additional risks are associated with the use of swaps including counterparty and credit risk (the risk that the other party to a swap agreement will not fulfill its contractual obligations, whether because of bankruptcy or other default) and liquidity risk (the possible lack of a secondary market for the swap agreement). Credit risk increases when a fund is the seller of swaps and counterparty risk increases when the fund is a buyer of swaps. In addition, where a fund is the seller of swaps, it may be required to liquidate portfolio securities at inopportune times in order to meet payment obligations. Swaps may be illiquid or difficult to value. Additionally, payments made or received by a fund under such derivatives may

17


increase the amount of distributions taxable to you as ordinary income, increase or decrease the amount of capital gain distributions to you and/or decrease the amount available for distribution to you as exempt-interest dividends.

Liquidity Risk: Liquidity risk exists when particular portfolio investments are difficult to purchase or sell. To the extent that a fund holds illiquid investments, the fund’s performance may be reduced due to an inability to sell the investments at opportune prices or times. Liquid portfolio investments may become illiquid or less liquid after purchase by a fund due to low trading volume, adverse investor perceptions and/or other market developments. Liquidity risk includes the risk that a fund will experience significant net redemptions at a time when it cannot find willing buyers for its portfolio securities or can only sell its portfolio securities at a material loss or at increased costs. Liquidity risk can be more pronounced in periods of market turmoil or in situations where ownership of shares of a fund are concentrated in one or a few investors.

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 a fund’s or its advisor’s control, including instances at third parties. A fund and its advisor seek to reduce these operational risks through controls and procedures. However, measures that seek to reduce these operational risks through controls and procedures may not address every possible risk and may be inadequate to address these risks.

Cyber Security Risk: A fund and its service providers’ use of internet, technology and information systems may expose the fund 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 fund and/or its service providers to suffer data corruption or lose operational functionality.

Performance

The bar chart and table immediately following illustrate the variability of the Portfolio’s returns and are meant to provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Portfolio. The bar chart shows the changes in the Portfolio’s performance from year to year. The table illustrates how annualized returns for certain periods, both before and after taxes, compare with those of a broad measure of market performance. The table also includes the performance of an additional index with a similar investment universe as the Portfolio. The Portfolio’s past performance (before and after taxes) is not an indication of future results. Updated performance information for the Portfolio can be obtained by visiting https://www.dimensional.com/us-en/funds.

The after-tax returns presented in the table for the Portfolio are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on an investor’s tax situation and may differ from those shown in the table. In addition, the after-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold shares of the Portfolio through tax-advantaged arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts.

18


 

DFA Municipal Bond PortfolioInstitutional Class Shares —Total Returns

PerformanceBarChartData(2016:0.31,2017:1.86,2018:1.2,2019:4.04,2020:3.26,2021:-0.55,2022:-4.37,2023:3.26)

   

January 2016-December 2023

 

Highest Quarter

Lowest Quarter

 

4.32% 2023, Q4

-4.12% 2022, Q1

                 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Annualized Returns (%)
Periods ended December 31, 2023

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Since

 

 

 

1 Year

 

5 Years

 

Inception

 

DFA Municipal Bond Portfolio

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Return Before Taxes

 

3.26%

 

1.08%

 

1.23%

1

 

Return After Taxes on Distributions

 

3.26%

 

1.08%

 

1.23%

1

 

Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Portfolio Shares

 

2.42%

 

1.11%

 

1.23%

1

S&P Intermediate Term National AMT-Free Municipal Bond Index

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes on sales)

 

5.21%

 

2.22%

 

2.21%

1

S&P National AMT-Free Municipal Bond Index2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes on sales)

 

6.24%

 

2.26%

 

2.37%

1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1.

Since inception March 10, 2015.

2.

Effective February 28, 2024, the Portfolio incorporated this broad-based securities market index to reflect the overall applicable securities market of the Portfolio.

Investment Advisor/Portfolio Management

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP serves as the investment advisor for the 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:

 Joseph F. Kolerich, Head of Fixed Income, Americas, member of the Investment Committee, Vice President, and Senior Portfolio Manager of the Advisor, has been a portfolio manager of the Portfolio since inception (2015).

 David A. Plecha, Global Head of Fixed Income Portfolio Management, member of the Investment Committee, Vice President, and Senior Portfolio Manager of the Advisor, has been a portfolio manager of the Portfolio since inception (2015).

19


 Travis A. Meldau, Vice President and Senior Portfolio Manager of the Advisor, has been a portfolio manager of the Portfolio since 2015.

Purchase and Redemption of Fund Shares

Investors may purchase or redeem shares of the Portfolio on each day that the New York Stock Exchange 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 distributions you receive from the Portfolio primarily are exempt from regular federal income tax. A portion of these distributions, however, may be subject to the federal alternative minimum tax and state and local taxes. The Portfolio may also make distributions that are taxable to you as ordinary income or capital gains.

Payments to Financial Intermediaries

If you purchase the 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.

20


DFA Short-Term Municipal Bond Portfolio

Investment Objective

The investment objective of the DFA Short-Term Municipal Bond Portfolio (the “Short-Term Municipal Bond Portfolio” or the “Portfolio”) is to provide current income that is exempt from federal personal income taxes and to preserve investors’ principal.

Fees and Expenses of the Portfolio

This table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy, hold or sell shares of the 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.

     

 

 

Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment): None

 

 

 

 

Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each
year as a percentage of the value of your investment)1

 

 

 

 

Management Fee

0.15%

Other Expenses

0.04%

Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses

0.19%

 

   

1

The “Management Fee” and “Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses" have been adjusted to reflect the decrease in the management fee payable by the Portfolio from 0.16% to 0.15% effective as of February 28, 2023.

EXAMPLE

This Example is meant to help you compare the cost of investing in the Portfolio with the cost of investing in other 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 whether you redeem or hold your shares would be:

       

1 Year

3 Years

5 Years

10 Years

$19

$61

$107

$243

PORTFOLIO TURNOVER

A 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 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 103% of the average value of its investment portfolio.

Principal Investment Strategies

The Short-Term Municipal Bond Portfolio seeks its investment objective by investing primarily in a universe of investment grade municipal securities, the interest on which is exempt from regular federal income tax. Municipal securities in which the Portfolio may invest include, among others, revenue bonds, general obligation bonds, industrial development bonds, municipal lease obligations, commercial paper, variable rate demand obligations and other instruments (including participation interests in such securities) issued by or on behalf of the states, territories and possessions of the United States (including the District of Columbia) and their political subdivisions, agencies and instrumentalities. The interest on the municipal securities purchased by the Portfolio, in the opinion of bond

21


counsel for the issuers and under current tax law, is exempt from federal income tax (i.e., excludable from gross income for individuals for federal income tax purposes but not necessarily exempt from state or local taxes). As a fundamental investment policy, under normal market conditions, the Portfolio will invest at least 80% of its net assets in municipal securities that pay interest exempt from federal income tax. The Portfolio does not currently intend to invest its assets in municipal securities whose interest is subject to the federal alternative minimum tax.

Generally, the Short-Term Municipal Bond Portfolio will acquire obligations that mature within three years from the date of settlement, but substantial investments may be made in obligations maturing up to ten years from the date of settlement when greater expected returns are available, and in variable rate demand obligations with longer maturities. Under normal circumstances, the Portfolio will maintain a weighted average maturity of three years or less. In making purchase decisions, if the expected term premium is greater for longer-term securities in the eligible maturity range, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP (the “Advisor”) will focus investment in the longer-term area, otherwise, the Portfolio will focus investment in the shorter-term area of the eligible maturity range. If a security has been redeemed by the issuer at a date prior to the stated final maturity date for the purposes of the above maturity restriction, the early redemption date shall be considered the maturity date regardless of the stated final maturity.

At least 75% of the assets of the Short-Term Municipal Bond Portfolio will be invested in municipal securities that, at the time of purchase, are rated in the top three credit-rating categories (e.g., Aaa, Aa and A for Moody’s Investor’s Service, Inc. (“Moody’s”) or AAA, AA and A for S&P Global Ratings (“S&P”) or Fitch Ratings Ltd. (“Fitch”), or an equivalent rating assigned by another nationally recognized statistical rating organization, or that are unrated but have been determined by the Advisor to be of comparable quality). No more than 25% of the Portfolio’s assets will be invested in municipal securities that, at the time of purchase, are rated in the lowest quarter of the investment grade spectrum (e.g., rated Baa1 to Baa3 (by Moody’s) or BBB+ to BBB- (by S&P or Fitch), or an equivalent rating assigned by another nationally recognized statistical rating organization, or that are unrated but have been determined by the Advisor to be of comparable quality). The fixed income securities in which the Portfolio invests are considered investment grade at the time of purchase.

Municipal securities are often issued to obtain funds for various public purposes, including the construction of a wide range of public facilities, such as bridges, highways, housing, hospitals, mass transportation facilities, schools, streets and public utilities, such as water and sewer works. Municipal securities include municipal leases, certificates of participation, municipal obligation components and municipal custody receipts. The Short-Term Municipal Bond Portfolio may invest more than 25% of its assets in municipal securities issued to finance projects in a particular segment of the bond market including, but not limited to, health care, housing, education, utilities, and transportation. The Portfolio also may invest more than 25% of its assets in industrial development bonds.

The Short-Term Municipal Bond Portfolio may (1) purchase certain municipal securities that are insured, (2) invest in municipal securities secured by mortgages on single-family homes and multi-family projects, (3) invest in pre-refunded municipal securities, (4) purchase tax-exempt municipal securities on a “when-issued” basis, and (5) use derivatives, such as fixed income related futures and options contracts, credit default swaps, and interest rate swaps, to hedge against changes in interest rates. The Portfolio may also invest in exchange-traded funds (ETFs) to gain exposure to the municipal bond market pending investment in municipal bonds. The Portfolio may also invest in money market funds. The Portfolio also may purchase or sell futures contracts and options on futures contracts, to hedge its interest rate exposure or for non-hedging purposes, such as a substitute for direct investment or to increase or decrease market exposure based on actual or expected cash inflows to or outflows from the Portfolio.

Although the Short-Term Municipal Bond Portfolio attempts to invest all of its assets in tax-exempt securities, it is possible, although not anticipated, that a portion of its assets may be invested in securities that pay taxable interest, including interest that may be subject to the federal alternative minimum tax. These investments could generate taxable income for shareholders.

Principal Risks

Because the value of your investment in the Portfolio will fluctuate, there is the risk that you will lose money. An investment in the Portfolio is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. The following is a description of principal risks of investing in the Portfolio.

22


Market Risk: Even a long-term investment approach cannot guarantee a profit. Economic, political, and issuer-specific events will cause the value of securities, and a fund that owns them, to rise or fall.

Interest Rate Risk: Fixed income securities are subject to interest rate risk because the prices of fixed income securities tend to move in the opposite direction of interest rates. When interest rates rise, fixed income security prices fall. During periods of very low or negative interest rates, a fund may be subject to a greater risk of rising interest rates. When interest rates fall, fixed income security prices rise. In general, fixed income securities with longer maturities are more sensitive to changes in interest rates.

Credit Risk: Credit risk is the risk that the issuer of a security, including a governmental entity, may be unable to make interest payments and/or repay principal when due. A downgrade to an issuer’s credit rating or a perceived change in an issuer’s financial strength may affect a security’s value, and thus, impact the performance of a fund holding such securities. The ability of a municipal securities issuer to make payments could be affected by litigation, legislation or other political events or the bankruptcy of the issuer.

Income Risk: Income risk is the risk that falling interest rates will cause a fund’s income to decline because, among other reasons, the proceeds from maturing short-term securities in its portfolio may be reinvested in lower-yielding securities.

Call Risk: Call risk is the risk that during periods of falling interest rates, an issuer will call or repay a higher-yielding fixed income security before its maturity date, forcing a fund to reinvest in fixed income securities with lower interest rates than the original obligations.

Tax Liability Risk: Tax liability risk is the risk that distributions by a fund become taxable to shareholders due to noncompliant conduct by a municipal bond issuer, unfavorable changes in federal or state tax laws, or adverse interpretations of tax laws by the Internal Revenue Service or state tax authorities or other factors. Such adverse interpretations or actions could cause interest from a security to become taxable, possibly retroactively, subjecting shareholders to increased tax liability. In addition, such adverse interpretations or actions could cause the value of a security, and therefore, the value of a fund’s shares, to decline.

Municipal Securities Risk: The risk of a municipal security generally depends on the financial and credit status of the issuer. Municipal securities can be significantly affected by political, regulatory or economic changes, including changes made in the law after issuance of the securities, as well as uncertainties in the municipal market related to taxation, legislative changes or the rights of municipal security holders, including in connection with an issuer’s insolvency.

Municipal Project-Specific Risk: A fund may be more sensitive to adverse economic, business or political developments if it invests a substantial portion of its assets in municipal securities that finance similar types of projects in a segment of the municipal bond market (such as education, health care, housing, education, utilities or transportation) or industrial development bonds. A change that affects one project in a particular segment of the market, such as proposed legislation on the financing of the project, a shortage of the materials needed for the project, or a declining need for the project, would likely affect all similar projects, thereby increasing market risk.

Derivatives Risk: Derivatives are instruments, such as swaps, futures contracts, and options thereon, whose value is derived from that of other assets, rates or indices. Derivatives can be used for hedging (attempting to reduce risk by offsetting one investment position with another) or non-hedging purposes. Hedging with derivatives may increase expenses, and there is no guarantee that a hedging strategy will work. While hedging can reduce or eliminate losses, it can also reduce or eliminate gains or cause losses if the market moves in a manner different from that anticipated by a fund or if the cost of the derivative outweighs the benefit of the hedge. The use of derivatives for non-hedging purposes may be considered to carry more risk than other types of investments. When a fund uses derivatives, the fund will be directly exposed to the risks of those derivatives. Derivative instruments are subject to a number of risks including counterparty, 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 a fund could lose more than the principal amount invested. Additional risks are associated with the use of swaps including counterparty and credit risk (the risk that the other party to a swap agreement will not fulfill its contractual obligations, whether because of bankruptcy or other default) and liquidity risk (the possible lack of a secondary market for the swap agreement). Credit risk increases when a fund is the seller of swaps and counterparty risk increases when the fund is a buyer of swaps. In addition, where a fund is the seller of swaps, it may

23


be required to liquidate portfolio securities at inopportune times in order to meet payment obligations. Swaps may be illiquid or difficult to value. Additionally, payments made or received by a fund under such derivatives may increase the amount of distributions taxable to you as ordinary income, increase or decrease the amount of capital gain distributions to you and/or decrease the amount available for distribution to you as exempt-interest dividends.

Liquidity Risk: Liquidity risk exists when particular portfolio investments are difficult to purchase or sell. To the extent that a fund holds illiquid investments, the fund’s performance may be reduced due to an inability to sell the investments at opportune prices or times. Liquid portfolio investments may become illiquid or less liquid after purchase by a fund due to low trading volume, adverse investor perceptions and/or other market developments. Liquidity risk includes the risk that a fund will experience significant net redemptions at a time when it cannot find willing buyers for its portfolio securities or can only sell its portfolio securities at a material loss or at increased costs. Liquidity risk can be more pronounced in periods of market turmoil or in situations where ownership of shares of a fund are concentrated in one or a few investors.

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 a fund’s or its advisor’s control, including instances at third parties. A fund and its advisor seek to reduce these operational risks through controls and procedures. However, measures that seek to reduce these operational risks through controls and procedures may not address every possible risk and may be inadequate to address these risks.

Cyber Security Risk: A fund and its service providers’ use of internet, technology and information systems may expose the fund 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 fund and/or its service providers to suffer data corruption or lose operational functionality.

Performance

The bar chart and table immediately following illustrate the variability of the Portfolio’s returns and are meant to provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Portfolio. The bar chart shows the changes in the Portfolio’s performance from year to year. The table illustrates how annualized returns for certain periods, both before and after taxes, compare with those of a broad measure of market performance. The table also includes the performance of an additional index with a similar investment universe as the Portfolio. The Portfolio’s past performance (before and after taxes) is not an indication of future results. Updated performance information for the Portfolio can be obtained by visiting https://www.dimensional.com/us-en/funds.

The after-tax returns presented in the table for the Portfolio are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on an investor’s tax situation and may differ from those shown in the table. In addition, the after-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold shares of the Portfolio through tax-advantaged arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts.

24


 

DFA Short-Term Municipal Bond PortfolioInstitutional Class Shares —Total Returns

PerformanceBarChartData(2014:0.57,2015:1.15,2016:0.05,2017:1.15,2018:1.21,2019:1.62,2020:0.83,2021:-0.11,2022:-0.36,2023:2.98)

   

January 2014-December 2023

 

Highest Quarter

Lowest Quarter

 

1.36% 2023, Q4

-0.96% 2022, Q3

                 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Annualized Returns (%)
Periods ended December 31, 2023

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1 Year

 

5 Years

 

10 Years

 

DFA Short-Term Municipal Bond Portfolio

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Return Before Taxes

 

2.98%

 

0.99%

 

0.91%

 

 

Return After Taxes on Distributions

 

2.98%

 

0.99%

 

0.91%

 

 

Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Portfolio Shares

 

2.57%

 

0.98%

 

0.92%

 

ICE BofA 1-3 Years US Municipal Securities Index1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)

 

3.32%

 

1.31%

 

1.11%

 

S&P National AMT-Free Municipal Bond Index2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes on sales)

 

6.24%

 

2.26%

 

2.97%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1.

ICE BofA index data copyright 2023 ICE Data Indices, LLC. Prior to July 1, 2022, index returns reflect no deduction for transaction costs. Effective July 1, 2022, index returns include transaction costs (as determined and calculated by the index provider), which may be higher or lower than the actual transaction costs incurred by the Portfolio.

2.

Effective February 28, 2024, the Portfolio incorporated this broad-based securities market index to reflect the overall applicable securities market of the Portfolio.

Investment Advisor/Portfolio Management

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP serves as the investment advisor for the Portfolio. The following individuals are responsible for leading the day-to-day management of the Portfolio:

 David A. Plecha, Global Head of Fixed Income Portfolio Management, member of the Investment Committee, Vice President, and Senior Portfolio Manager of the Advisor, has been a portfolio manager of the Portfolio since inception (2002).

 Joseph F. Kolerich, Head of Fixed Income, Americas, member of the Investment Committee, Vice President, and Senior Portfolio Manager of the Advisor, has been a portfolio manager of the Portfolio since 2012.

 Travis A. Meldau, Vice President and Senior Portfolio Manager of the Advisor, has been a portfolio manager of the Portfolio since 2015.

25


Purchase and Redemption of Fund Shares

Investors may purchase or redeem shares of the Portfolio on each day that the New York Stock Exchange 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 distributions you receive from the Portfolio primarily are exempt from regular federal income tax. A portion of these distributions, however, may be subject to the federal alternative minimum tax and state and local taxes. The Portfolio may also make distributions that are taxable to you as ordinary income or capital gains.

Payments to Financial Intermediaries

If you purchase the 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.

26


DFA Intermediate-Term Municipal Bond Portfolio

Investment Objective

The investment objective of the DFA Intermediate-Term Municipal Bond Portfolio (the “Intermediate-Term Municipal Bond Portfolio” or the “Portfolio”) is to seek to provide current income that is exempt from federal personal income tax.

Fees and Expenses of the Portfolio

This table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy, hold or sell shares of the 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.

     

 

 

Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment): None

 

 

 

 

Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each
year as a percentage of the value of your investment)

 

 

 

 

Management Fee

0.16%

Other Expenses

0.04%

Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses

0.20%

Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement1

0.01%

Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement

0.19%

 

   

1

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP (the “Advisor”) has agreed to waive certain fees and in certain instances, assume certain expenses of the Portfolio. The Fee Waiver and/or Expense Assumption Agreement for the Portfolio will remain in effect through February 28, 2025, and may only be terminated by the Fund’s Board of Directors prior to that date. Under certain circumstances, the Advisor retains the right to seek reimbursement for any fees previously waived and/or expenses previously assumed up to thirty-six months after such fee waiver and/or expense assumption.

EXAMPLE

This Example is meant to help you compare the cost of investing in the Portfolio with the cost of investing in other 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 whether you redeem or hold your shares would be:

       

1 Year

3 Years

5 Years

10 Years

$19

$63

$112

$254

PORTFOLIO TURNOVER

A 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 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 40% of the average value of its investment portfolio.

27


Principal Investment Strategies

The Intermediate-Term Municipal Bond Portfolio seeks its investment objective by investing primarily in a universe of investment grade municipal securities, the interest on which is exempt from regular federal income tax. Municipal securities in which the Portfolio may invest include, among others, revenue bonds, general obligation bonds, industrial development bonds, municipal lease obligations, commercial paper, variable rate demand obligations and other instruments (including participation interests in such securities) issued by or on behalf of the states, territories and possessions of the United States (including the District of Columbia) and their political subdivisions, agencies and instrumentalities. The interest on the municipal securities purchased by the Portfolio, in the opinion of bond counsel for the issuers and under current tax law, is exempt from federal income tax (i.e., excludable from gross income for individuals for federal income tax purposes but not necessarily exempt from state or local taxes). As a fundamental investment policy, under normal market conditions, the Portfolio will invest at least 80% of its net assets in municipal securities that pay interest exempt from federal income tax. The Portfolio does not currently intend to invest its assets in municipal securities whose interest is subject to the federal alternative minimum tax.

Generally, the Intermediate-Term Municipal Bond Portfolio will acquire obligations that mature more than three years from the date of settlement. Under normal circumstances, the Portfolio will generally maintain a weighted average duration of no more than one half year greater than, and no less than one year below, the weighted average duration of the S&P Intermediate Term National AMT-Free Municipal Bond Index, which was approximately 3.86 years as of December 31, 2023. From time to time, the Portfolio may deviate from this duration range when Dimensional Fund Advisors LP (the “Advisor”) determines it to be appropriate under the circumstances. In any event, the Portfolio will maintain a weighted average maturity of more than three years but less than ten years. If a security has been redeemed by the issuer at a date prior to the stated final maturity date for the purposes of the above duration and maturity restrictions, the early redemption date shall be considered the maturity date regardless of the stated final maturity. Duration is a measure of the sensitivity of a security’s price to changes in interest rates. The longer a security’s duration, the more sensitive it will be to changes in interest rates.

At least 75% of the assets of the Intermediate-Term Municipal Bond Portfolio will be invested in municipal securities that, at the time of purchase, are rated in the top three credit-rating categories (e.g., Aaa, Aa and A for Moody’s Investor’s Service, Inc. (“Moody’s”) or AAA, AA and A for S&P Global Ratings (“S&P”) or Fitch Ratings Ltd. (“Fitch”) or an equivalent rating assigned by another nationally recognized statistical rating organization, or that are unrated but have been determined by the Advisor to be of comparable quality). No more than 25% of the Portfolio’s assets will be invested in municipal securities that, at the time of purchase, are rated in the lowest quarter of the investment grade spectrum (e.g, rated Baa1 to Baa3 (by Moody’s) or BBB+ to BBB- (by S&P or Fitch), or an equivalent rating assigned by another nationally recognized statistical rating organization, or that are unrated but have been determined by the Advisor to be of comparable quality). The fixed income securities in which the Portfolio invests are considered investment grade at the time of purchase.

Municipal securities are often issued to obtain funds for various public purposes, including the construction of a wide range of public facilities, such as bridges, highways, housing, hospitals, mass transportation facilities, schools, streets and public utilities, such as water and sewer works. Municipal securities include municipal leases, certificates of participation, municipal obligation components and municipal custody receipts. The Intermediate-Term Municipal Bond Portfolio may invest more than 25% of its assets in municipal securities issued to finance projects in a particular segment of the bond market including, but not limited to, health care, housing, education, utilities, and transportation. The Portfolio also may invest more than 25% of its assets in industrial development bonds.

The Intermediate-Term Municipal Bond Portfolio may (1) purchase certain municipal securities that are insured, (2) invest in municipal securities secured by mortgages on single-family homes and multi-family projects, (3) invest in pre-refunded municipal securities, (4) purchase tax-exempt municipal securities on a “when-issued” basis, and (5) use derivatives, such as fixed income related futures and options contracts, credit default swaps, and interest rate swaps, to hedge against changes in interest rates. The Portfolio may also invest in exchange-traded funds (ETFs) to gain exposure to the municipal bond market pending investment in municipal bonds. The Portfolio may also invest in money market funds. The Portfolio also may purchase or sell futures contracts and options on futures contracts, to hedge its interest rate exposure or for non-hedging purposes, such as a substitute for direct investment or to increase or decrease market exposure based on actual or expected cash inflows to or outflows from the Portfolio.

Although the Intermediate-Term Municipal Bond Portfolio attempts to invest all of its assets in tax-exempt securities, it is possible, although not anticipated, that a portion of its assets may be invested in securities that pay taxable

28


interest, including interest that may be subject to the federal alternative minimum tax. These investments could generate taxable income for shareholders.

Principal Risks

Because the value of your investment in the Portfolio will fluctuate, there is the risk that you will lose money. An investment in the Portfolio is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. The following is a description of principal risks of investing in the Portfolio.

Market Risk: Even a long-term investment approach cannot guarantee a profit. Economic, political, and issuer-specific events will cause the value of securities, and a fund that owns them, to rise or fall.

Interest Rate Risk: Fixed income securities are subject to interest rate risk because the prices of fixed income securities tend to move in the opposite direction of interest rates. When interest rates rise, fixed income security prices fall. During periods of very low or negative interest rates, a fund may be subject to a greater risk of rising interest rates. When interest rates fall, fixed income security prices rise. In general, fixed income securities with longer maturities are more sensitive to changes in interest rates.

Credit Risk: Credit risk is the risk that the issuer of a security, including a governmental entity, may be unable to make interest payments and/or repay principal when due. A downgrade to an issuer’s credit rating or a perceived change in an issuer’s financial strength may affect a security’s value, and thus, impact the performance of a fund holding such securities. The ability of a municipal securities issuer to make payments could be affected by litigation, legislation or other political events or the bankruptcy of the issuer.

Income Risk: Income risk is the risk that falling interest rates will cause a fund’s income to decline because, among other reasons, the proceeds from maturing short-term securities in its portfolio may be reinvested in lower-yielding securities.

Call Risk: Call risk is the risk that during periods of falling interest rates, an issuer will call or repay a higher-yielding fixed income security before its maturity date, forcing a fund to reinvest in fixed income securities with lower interest rates than the original obligations.

Tax Liability Risk: Tax liability risk is the risk that distributions by a fund become taxable to shareholders due to noncompliant conduct by a municipal bond issuer, unfavorable changes in federal or state tax laws, or adverse interpretations of tax laws by the Internal Revenue Service or state tax authorities or other factors. Such adverse interpretations or actions could cause interest from a security to become taxable, possibly retroactively, subjecting shareholders to increased tax liability. In addition, such adverse interpretations or actions could cause the value of a security, and therefore, the value of a fund’s shares, to decline.

Municipal Securities Risk: The risk of a municipal security generally depends on the financial and credit status of the issuer. Municipal securities can be significantly affected by political, regulatory or economic changes, including changes made in the law after issuance of the securities, as well as uncertainties in the municipal market related to taxation, legislative changes or the rights of municipal security holders, including in connection with an issuer’s insolvency.

Municipal Project-Specific Risk: A fund may be more sensitive to adverse economic, business or political developments if it invests a substantial portion of its assets in municipal securities that finance similar types of projects in a segment of the municipal bond market (such as education, health care, housing, education, utilities or transportation) or industrial development bonds. A change that affects one project in a particular segment of the market, such as proposed legislation on the financing of the project, a shortage of the materials needed for the project, or a declining need for the project, would likely affect all similar projects, thereby increasing market risk.

Derivatives Risk: Derivatives are instruments, such as swaps, futures contracts, and options thereon, whose value is derived from that of other assets, rates or indices. Derivatives can be used for hedging (attempting to reduce risk by offsetting one investment position with another) or non-hedging purposes. Hedging with derivatives may increase expenses, and there is no guarantee that a hedging strategy will work. While hedging can reduce or eliminate

29


losses, it can also reduce or eliminate gains or cause losses if the market moves in a manner different from that anticipated by a fund or if the cost of the derivative outweighs the benefit of the hedge. The use of derivatives for non-hedging purposes may be considered to carry more risk than other types of investments. When a fund uses derivatives, the fund will be directly exposed to the risks of those derivatives. Derivative instruments are subject to a number of risks including counterparty, 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 a fund could lose more than the principal amount invested. Additional risks are associated with the use of swaps including counterparty and credit risk (the risk that the other party to a swap agreement will not fulfill its contractual obligations, whether because of bankruptcy or other default) and liquidity risk (the possible lack of a secondary market for the swap agreement). Credit risk increases when a fund is the seller of swaps and counterparty risk increases when the fund is a buyer of swaps. In addition, where a fund is the seller of swaps, it may be required to liquidate portfolio securities at inopportune times in order to meet payment obligations. Swaps may be illiquid or difficult to value. Additionally, payments made or received by a fund under such derivatives may increase the amount of distributions taxable to you as ordinary income, increase or decrease the amount of capital gain distributions to you and/or decrease the amount available for distribution to you as exempt-interest dividends.

Liquidity Risk: Liquidity risk exists when particular portfolio investments are difficult to purchase or sell. To the extent that a fund holds illiquid investments, the fund’s performance may be reduced due to an inability to sell the investments at opportune prices or times. Liquid portfolio investments may become illiquid or less liquid after purchase by a fund due to low trading volume, adverse investor perceptions and/or other market developments. Liquidity risk includes the risk that a fund will experience significant net redemptions at a time when it cannot find willing buyers for its portfolio securities or can only sell its portfolio securities at a material loss or at increased costs. Liquidity risk can be more pronounced in periods of market turmoil or in situations where ownership of shares of a fund are concentrated in one or a few investors.

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 a fund’s or its advisor’s control, including instances at third parties. A fund and its advisor seek to reduce these operational risks through controls and procedures. However, measures that seek to reduce these operational risks through controls and procedures may not address every possible risk and may be inadequate to address these risks.

Cyber Security Risk: A fund and its service providers’ use of internet, technology and information systems may expose the fund 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 fund and/or its service providers to suffer data corruption or lose operational functionality.

Performance

The bar chart and table immediately following illustrate the variability of the Portfolio’s returns and are meant to provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Portfolio. The bar chart shows the changes in the Portfolio’s performance from year to year. The table illustrates how annualized returns for certain periods, both before and after taxes, compare with those of a broad measure of market performance. The table also includes the performance of an additional index with a similar investment universe as the Portfolio. The Portfolio’s past performance (before and after taxes) is not an indication of future results. Updated performance information for the Portfolio can be obtained by visiting https://www.dimensional.com/us-en/funds.

The after-tax returns presented in the table for the Portfolio are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on an investor’s tax situation and may differ from those shown in the table. In addition, the after-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold shares of the Portfolio through tax-advantaged arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts.

30


 

DFA Intermediate-Term Municipal Bond PortfolioInstitutional Class Shares —Total Returns

PerformanceBarChartData(2014:5.49,2015:2.6,2016:-0.15,2017:2.14,2018:1.34,2019:4.59,2020:3.66,2021:-0.5,2022:-3.69,2023:4.29)

   

January 2014-December 2023

 

Highest Quarter

Lowest Quarter

 

5.24% 2023, Q4

-3.70% 2022, Q1

                 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Annualized Returns (%)
Periods ended December 31, 2023

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1 Year

 

5 Years

 

10 Years

 

DFA Intermediate-Term Municipal Bond Portfolio

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Return Before Taxes

 

4.29%

 

1.62%

 

1.94%

 

 

Return After Taxes on Distributions

 

4.29%

 

1.62%

 

1.94%

 

 

Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Portfolio Shares

 

3.28%

 

1.60%

 

1.85%

 

S&P Intermediate Term National AMT-Free Municipal Bond Index

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes on sales)

 

5.21%

 

2.22%

 

2.58%

 

S&P National AMT-Free Municipal Bond Index1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes on sales)

 

6.24%

 

2.26%

 

2.97%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1.

Effective February 28, 2024, the Portfolio incorporated this broad-based securities market index to reflect the overall applicable securities market of the Portfolio.

Investment Advisor/Portfolio Management

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP serves as the investment advisor for the Portfolio. The following individuals are responsible for leading the day-to-day management of the Portfolio:

 Joseph F. Kolerich, Head of Fixed Income, Americas, member of the Investment Committee, Vice President, and Senior Portfolio Manager of the Advisor, has been a portfolio manager of the Portfolio since inception (2012).

 David A. Plecha, Global Head of Fixed Income Portfolio Management, member of the Investment Committee, Vice President, and Senior Portfolio Manager of the Advisor, has been a portfolio manager of the Portfolio since inception (2012).

 Travis A. Meldau, Vice President and Senior Portfolio Manager of the Advisor, has been a portfolio manager of the Portfolio since 2015.

31


Purchase and Redemption of Fund Shares

Investors may purchase or redeem shares of the Portfolio on each day that the New York Stock Exchange 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 distributions you receive from the Portfolio primarily are exempt from regular federal income tax. A portion of these distributions, however, may be subject to the federal alternative minimum tax and state and local taxes. The Portfolio may also make distributions that are taxable to you as ordinary income or capital gains.

Payments to Financial Intermediaries

If you purchase the 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.

32


DFA Selective State Municipal Bond Portfolio

Investment Objective

The investment objective of the DFA Selective State Municipal Bond Portfolio (the “Selective State Municipal Bond Portfolio” or the “Portfolio”) is to seek to provide current income that is expected to be exempt from federal personal income taxes.

Fees and Expenses of the Portfolio

This table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy, hold or sell shares of the 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.

     

 

 

Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment): None

 

 

 

 

Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each
year as a percentage of the value of your investment)

 

 

 

 

Management Fee

0.20%

Other Expenses

0.05%

Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses

0.25%

Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement1

0.02%

Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement

0.23%

 

   

1

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP (the “Advisor”) has agreed to waive certain fees and in certain instances, assume certain expenses of the Portfolio. The Fee Waiver and/or Expense Assumption Agreement for the Portfolio will remain in effect through February 28, 2025, and may only be terminated by the Fund’s Board of Directors prior to that date. Under certain circumstances, the Advisor retains the right to seek reimbursement for any fees previously waived and/or expenses previously assumed up to thirty-six months after such fee waiver and/or expense assumption.

EXAMPLE

This Example is meant to help you compare the cost of investing in the Portfolio with the cost of investing in other 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 whether you redeem or hold your shares would be:

       

1 Year

3 Years

5 Years

10 Years

$24

$78

$139

$316

PORTFOLIO TURNOVER

A 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 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 77% of the average value of its investment portfolio.

33


Principal Investment Strategies

The Selective State Municipal Bond Portfolio seeks its investment objective by investing primarily in a universe of investment grade municipal securities, the interest on which is exempt from regular federal income tax. Municipal securities in which the Portfolio may invest include, among others, revenue bonds, general obligation bonds, industrial development bonds, municipal lease obligations, commercial paper, variable rate demand obligations and other instruments (including participation interests in such securities) issued by or on behalf of the states, territories, and possessions of the United States (including the District of Columbia) and their political subdivisions, agencies, and instrumentalities (“state issuers”). As of the date of this prospectus, the Advisor expects to emphasize investments in obligations issued by or on behalf of: (i) state issuers with no personal income tax (e.g., Wyoming, Washington, Tennessee, Texas, South Dakota, Nevada, Florida, and Alaska); (ii) state issuers that generally tax income earned from both in-state and out-of-state municipal securities (e.g., Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin); (iii) state issuers that do not tax income earned from in-state municipal securities and certain out-of-state municipal securities (e.g., Utah) and (iv) state issuers that do not tax income earned from in-state or any out-of-state municipal securities (e.g., District of Columbia). From time to time, the Advisor may emphasize investments in additional state issuers or reduce the Portfolio’s emphasis on certain state issuers without notice to shareholders. The interest on the municipal securities purchased by the Portfolio, in the opinion of bond counsel for the issuers and under current tax law, is exempt from federal income tax (i.e., excludable from gross income for individuals for federal income tax purposes but not necessarily exempt from state or local taxes). As a fundamental investment policy, under normal market conditions, the Portfolio will invest at least 80% of its net assets in municipal securities that pay interest exempt from federal income tax. The Portfolio does not currently intend to invest its assets in municipal securities whose interest is subject to the federal alternative minimum tax.

Generally, the Selective State Municipal Bond Portfolio will acquire obligations that mature within twenty years from the date of settlement, and in variable rate demand obligations with longer maturities. Under normal circumstances, the Portfolio will maintain a weighted average duration of more than three years but less than five years. In making purchase decisions, if the expected term premium is greater for longer-term securities in the eligible maturity range, the Advisor will focus investment in the longer-term area, otherwise, the Portfolio will focus investment in the shorter-term area of the eligible maturity range. If a security has been redeemed by the issuer at a date prior to the stated final maturity date for the purposes of the above duration restriction, the early redemption date shall be considered the maturity date regardless of the stated final maturity. Duration is a measure of the sensitivity of a security’s price to changes in interest rates. The longer a security’s duration, the more sensitive it will be to changes in interest rates.

At least 75% of the assets of the Selective State Municipal Bond Portfolio will be invested in municipal securities that, at the time of purchase, are rated in the top three credit-rating categories (e.g., Aaa, Aa and A for Moody’s Investor’s Service, Inc. (“Moody’s”) or AAA, AA and A for S&P Global Ratings (“S&P”) or Fitch Ratings Ltd. (“Fitch”), or an equivalent rating assigned by another nationally recognized statistical rating organization, or that are unrated but have been determined by the Advisor to be of comparable quality). No more than 25% of the Portfolio’s assets will be invested in municipal securities that, at the time of purchase, are rated in the lowest quarter of the investment grade spectrum (e.g., rated Baa1 to Baa3 (by Moody’s) or BBB+ to BBB- (by S&P or Fitch), or an equivalent rating assigned by another nationally recognized statistical rating organization, or that are unrated but have been determined by the Advisor to be of comparable quality). The fixed income securities in which the Portfolio invests are considered investment grade at the time of purchase.

Municipal securities are often issued to obtain funds for various public purposes, including the construction of a wide range of public facilities, such as bridges, highways, housing, hospitals, mass transportation facilities, schools, streets and public utilities, such as water and sewer works. Municipal securities include municipal leases, certificates of participation, municipal obligation components and municipal custody receipts. The Selective State Municipal Bond Portfolio may invest more than 25% of its assets in municipal securities issued to finance projects in a particular segment of the bond market including, but not limited to, health care, housing, education, utilities, and transportation. The Portfolio also may invest more than 25% of its assets in industrial development bonds.

The Selective State Municipal Bond Portfolio may (1) purchase certain municipal securities that are insured, (2) invest in municipal securities secured by mortgages on single-family homes and multi-family projects, (3) invest in pre-refunded municipal securities, (4) purchase tax-exempt municipal securities on a “when-issued” basis, and (5) use derivatives, such as fixed income related futures and options contracts, credit default swaps and interest rate swaps, to hedge against changes in interest rates. The Portfolio may also invest in exchange-traded funds (ETFs) to gain

34


exposure to the municipal bond market pending investment in municipal bonds. The Portfolio may also invest in money market funds. The Portfolio also may purchase or sell futures contracts and options on futures contracts, to hedge its interest rate exposure or for non-hedging purposes, such as a substitute for direct investment or to increase or decrease market exposure based on actual or expected cash inflows to or outflows from the Portfolio.

Although the Selective State Municipal Bond Portfolio attempts to invest all of its assets in tax-exempt securities, it is possible, although not anticipated, that a portion of its assets may be invested in securities that pay taxable interest, including interest that may be subject to the federal alternative minimum tax. These investments could generate taxable income for shareholders.

Principal Risks

Because the value of your investment in the Portfolio will fluctuate, there is the risk that you will lose money. An investment in the Portfolio is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. The following is a description of principal risks of investing in the Portfolio.

Market Risk: Even a long-term investment approach cannot guarantee a profit. Economic, political, and issuer-specific events will cause the value of securities, and a fund that owns them, to rise or fall.

Interest Rate Risk: Fixed income securities are subject to interest rate risk because the prices of fixed income securities tend to move in the opposite direction of interest rates. When interest rates rise, fixed income security prices fall. During periods of very low or negative interest rates, a fund may be subject to a greater risk of rising interest rates. When interest rates fall, fixed income security prices rise. In general, fixed income securities with longer maturities are more sensitive to changes in interest rates.

Credit Risk: Credit risk is the risk that the issuer of a security, including a governmental entity, may be unable to make interest payments and/or repay principal when due. A downgrade to an issuer’s credit rating or a perceived change in an issuer’s financial strength may affect a security’s value, and thus, impact the performance of a fund holding such securities. The ability of a municipal securities issuer to make payments could be affected by litigation, legislation or other political events or the bankruptcy of the issuer.

Income Risk: Income risk is the risk that falling interest rates will cause a fund’s income to decline because, among other reasons, the proceeds from maturing short-term securities in its portfolio may be reinvested in lower-yielding securities.

Call Risk: Call risk is the risk that during periods of falling interest rates, an issuer will call or repay a higher-yielding fixed income security before its maturity date, forcing a fund to reinvest in fixed income securities with lower interest rates than the original obligations.

Tax Liability Risk: Tax liability risk is the risk that distributions by a fund become taxable to shareholders due to noncompliant conduct by a municipal bond issuer, unfavorable changes in federal or state tax laws, or adverse interpretations of tax laws by the Internal Revenue Service or state tax authorities or other factors. Such adverse interpretations or actions could cause interest from a security to become taxable, possibly retroactively, subjecting shareholders to increased tax liability. In addition, such adverse interpretations or actions could cause the value of a security, and therefore, the value of a fund’s shares, to decline.

Municipal Securities Risk: The risk of a municipal security generally depends on the financial and credit status of the issuer. Municipal securities can be significantly affected by political, regulatory or economic changes, including changes made in the law after issuance of the securities, as well as uncertainties in the municipal market related to taxation, legislative changes or the rights of municipal security holders, including in connection with an issuer’s insolvency.

Municipal Project-Specific Risk: A fund may be more sensitive to adverse economic, business or political developments if it invests a substantial portion of its assets in municipal securities that finance similar types of projects in a segment of the municipal bond market (such as education, health care, housing, education, utilities or transportation) or industrial development bonds. A change that affects one project in a particular segment of the

35


market, such as proposed legislation on the financing of the project, a shortage of the materials needed for the project, or a declining need for the project, would likely affect all similar projects, thereby increasing market risk.

Derivatives Risk: Derivatives are instruments, such as swaps, futures contracts, and options thereon, whose value is derived from that of other assets, rates or indices. Derivatives can be used for hedging (attempting to reduce risk by offsetting one investment position with another) or non-hedging purposes. Hedging with derivatives may increase expenses, and there is no guarantee that a hedging strategy will work. While hedging can reduce or eliminate losses, it can also reduce or eliminate gains or cause losses if the market moves in a manner different from that anticipated by a fund or if the cost of the derivative outweighs the benefit of the hedge. The use of derivatives for non-hedging purposes may be considered to carry more risk than other types of investments. When a fund uses derivatives, the fund will be directly exposed to the risks of those derivatives. Derivative instruments are subject to a number of risks including counterparty, 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 a fund could lose more than the principal amount invested. Additional risks are associated with the use of swaps including counterparty and credit risk (the risk that the other party to a swap agreement will not fulfill its contractual obligations, whether because of bankruptcy or other default) and liquidity risk (the possible lack of a secondary market for the swap agreement). Credit risk increases when a fund is the seller of swaps and counterparty risk increases when the fund is a buyer of swaps. In addition, where a fund is the seller of swaps, it may be required to liquidate portfolio securities at inopportune times in order to meet payment obligations. Swaps may be illiquid or difficult to value. Additionally, payments made or received by a fund under such derivatives may increase the amount of distributions taxable to you as ordinary income, increase or decrease the amount of capital gain distributions to you and/or decrease the amount available for distribution to you as exempt-interest dividends.

Liquidity Risk: Liquidity risk exists when particular portfolio investments are difficult to purchase or sell. To the extent that a fund holds illiquid investments, the fund’s performance may be reduced due to an inability to sell the investments at opportune prices or times. Liquid portfolio investments may become illiquid or less liquid after purchase by a fund due to low trading volume, adverse investor perceptions and/or other market developments. Liquidity risk includes the risk that a fund will experience significant net redemptions at a time when it cannot find willing buyers for its portfolio securities or can only sell its portfolio securities at a material loss or at increased costs. Liquidity risk can be more pronounced in periods of market turmoil or in situations where ownership of shares of a fund are concentrated in one or a few investors.

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 a fund’s or its advisor’s control, including instances at third parties. A fund and its advisor seek to reduce these operational risks through controls and procedures. However, measures that seek to reduce these operational risks through controls and procedures may not address every possible risk and may be inadequate to address these risks.

Cyber Security Risk: A fund and its service providers’ use of internet, technology and information systems may expose the fund 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 fund and/or its service providers to suffer data corruption or lose operational functionality.

Performance

The bar chart and table immediately following illustrate the variability of the Portfolio’s returns and are meant to provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Portfolio. The bar chart shows the changes in the Portfolio’s performance from year to year. The table illustrates how annualized returns for certain periods, both before and after taxes, compare with those of a broad measure of market performance. The table also includes the performance of an additional index with a similar investment universe as the Portfolio. The Portfolio’s past performance (before and after taxes) is not an indication of future results. Updated performance information for the Portfolio can be obtained by visiting https://www.dimensional.com/us-en/funds.

The after-tax returns presented in the table for the Portfolio are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on an investor’s tax situation and may differ from those shown in the table. In addition, the after-tax returns

36


shown are not relevant to investors who hold shares of the Portfolio through tax-advantaged arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts.

 

DFA Selective State Municipal Bond PortfolioInstitutional Class Shares —Total Returns

PerformanceBarChartData(2021:0.1,2022:-6.62,2023:3.78)

   

January 2021-December 2023

Highest Quarter

Lowest Quarter

4.28% 2023, Q4

-5.29% 2022, Q1

             

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Annualized Returns (%)
Periods ended December 31, 2023

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Since

 

 

 

1 Year

 

Inception

 

DFA Selective State Municipal Bond Portfolio

 

 

 

 

 

 

Return Before Taxes

 

3.78%

 

-0.63%

1

 

Return After Taxes on Distributions

 

3.78%

 

-0.63%

1

 

Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Portfolio Shares

 

2.98%

 

-0.24%

1

S&P Intermediate Term National AMT-Free Municipal Bond Index

 

 

 

 

 

(reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes on sales)

 

5.21%

 

0.55%

1

S&P National AMT-Free Municipal Bond Index2

 

 

 

 

 

(reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes on sales)

 

6.24%

 

0.31%

1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1.

Since inception September 30, 2020.

2.

Effective February 28, 2024, the Portfolio incorporated this broad-based securities market index to reflect the overall applicable securities market of the Portfolio.

Investment Advisor/Portfolio Management

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP serves as the investment advisor for the 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:

 Joseph F. Kolerich, Head of Fixed Income, Americas, member of the Investment Committee, Vice President, and Senior Portfolio Manager of the Advisor, has been a portfolio manager of the Portfolio since inception (2020).

 Travis A. Meldau, Vice President and Senior Portfolio Manager of the Advisor, has been a portfolio manager of the Portfolio since inception (2020).

37


 David A. Plecha, Global Head of Fixed Income Portfolio Management, member of the Investment Committee, Vice President, and Senior Portfolio Manager of the Advisor, has been a portfolio manager of the Portfolio since inception (2020).

Purchase and Redemption of Fund Shares

Investors may purchase or redeem shares of the Portfolio on each day that the New York Stock Exchange 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 distributions you receive from the Portfolio primarily are exempt from regular federal income tax. A portion of these distributions, however, may be subject to the federal alternative minimum tax and state and local taxes. The Portfolio may also make distributions that are taxable to you as ordinary income or capital gains.

Payments to Financial Intermediaries

If you purchase the 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.

38


DFA Short-Term Selective State Municipal Bond Portfolio

Investment Objective

The investment objective of the DFA Short-Term Selective State Municipal Bond Portfolio (the “Short-Term Selective State Municipal Bond Portfolio” or “Portfolio”) is to seek to provide current income that is expected to be exempt from federal personal income taxes.

Fees and Expenses of the Portfolio

This table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy, hold or sell shares of the 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.

     

 

 

Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment): None

 

 

 

 

Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each
year as a percentage of the value of your investment)

 

 

 

 

Management Fee

0.18%

Other Expenses

0.14%

Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses

0.32%

Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement1

0.07%

Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement

0.25%

 

   

1

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP (the “Advisor”) has agreed to waive certain fees and in certain instances, assume certain expenses of the Portfolio. The Fee Waiver and/or Expense Assumption Agreement for the Portfolio will remain in effect through February 28, 2025, and may only be terminated by the Fund’s Board of Directors prior to that date. Under certain circumstances, the Advisor retains the right to seek reimbursement for any fees previously waived and/or expenses previously assumed up to thirty-six months after such fee waiver and/or expense assumption.

EXAMPLE

This Example is meant to help you compare the cost of investing in the Portfolio with the cost of investing in other 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 whether you redeem or hold your shares would be:

       

1 Year

3 Years

5 Years

10 Years

$26

$96

$173

$399

PORTFOLIO TURNOVER

A 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 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 90% of the average value of its investment portfolio.

39


Principal Investment Strategies

The Short-Term Selective State Municipal Bond Portfolio seeks its investment objective by investing primarily in a universe of investment grade municipal securities, the interest on which is exempt from regular federal income tax. Municipal securities in which the Portfolio may invest include, among others, revenue bonds, general obligation bonds, industrial development bonds, municipal lease obligations, commercial paper, variable rate demand obligations and other instruments (including participation interests in such securities) issued by or on behalf of the states, territories, and possessions of the United States (including the District of Columbia) and their political subdivisions, agencies, and instrumentalities (“state issuers”). As of the date of this prospectus, the Advisor expects to emphasize investments in obligations issued by or on behalf of: (i) state issuers with no personal income tax (e.g., Wyoming, Washington, Tennessee, Texas, South Dakota, Nevada, Florida, and Alaska); (ii) state issuers that generally tax income earned from both in state and out-of-state municipal securities (e.g., Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin); (iii) state issuers that do not tax income earned from in-state municipal securities and certain out-of-state municipal securities (e.g., Utah) and (iv) state issuers that do not tax income earned from in-state or any out-of-state municipal securities (e.g., District of Columbia). From time to time, the Advisor may emphasize investments in additional state issuers or reduce the Portfolio’s emphasis on certain state issuers without notice to shareholders. The interest on the municipal securities purchased by the Portfolio, in the opinion of bond counsel for the issuers and under current tax law, is exempt from federal income tax (i.e., excludable from gross income for individuals for federal income tax purposes but not necessarily exempt from state or local taxes). As a fundamental investment policy, under normal market conditions, the Portfolio will invest at least 80% of its net assets in municipal securities that pay interest exempt from federal income tax.

The Portfolio does not currently intend to invest its assets in municipal securities whose interest is subject to the federal alternative minimum tax.

Generally, the Portfolio will acquire obligations that mature within three years from the date of settlement, but substantial investments may be made in obligations maturing up to ten years from the date of settlement when greater expected returns are available, and in variable rate demand obligations with longer maturities. Under normal circumstances, the Portfolio will maintain a weighted average maturity of three years or less. In making purchase decisions, if the expected term premium is greater for longer-term securities in the eligible maturity range, the Advisor will focus investment in the longer-term area, otherwise, the Portfolio will focus investment in the shorter-term area of the eligible maturity range. If a security has been redeemed by the issuer at a date prior to the stated final maturity date for the purposes of the above maturity restriction, the early redemption date shall be considered the maturity date regardless of the stated final maturity.

At least 75% of the assets of the Portfolio will be invested in municipal securities that, at the time of purchase, are rated in the top three credit-rating categories (e.g., Aaa, Aa and A for Moody’s Investor’s Service, Inc. (“Moody’s”), AAA, AA and A for S&P Global Ratings (“S&P”) or Fitch Ratings Ltd. (“Fitch”), or an equivalent rating assigned by another nationally recognized statistical rating organization, or that are unrated but have been determined by the Advisor to be of comparable quality). No more than 25% of the Portfolio’s assets will be invested in municipal securities that, at the time of purchase, are rated in the lowest quarter of the investment grade spectrum (e.g., rated Baa1 to Baa3 (by Moody’s) or BBB+ to BBB- (by S&P or Fitch), or an equivalent rating assigned by another nationally recognized statistical rating organization, or that are unrated but have been determined by the Advisor to be of comparable quality). The fixed income securities in which the Portfolio invests are considered investment grade at the time of purchase.

Municipal securities are often issued to obtain funds for various public purposes, including the construction of a wide range of public facilities, such as bridges, highways, housing, hospitals, mass transportation facilities, schools, streets and public utilities, such as water and sewer works. Municipal securities include municipal leases, certificates of participation, municipal obligation components and municipal custody receipts. The Portfolio may invest more than 25% of its assets in municipal securities issued to finance projects in a particular segment of the bond market including, but not limited to, health care, housing, education, utilities, and transportation. The Portfolio also may invest more than 25% of its assets in industrial development bonds.

The Portfolio may (1) purchase certain municipal securities that are insured, (2) invest in municipal securities secured by mortgages on single-family homes and multi-family projects, (3) invest in pre-refunded municipal securities, (4) purchase tax-exempt municipal securities on a “when-issued” basis, and (5) use derivatives, such as fixed income related futures and options contracts, credit default swaps, and interest rate swaps, to hedge against changes in

40


interest rates. The Portfolio may also invest in exchange-traded funds (ETFs) to gain exposure to the municipal bond market pending investment in municipal bonds. The Portfolio may also invest in money market funds. The Portfolio also may purchase or sell futures contracts and options on futures contracts, to hedge its interest rate exposure or for non-hedging purposes, such as a substitute for direct investment or to increase or decrease market exposure based on actual or expected cash inflows to or outflows from the Portfolio.

Although the Portfolio attempts to invest all of its assets in tax-exempt securities, it is possible, although not anticipated, that a portion of its assets may be invested in securities that pay taxable interest, including interest that may be subject to the federal alternative minimum tax. These investments could generate taxable income for shareholders.

Principal Risks

Because the value of your investment in the Portfolio will fluctuate, there is the risk that you will lose money. An investment in the Portfolio is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. The following is a description of principal risks of investing in the Portfolio.

Market Risk: Even a long-term investment approach cannot guarantee a profit. Economic, political, and issuer-specific events will cause the value of securities, and a fund that owns them, to rise or fall.

Interest Rate Risk: Fixed income securities are subject to interest rate risk because the prices of fixed income securities tend to move in the opposite direction of interest rates. When interest rates rise, fixed income security prices fall. During periods of very low or negative interest rates, a fund may be subject to a greater risk of rising interest rates. When interest rates fall, fixed income security prices rise. In general, fixed income securities with longer maturities are more sensitive to changes in interest rates.

Credit Risk: Credit risk is the risk that the issuer of a security, including a governmental entity, may be unable to make interest payments and/or repay principal when due. A downgrade to an issuer’s credit rating or a perceived change in an issuer’s financial strength may affect a security’s value, and thus, impact the performance of a fund holding such securities. The ability of a municipal securities issuer to make payments could be affected by litigation, legislation or other political events or the bankruptcy of the issuer.

Income Risk: Income risk is the risk that falling interest rates will cause a fund’s income to decline because, among other reasons, the proceeds from maturing short-term securities in its portfolio may be reinvested in lower-yielding securities.

Call Risk: Call risk is the risk that during periods of falling interest rates, an issuer will call or repay a higher-yielding fixed income security before its maturity date, forcing a fund to reinvest in fixed income securities with lower interest rates than the original obligations.

Tax Liability Risk: Tax liability risk is the risk that distributions by a fund become taxable to shareholders due to noncompliant conduct by a municipal bond issuer, unfavorable changes in federal or state tax laws, or adverse interpretations of tax laws by the Internal Revenue Service or state tax authorities or other factors. Such adverse interpretations or actions could cause interest from a security to become taxable, possibly retroactively, subjecting shareholders to increased tax liability. In addition, such adverse interpretations or actions could cause the value of a security, and therefore, the value of a fund’s shares, to decline.

Municipal Securities Risk: The risk of a municipal security generally depends on the financial and credit status of the issuer. Municipal securities can be significantly affected by political, regulatory or economic changes, including changes made in the law after issuance of the securities, as well as uncertainties in the municipal market related to taxation, legislative changes or the rights of municipal security holders, including in connection with an issuer’s insolvency.

Municipal Project-Specific Risk: A fund may be more sensitive to adverse economic, business or political developments if it invests a substantial portion of its assets in municipal securities that finance similar types of projects in a segment of the municipal bond market (such as education, health care, housing, education, utilities or

41


transportation) or industrial development bonds. A change that affects one project in a particular segment of the market, such as proposed legislation on the financing of the project, a shortage of the materials needed for the project, or a declining need for the project, would likely affect all similar projects, thereby increasing market risk.

Derivatives Risk: Derivatives are instruments, such as swaps, futures contracts, and options thereon, whose value is derived from that of other assets, rates or indices. Derivatives can be used for hedging (attempting to reduce risk by offsetting one investment position with another) or non-hedging purposes. Hedging with derivatives may increase expenses, and there is no guarantee that a hedging strategy will work. While hedging can reduce or eliminate losses, it can also reduce or eliminate gains or cause losses if the market moves in a manner different from that anticipated by a fund or if the cost of the derivative outweighs the benefit of the hedge. The use of derivatives for non-hedging purposes may be considered to carry more risk than other types of investments. When a fund uses derivatives, the fund will be directly exposed to the risks of those derivatives. Derivative instruments are subject to a number of risks including counterparty, 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 a fund could lose more than the principal amount invested. Additional risks are associated with the use of swaps including counterparty and credit risk (the risk that the other party to a swap agreement will not fulfill its contractual obligations, whether because of bankruptcy or other default) and liquidity risk (the possible lack of a secondary market for the swap agreement). Credit risk increases when a fund is the seller of swaps and counterparty risk increases when the fund is a buyer of swaps. In addition, where a fund is the seller of swaps, it may be required to liquidate portfolio securities at inopportune times in order to meet payment obligations. Swaps may be illiquid or difficult to value. Additionally, payments made or received by a fund under such derivatives may increase the amount of distributions taxable to you as ordinary income, increase or decrease the amount of capital gain distributions to you and/or decrease the amount available for distribution to you as exempt-interest dividends.

Liquidity Risk: Liquidity risk exists when particular portfolio investments are difficult to purchase or sell. To the extent that a fund holds illiquid investments, the fund’s performance may be reduced due to an inability to sell the investments at opportune prices or times. Liquid portfolio investments may become illiquid or less liquid after purchase by a fund due to low trading volume, adverse investor perceptions and/or other market developments. Liquidity risk includes the risk that a fund will experience significant net redemptions at a time when it cannot find willing buyers for its portfolio securities or can only sell its portfolio securities at a material loss or at increased costs. Liquidity risk can be more pronounced in periods of market turmoil or in situations where ownership of shares of a fund are concentrated in one or a few investors.

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 a fund’s or its advisor’s control, including instances at third parties. A fund and its advisor seek to reduce these operational risks through controls and procedures. However, measures that seek to reduce these operational risks through controls and procedures may not address every possible risk and may be inadequate to address these risks.

Cyber Security Risk: A fund and its service providers’ use of internet, technology and information systems may expose the fund 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 fund and/or its service providers to suffer data corruption or lose operational functionality.

Performance

The bar chart and table immediately following illustrate the variability of the Portfolio’s returns and are meant to provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Portfolio. The bar chart shows the changes in the Portfolio’s performance from year to year. The table illustrates how annualized returns for certain periods, both before and after taxes, compare with those of a broad measure of market performance. The table also includes the performance of an additional index with a similar investment universe as the Portfolio. The Portfolio’s past performance (before and after taxes) is not an indication of future results. Updated performance information for the Portfolio can be obtained by visiting https://www.dimensional.com/us-en/funds.

The after-tax returns presented in the table for the Portfolio are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns

42


depend on an investor’s tax situation and may differ from those shown in the table. In addition, the after-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold shares of the Portfolio through tax-advantaged arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts.

 

DFA Short-Term Selective State Municipal Bond PortfolioInstitutional Class Shares —Total Returns

PerformanceBarChartData(2023:2.87)

   

January 2023-December 2023

Highest Quarter

Lowest Quarter

1.59% 2023, Q4

0.06% 2023, Q2

             

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Annualized Returns (%)
Periods ended December 31, 2023

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Since

 

 

 

1 Year

 

Inception

 

DFA Short-Term Selective State Municipal Bond Portfolio

 

 

 

 

 

 

Return Before Taxes

 

2.87%

 

1.98%

1

 

Return After Taxes on Distributions

 

2.87%

 

1.98%

1

 

Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Portfolio Shares

 

2.74%

 

2.03%

1

ICE BofA 1-3 Years US Municipal Securities Index2

 

 

 

 

 

(reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)

 

3.32%

 

2.32%

1

S&P National AMT-Free Municipal Bond Index3

 

 

 

 

 

(reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes on sales)

 

6.24%

 

2.91%

1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1.

Since inception April 12, 2022.

2.

ICE BofA index data copyright 2023 ICE Data Indices, LLC. Prior to July 1, 2022, index returns reflect no deduction for transaction costs. Effective July 1, 2022, index returns include transaction costs (as determined and calculated by the index provider), which may be higher or lower than the actual transaction costs incurred by the Portfolio.

3.

Effective February 28, 2024, the Portfolio incorporated this broad-based securities market index to reflect the overall applicable securities market of the Portfolio.

Investment Advisor/Portfolio Management

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP serves as the investment advisor for the 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:

43


 Joseph F. Kolerich, Head of Fixed Income, Americas, member of the Investment Committee, Vice President, and Senior Portfolio Manager of the Advisor, has been a portfolio manager of the Portfolio since inception (2022).

 Travis A. Meldau, Vice President and Senior Portfolio Manager of the Advisor, has been a portfolio manager of the Portfolio since inception (2022).

 David A. Plecha, Global Head of Fixed Income Portfolio Management, member of the Investment Committee, Vice President, and Senior Portfolio Manager of the Advisor, has been a portfolio manager of the Portfolio since inception (2022).

Purchase and Redemption of Fund Shares

Investors may purchase or redeem shares of the Portfolio on each day that the New York Stock Exchange 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 distributions you receive from the Portfolio primarily are exempt from regular federal income tax. A portion of these distributions, however, may be subject to the federal alternative minimum tax and state and local taxes. The Portfolio may also make distributions that are taxable to you as ordinary income or capital gains.

Payments to Financial Intermediaries

If you purchase the 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.

44


DFA California Short-Term Municipal Bond Portfolio

Investment Objective

The investment objective of the DFA California Short-Term Municipal Bond Portfolio (the “California Short-Term Municipal Bond Portfolio” or the “Portfolio”) is to seek to provide current income that is expected to be exempt from federal personal income taxes and California state personal income taxes.

Fees and Expenses of the Portfolio

This table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy, hold or sell shares of the 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.

     

 

 

Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment): None

 

 

 

 

Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each
year as a percentage of the value of your investment)

 

 

 

 

Management Fee

0.16%

Other Expenses

0.04%

Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses

0.20%

Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement1

0.01%

Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement

0.19%

 

   

1

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP (the “Advisor”) has agreed to waive certain fees and in certain instances, assume certain expenses of the Portfolio. The Fee Waiver and/or Expense Assumption Agreement for the Portfolio will remain in effect through February 28, 2025, and may only be terminated by the Fund’s Board of Directors prior to that date. Under certain circumstances, the Advisor retains the right to seek reimbursement for any fees previously waived and/or expenses previously assumed up to thirty-six months after such fee waiver and/or expense assumption.

EXAMPLE

This Example is meant to help you compare the cost of investing in the Portfolio with the cost of investing in other 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 whether you redeem or hold your shares would be:

       

1 Year

3 Years

5 Years

10 Years

$19

$63

$112

$254

PORTFOLIO TURNOVER

A 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 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 115% of the average value of its investment portfolio.

45


Principal Investment Strategies

The California Short-Term Municipal Bond Portfolio seeks its investment objective by investing primarily in a universe of municipal securities issued by or on behalf of California state or local governments and their agencies, instrumentalities and regional governmental authorities, the interest on which is exempt from regular federal income tax and the state personal income tax of California. The Portfolio may also invest a portion of its assets in municipal securities issued by U.S. territories that are exempt from state taxation under federal law. Municipal securities in which the Portfolio may invest include, among others, revenue bonds, general obligation bonds, industrial development bonds, municipal lease obligations, commercial paper, variable rate demand obligations and other instruments (including participation interests in such securities). The Portfolio intends to invest in municipal securities that in the opinion of bond counsel for the issuers and under current tax law provide interest that is exempt from California and federal personal income taxes. As a fundamental investment policy, under normal market conditions, the Portfolio will invest at least 80% of its net assets in municipal securities that pay interest exempt from federal personal income tax and the California state personal income taxes. The Portfolio does not currently intend to invest its assets in municipal securities whose interest is subject to the federal alternative minimum tax.

Generally, the California Short-Term Municipal Bond Portfolio will acquire obligations that mature within three years from the date of settlement, but substantial investments may be made in obligations maturing up to ten years from the date of settlement when greater expected returns are available, and in variable rate demand obligations with longer maturities. Under normal circumstances, the Portfolio will maintain a weighted average maturity of three years or less. In making purchase decisions, if the expected term premium is greater for longer-term securities in the eligible maturity range, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP (the “Advisor”) will focus investment in that longer-term area, otherwise, the portfolio will focus investment in the shorter-term area of the eligible maturity range. The Portfolio intends to maintain a dollar-weighted average credit quality equal to or better than the lower of: (i) a credit quality rating of AA by S&P Global Ratings (“S&P”) or Fitch Ratings Ltd. (“Fitch”) or Aa2 by Moody’s Investor’s Services, Inc. (“Moody’s”) or (ii) the credit quality of general obligation bonds issued by the state of California. For purposes of the above policy on dollar-weighted average credit quality, unrated securities may be included if such securities have been determined by the Advisor to be of comparable quality. If a security has been redeemed by the issuer at a date prior to the stated final maturity date for the purposes of the above maturity restriction, the early redemption date shall be considered the maturity date regardless of the stated final maturity.

Municipal securities are often issued to obtain funds for various public purposes, including the construction of a wide range of public facilities, such as bridges, highways, housing, hospitals, mass transportation facilities, schools, streets and public utilities, such as water and sewer works. Municipal securities include municipal leases, certificates of participation, municipal obligation components and municipal custody receipts. The California Short-Term Municipal Bond Portfolio may invest more than 25% of its assets in municipal securities issued to finance projects in a particular segment of the bond market including, but not limited to, health care, housing, education, utilities, and transportation. The Portfolio also may invest more than 25% of its assets in industrial development bonds.

The California Short-Term Municipal Bond Portfolio may (1) purchase certain municipal securities that are insured, (2) invest in municipal securities secured by mortgages on single-family homes and multi-family projects, (3) invest in pre-refunded municipal securities, (4) purchase tax-exempt municipal securities on a “when-issued” basis and (5) use derivatives, such as fixed income related futures and options contracts, credit default swaps, and interest rate swaps, to hedge against changes in interest rates. The Portfolio may also invest in exchange-traded funds (ETFs) to gain exposure to the municipal bond market pending investment in municipal bonds. The Portfolio may also invest in money market funds. The Portfolio also may purchase or sell futures contracts and options on futures contracts, to hedge its interest rate exposure or for non-hedging purposes, such as a substitute for direct investment or to increase or decrease market exposure based on actual or expected cash inflows to or outflows from the Portfolio.

Although the California Short-Term Municipal Bond Portfolio attempts to invest all of its assets in tax-exempt securities, it is possible, although not anticipated, that a portion of its assets may be invested in securities that pay taxable interest, including interest that may be subject to the federal alternative minimum tax. These investments could generate taxable income for shareholders.

The California Short-Term Municipal Bond Portfolio is primarily designed for investment by California taxpayers.

46


Principal Risks

Because the value of your investment in the Portfolio will fluctuate, there is the risk that you will lose money. An investment in the Portfolio is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. The following is a description of principal risks of investing in the Portfolio.

Market Risk: Even a long-term investment approach cannot guarantee a profit. Economic, political, and issuer-specific events will cause the value of securities, and a fund that owns them, to rise or fall.

Interest Rate Risk: Fixed income securities are subject to interest rate risk because the prices of fixed income securities tend to move in the opposite direction of interest rates. When interest rates rise, fixed income security prices fall. During periods of very low or negative interest rates, a fund may be subject to a greater risk of rising interest rates. When interest rates fall, fixed income security prices rise. In general, fixed income securities with longer maturities are more sensitive to changes in interest rates.

Credit Risk: Credit risk is the risk that the issuer of a security, including a governmental entity, may be unable to make interest payments and/or repay principal when due. A downgrade to an issuer’s credit rating or a perceived change in an issuer’s financial strength may affect a security’s value, and thus, impact the performance of a fund holding such securities. The ability of a municipal securities issuer to make payments could be affected by litigation, legislation or other political events or the bankruptcy of the issuer. Credit risk is greater for fixed income securities with ratings below investment grade (e.g., BB+ or below by S&P or Fitch or Ba1 or below by Moody’s). Fixed income securities that are below investment grade involve high credit risk and are considered speculative. Below investment grade fixed income securities may also fluctuate in value more than higher quality fixed income securities and, during periods of market volatility, may be more difficult to sell at the time and price the Portfolio desires.

Income Risk: Income risk is the risk that falling interest rates will cause a fund’s income to decline because, among other reasons, the proceeds from maturing short-term securities in its portfolio may be reinvested in lower-yielding securities.

Call Risk: Call risk is the risk that during periods of falling interest rates, an issuer will call or repay a higher-yielding fixed income security before its maturity date, forcing a fund to reinvest in fixed income securities with lower interest rates than the original obligations.

Tax Liability Risk: Tax liability risk is the risk that distributions by a fund become taxable to shareholders due to noncompliant conduct by a municipal bond issuer, unfavorable changes in federal or state tax laws, or adverse interpretations of tax laws by the Internal Revenue Service or state tax authorities or other factors. Such adverse interpretations or actions could cause interest from a security to become taxable, possibly retroactively, subjecting shareholders to increased tax liability. In addition, such adverse interpretations or actions could cause the value of a security, and therefore, the value of a fund’s shares, to decline.

Municipal Securities Risk: The risk of a municipal security generally depends on the financial and credit status of the issuer. Municipal securities can be significantly affected by political, regulatory or economic changes, including changes made in the law after issuance of the securities, as well as uncertainties in the municipal market related to taxation, legislative changes or the rights of municipal security holders, including in connection with an issuer’s insolvency.

Municipal Project-Specific Risk: A fund may be more sensitive to adverse economic, business or political developments if it invests a substantial portion of its assets in municipal securities that finance similar types of projects in a segment of the municipal bond market (such as education, health care, housing, education, utilities or transportation) or industrial development bonds. A change that affects one project in a particular segment of the market, such as proposed legislation on the financing of the project, a shortage of the materials needed for the project, or a declining need for the project, would likely affect all similar projects, thereby increasing market risk.

State-Specific Risk: A fund that focuses its investments primarily in California municipal securities will be highly sensitive to events affecting the fiscal stability of the State of California and its agencies, municipalities, authorities and other instrumentalities that issue securities. Having a significant percentage of its assets invested in the

47


securities of fewer issuers, particularly obligations of government issuers of a single state, could result in greater credit risk exposure to a smaller number of issuers due to economic, regulatory or political problems in California. These issues may include economic or political policy changes, tax base erosion, unfunded pension and healthcare liabilities, state constitutional limits on tax increases, budget deficits and other financial difficulties, and changes in the credit ratings assigned to municipal issuers of California. Also, to the extent that a fund makes significant investments in securities issued to finance projects in a particular segment of the California municipal securities market such focused investment may cause the value of the fund’s shares to change more than the value of shares of funds that invest more broadly. These risks are disclosed in more detail in the Portfolio’s Statement of Additional Information.

Derivatives Risk: Derivatives are instruments, such as swaps, futures contracts, and options thereon, whose value is derived from that of other assets, rates or indices. Derivatives can be used for hedging (attempting to reduce risk by offsetting one investment position with another) or non-hedging purposes. Hedging with derivatives may increase expenses, and there is no guarantee that a hedging strategy will work. While hedging can reduce or eliminate losses, it can also reduce or eliminate gains or cause losses if the market moves in a manner different from that anticipated by a fund or if the cost of the derivative outweighs the benefit of the hedge. The use of derivatives for non-hedging purposes may be considered to carry more risk than other types of investments. When a fund uses derivatives, the fund will be directly exposed to the risks of those derivatives. Derivative instruments are subject to a number of risks including counterparty, 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 a fund could lose more than the principal amount invested. Additional risks are associated with the use of swaps including counterparty and credit risk (the risk that the other party to a swap agreement will not fulfill its contractual obligations, whether because of bankruptcy or other default) and liquidity risk (the possible lack of a secondary market for the swap agreement). Credit risk increases when a fund is the seller of swaps and counterparty risk increases when the fund is a buyer of swaps. In addition, where a fund is the seller of swaps, it may be required to liquidate portfolio securities at inopportune times in order to meet payment obligations. Swaps may be illiquid or difficult to value. Additionally, payments made or received by a fund under such derivatives may increase the amount of distributions taxable to you as ordinary income, increase or decrease the amount of capital gain distributions to you and/or decrease the amount available for distribution to you as exempt-interest dividends.

Liquidity Risk: Liquidity risk exists when particular portfolio investments are difficult to purchase or sell. To the extent that a fund holds illiquid investments, the fund’s performance may be reduced due to an inability to sell the investments at opportune prices or times. Liquid portfolio investments may become illiquid or less liquid after purchase by a fund due to low trading volume, adverse investor perceptions and/or other market developments. Liquidity risk includes the risk that a fund will experience significant net redemptions at a time when it cannot find willing buyers for its portfolio securities or can only sell its portfolio securities at a material loss or at increased costs. Liquidity risk can be more pronounced in periods of market turmoil or in situations where ownership of shares of a fund are concentrated in one or a few investors.

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 a fund’s or its advisor’s control, including instances at third parties. A fund and its advisor seek to reduce these operational risks through controls and procedures. However, measures that seek to reduce these operational risks through controls and procedures may not address every possible risk and may be inadequate to address these risks.

Cyber Security Risk: A fund and its service providers’ use of internet, technology and information systems may expose the fund 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 fund and/or its service providers to suffer data corruption or lose operational functionality.

Performance

The bar chart and table immediately following illustrate the variability of the Portfolio’s returns and are meant to provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Portfolio. The bar chart shows the changes in the Portfolio’s performance from year to year. The table illustrates how annualized returns for certain periods, both before and after taxes, compare with those of a broad measure of market performance. The table also includes the performance of

48


an additional index with a similar investment universe as the Portfolio. The Portfolio’s past performance (before and after taxes) is not an indication of future results. Updated performance information for the Portfolio can be obtained by visiting https://www.dimensional.com/us-en/funds.

The after-tax returns presented in the table for the Portfolio are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on an investor’s tax situation and may differ from those shown in the table. In addition, the after-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold shares of the Portfolio through tax-advantaged arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts.

 

DFA California Short-Term Municipal Bond PortfolioInstitutional Class Shares —Total Returns

PerformanceBarChartData(2014:0.8,2015:1.02,2016:0.07,2017:1.07,2018:1.24,2019:1.57,2020:0.67,2021:-0.13,2022:-0.76,2023:2.73)

   

January 2014-December 2023

Highest Quarter

Lowest Quarter

1.35% 2023, Q4

-1.20% 2022, Q1

                 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Annualized Returns (%)
Periods ended December 31, 2023

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1 Year

 

5 Years

 

10 Years

 

DFA California Short-Term Municipal Bond Portfolio

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Return Before Taxes

 

2.73%

 

0.81%

 

0.82%

 

 

Return After Taxes on Distributions

 

2.73%

 

0.81%

 

0.82%

 

 

Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Portfolio Shares

 

2.40%

 

0.85%

 

0.85%

 

ICE BofA 1-3 Year California including Puerto Rico Municipal Securities Index1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)

 

3.11%

 

1.11%

 

0.99%

 

S&P National AMT-Free Municipal Bond Index2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes on sales)

 

6.24%

 

2.26%

 

2.97%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1.

ICE BofA index data copyright 2023 ICE Data Indices, LLC. Prior to July 1, 2022, index returns reflect no deduction for transaction costs. Effective July 1, 2022, index returns include transaction costs (as determined and calculated by the index provider), which may be higher or lower than the actual transaction costs incurred by the Portfolio.

2.

Effective February 28, 2024, the Portfolio incorporated this broad-based securities market index to reflect the overall applicable securities market of the Portfolio.

49


Investment Advisor/Portfolio Management

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP serves as the investment advisor for the Portfolio. The following individuals are responsible for leading the day-to-day management of the Portfolio:

 David A. Plecha, Global Head of Fixed Income Portfolio Management, member of the Investment Committee, Vice President, and Senior Portfolio Manager of the Advisor, has been a portfolio manager of the Portfolio since inception (2007).

 Joseph F. Kolerich, Head of Fixed Income, Americas, member of the Investment Committee, Vice President, and Senior Portfolio Manager of the Advisor, has been a portfolio manager of the Portfolio since 2012.

 Travis A. Meldau, Vice President and Senior Portfolio Manager of the Advisor, has been a portfolio manager of the Portfolio since 2015.

Purchase and Redemption of Fund Shares

Investors may purchase or redeem shares of the Portfolio on each day that the New York Stock Exchange 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 distributions you receive from the Portfolio primarily are exempt from regular federal income tax and state income taxes for individual residents of California. A portion of these distributions, however, may be subject to the federal alternative minimum tax . The Portfolio may also make distributions that are taxable to you as ordinary income or capital gains.

Payments to Financial Intermediaries

If you purchase the 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.

50


DFA California Intermediate-Term Municipal Bond Portfolio

Investment Objective

The investment objective of the DFA California Intermediate-Term Municipal Bond Portfolio (the “California Intermediate-Term Municipal Bond Portfolio” or the “Portfolio”) is to seek to provide current income that is expected to be exempt from federal personal income taxes and California state personal income taxes.

Fees and Expenses of the Portfolio

This table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy, hold or sell shares of the 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.

     

 

 

Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment): None

 

 

 

 

Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each
year as a percentage of the value of your investment)

 

 

 

 

Management Fee

0.16%

Other Expenses

0.04%

Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses

0.20%

 

EXAMPLE

This Example is meant to help you compare the cost of investing in the Portfolio with the cost of investing in other 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 whether you redeem or hold your shares would be:

       

1 Year

3 Years

5 Years

10 Years

$20

$64

$113

$255

PORTFOLIO TURNOVER

A 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 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 77% of the average value of its investment portfolio.

Principal Investment Strategies

The California Intermediate-Term Municipal Bond Portfolio seeks its investment objective by investing primarily in a universe of municipal securities issued by or on behalf of California state or local governments and their agencies, instrumentalities and regional governmental authorities, the interest on which is exempt from regular federal income tax and the state personal income tax of California. The Portfolio may also invest a portion of its assets in municipal securities issued by U.S. territories that are exempt from state taxation under federal law. Municipal securities in which the Portfolio may invest include, among others, revenue bonds, general obligation bonds, industrial development bonds, municipal lease obligations, commercial paper, variable rate demand obligations and other

51


instruments (including participation interests in such securities). The Portfolio intends to invest in municipal securities that in the opinion of bond counsel for the issuers and under current tax law provide interest that is exempt from California and federal personal income taxes. As a fundamental investment policy, under normal market conditions, the Portfolio will invest at least 80% of its net assets in municipal securities that pay interest exempt from federal personal income tax and California state personal income taxes. The Portfolio does not currently intend to invest its assets in municipal securities whose interest is subject to the federal alternative minimum tax.

Generally, the California Intermediate-Term Municipal Bond Portfolio will acquire obligations that mature more than three years from the date of settlement. Under normal circumstances, the Portfolio will generally maintain a weighted average duration of no more than one half year greater than, and no less than one year below, the weighted average duration of the S&P Intermediate Term California AMT-Free Municipal Bond Index, which was approximately 3.91 years as of December 31, 2023. From time to time, the Portfolio may deviate from this duration range when the Advisor determines it to be appropriate under the circumstances. In any event, the Portfolio will maintain a weighted average maturity of more than three years but less than ten years. The Portfolio intends to maintain a dollar-weighted average credit quality equal to or better than the lower of: (i) a credit quality rating of AA by S&P Global Ratings (“S&P”) or Fitch Ratings Ltd. (“Fitch”) or Aa2 by Moody’s Investor’s Services, Inc. (“Moody’s”) or (ii) the credit quality of general obligation bonds issued by the state of California. For purposes of the above policy on dollar-weighted average credit quality, unrated securities may be included if such securities have been determined by the Advisor to be of comparable quality. If a security has been redeemed by the issuer at a date prior to the stated final maturity date for the purposes of the above duration and maturity restrictions, the early redemption date shall be considered the maturity date regardless of the stated final maturity. Duration is a measure of the sensitivity of a security’s price to changes in interest rates. The longer a security’s duration, the more sensitive it will be to changes in interest rates.

Municipal securities are often issued to obtain funds for various public purposes, including the construction of a wide range of public facilities, such as bridges, highways, housing, hospitals, mass transportation facilities, schools, streets and public utilities, such as water and sewer works. Municipal securities include municipal leases, certificates of participation, municipal obligation components and municipal custody receipts. The California Intermediate-Term Municipal Bond Portfolio may invest more than 25% of its assets in municipal securities issued to finance projects in a particular segment of the bond market including, but not limited to, health care, housing, education, utilities, and transportation. The Portfolio also may invest more than 25% of its assets in industrial development bonds.

The California Intermediate-Term Municipal Bond Portfolio may (1) purchase certain municipal securities that are insured, (2) invest in municipal securities secured by mortgages on single-family homes and multi-family projects, (3) invest in pre-refunded municipal securities, (4) purchase tax-exempt municipal securities on a “when-issued” basis and (5) use derivatives, such as fixed income related futures and options contracts, credit default swaps and interest rate swaps, to hedge against changes in interest rates. The Portfolio may also invest in exchange-traded funds (ETFs) to gain exposure to the municipal bond market pending investment in municipal bonds. The Portfolio may also invest in money market funds. The Portfolio also may purchase or sell futures contracts and options on futures contracts, to hedge its interest rate exposure or for non-hedging purposes, such as a substitute for direct investment or to increase or decrease market exposure based on actual or expected cash inflows to or outflows from the Portfolio.

Although the California Intermediate-Term Municipal Bond Portfolio attempts to invest all of its assets in tax-exempt securities, it is possible, although not anticipated, that a portion of its assets may be invested in securities that pay taxable interest, including interest that may be subject to the federal alternative minimum tax. These investments could generate taxable income for shareholders.

The California Intermediate-Term Municipal Bond Portfolio is primarily designed for investment by California taxpayers.

Principal Risks

Because the value of your investment in the Portfolio will fluctuate, there is the risk that you will lose money. An investment in the Portfolio is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. The following is a description of principal risks of investing in the Portfolio.

52


Market Risk: Even a long-term investment approach cannot guarantee a profit. Economic, political, and issuer-specific events will cause the value of securities, and a fund that owns them, to rise or fall.

Interest Rate Risk: Fixed income securities are subject to interest rate risk because the prices of fixed income securities tend to move in the opposite direction of interest rates. When interest rates rise, fixed income security prices fall. During periods of very low or negative interest rates, a fund may be subject to a greater risk of rising interest rates. When interest rates fall, fixed income security prices rise. In general, fixed income securities with longer maturities are more sensitive to changes in interest rates.

Credit Risk: Credit risk is the risk that the issuer of a security, including a governmental entity, may be unable to make interest payments and/or repay principal when due. A downgrade to an issuer’s credit rating or a perceived change in an issuer’s financial strength may affect a security’s value, and thus, impact the performance of a fund holding such securities. The ability of a municipal securities issuer to make payments could be affected by litigation, legislation or other political events or the bankruptcy of the issuer. Credit risk is greater for fixed income securities with ratings below investment grade (e.g., BB+ or below by S&P or Fitch or Ba1 or below by Moody’s). Fixed income securities that are below investment grade involve high credit risk and are considered speculative. Below investment grade fixed income securities may also fluctuate in value more than higher quality fixed income securities and, during periods of market volatility, may be more difficult to sell at the time and price the Portfolio desires.

Income Risk: Income risk is the risk that falling interest rates will cause a fund’s income to decline because, among other reasons, the proceeds from maturing short-term securities in its portfolio may be reinvested in lower-yielding securities.

Call Risk: Call risk is the risk that during periods of falling interest rates, an issuer will call or repay a higher-yielding fixed income security before its maturity date, forcing a fund to reinvest in fixed income securities with lower interest rates than the original obligations.

Tax Liability Risk: Tax liability risk is the risk that distributions by a fund become taxable to shareholders due to noncompliant conduct by a municipal bond issuer, unfavorable changes in federal or state tax laws, or adverse interpretations of tax laws by the Internal Revenue Service or state tax authorities or other factors. Such adverse interpretations or actions could cause interest from a security to become taxable, possibly retroactively, subjecting shareholders to increased tax liability. In addition, such adverse interpretations or actions could cause the value of a security, and therefore, the value of a fund’s shares, to decline.

Municipal Securities Risk: The risk of a municipal security generally depends on the financial and credit status of the issuer. Municipal securities can be significantly affected by political, regulatory or economic changes, including changes made in the law after issuance of the securities, as well as uncertainties in the municipal market related to taxation, legislative changes or the rights of municipal security holders, including in connection with an issuer’s insolvency.

Municipal Project-Specific Risk: A fund may be more sensitive to adverse economic, business or political developments if it invests a substantial portion of its assets in municipal securities that finance similar types of projects in a segment of the municipal bond market (such as education, health care, housing, education, utilities or transportation) or industrial development bonds. A change that affects one project in a particular segment of the market, such as proposed legislation on the financing of the project, a shortage of the materials needed for the project, or a declining need for the project, would likely affect all similar projects, thereby increasing market risk.

State-Specific Risk: A fund that focuses its investments primarily in California municipal securities will be highly sensitive to events affecting the fiscal stability of the State of California and its agencies, municipalities, authorities and other instrumentalities that issue securities. Having a significant percentage of its assets invested in the securities of fewer issuers, particularly obligations of government issuers of a single state, could result in greater credit risk exposure to a smaller number of issuers due to economic, regulatory or political problems in California. These issues may include economic or political policy changes, tax base erosion, unfunded pension and healthcare liabilities, state constitutional limits on tax increases, budget deficits and other financial difficulties, and changes in the credit ratings assigned to municipal issuers of California. Also, to the extent that a fund makes significant investments in securities issued to finance projects in a particular segment of the California municipal securities market such focused investment may cause the value of the fund’s shares to change more than the value of shares of

53


funds that invest more broadly. These risks are disclosed in more detail in the Portfolio’s Statement of Additional Information.

Derivatives Risk: Derivatives are instruments, such as swaps, futures contracts, and options thereon, whose value is derived from that of other assets, rates or indices. Derivatives can be used for hedging (attempting to reduce risk by offsetting one investment position with another) or non-hedging purposes. Hedging with derivatives may increase expenses, and there is no guarantee that a hedging strategy will work. While hedging can reduce or eliminate losses, it can also reduce or eliminate gains or cause losses if the market moves in a manner different from that anticipated by a fund or if the cost of the derivative outweighs the benefit of the hedge. The use of derivatives for non-hedging purposes may be considered to carry more risk than other types of investments. When a fund uses derivatives, the fund will be directly exposed to the risks of those derivatives. Derivative instruments are subject to a number of risks including counterparty, 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 a fund could lose more than the principal amount invested. Additional risks are associated with the use of swaps including counterparty and credit risk (the risk that the other party to a swap agreement will not fulfill its contractual obligations, whether because of bankruptcy or other default) and liquidity risk (the possible lack of a secondary market for the swap agreement). Credit risk increases when a fund is the seller of swaps and counterparty risk increases when the fund is a buyer of swaps. In addition, where a fund is the seller of swaps, it may be required to