Investment objective & strategy
As of Feb. 27, 2026 · prospectusObjective. The investment objective of the Emerging Markets Core Equity 2 Portfolio (the Portfolio) is to achieve long-term capital appreciation.
Strategy. To achieve the Emerging Markets Core Equity 2 Portfolios investment objective, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP (the Advisor) implements an integrated investment approach that combines research, portfolio design, portfolio management, and trading functions. As further described below, the Portfolios design emphasizes long-term drivers of expected returns identified by the Advisors research, while balancing risk through broad diversification across companies, sectors, and countries. The Advisors portfolio management and trading processes further balance those long-term drivers of expected returns with shorter-term drivers of expected returns and trading costs. The Emerging Markets Core Equity 2 Portfolio is designed to purchase a broad and diverse group of equity securities associated with emerging markets, which may include frontier markets (emerging market countries in an earlier stage … To achieve the Emerging Markets Core Equity 2 Portfolios investment objective, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP (the Advisor) implements an integrated investment approach that combines research, portfolio design, portfolio management, and trading functions. As further described below, the Portfolios design emphasizes long-term drivers of expected returns identified by the Advisors research, while balancing risk through broad diversification across companies, sectors, and countries. The Advisors portfolio management and trading processes further balance those long-term drivers of expected returns with shorter-term drivers of expected returns and trading costs. The Emerging Markets Core Equity 2 Portfolio is designed to purchase a broad and diverse group of equity securities associated with emerging markets, which may include frontier markets (emerging market countries in an earlier stage of development), authorized for investment by the Advisors Investment Committee (Approved Markets). The Portfolio invests in companies of all sizes, with meaningfully increased exposure to smaller capitalization, lower relative price, and higher profitability companies. The Portfolios meaningfully increased exposure to smaller capitalization, lower relative price, and higher profitability companies may be achieved by decreasing the allocation of the Portfolios assets to larger capitalization, higher relative price, or lower profitability companies. An equity issuer is considered to have a high relative price (i.e., a growth stock) primarily because it has a high price in relation to its book value. An equity issuer is considered to have a low relative price (i.e., a value stock) primarily because it has a low price in relation to its book value. In assessing relative price, the Advisor may consider additional factors such as price to cash flow or price to earnings ratios. An equity issuer is considered to have high profitability because it has high earnings or profits from operations in relation to its book value or assets. The criteria the Advisor uses for assessing relative price and profitability are subject to change from time to time. As a non-fundamental policy, under normal circumstances, the Emerging Markets Core Equity 2 Portfolio will invest at least 80% of its net assets in emerging markets equity investments that are defined in the Prospectus as Approved Market securities. The Advisor may also increase or reduce the Emerging Markets Core Equity 2 Portfolios exposure to an eligible company, or exclude a company, based on shorter-term considerations, such as a companys price momentum, short-run reversals, and investment characteristics. In assessing a companys investment characteristics, the Advisor considers ratios such as recent changes in assets divided by total assets. The criteria the Advisor uses for assessing a companys investment characteristics are subject to change from time to time. In addition, the Advisor seeks to reduce trading costs using a flexible trading approach that looks for opportunities to participate in the available market liquidity, while managing turnover and explicit transaction costs. The Emerging Markets Core Equity 2 Portfolio may gain exposure to companies in Approved Markets by purchasing equity securities in the form of depositary receipts, which may be listed or traded outside the issuers domicile country. The Portfolio may also invest in China A-shares (equity securities of companies listed in China) and variable interest entities (special structures that utilize contractual arrangements to provide exposure to certain Chinese companies). The Portfolio may purchase or sell futures contracts and options on futures contracts for Approved Market or other equity market securities and indices, including those of the United States, to increase or decrease equity market exposure based on actual or expected cash inflows to or outflows from the Portfolio. Because many of the Portfolios investments may be denominated in foreign currencies, the Portfolio may enter into foreign currency exchange transactions, including foreign currency forward contracts, in connection with the settlement of foreign securities or to transfer cash balances from one currency to another currency. The Emerging Markets Core Equity 2 Portfolio may lend its portfolio securities to generate additional income.
Top holdings
As of Jan. 31, 2026 · N-PORT| Security | Ticker | Value | % of fund |
|---|---|---|---|
| TSMC | — | $2.22B | 6.17% |
| SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO LTD | — | $1.19B | 3.31% |
| TENCENT HOLDINGS LTD | — | $869.79M | 2.42% |
| TAIWAN SEMIC MFG CO LTD SP ADR | — | $761.01M | 2.12% |
| SK HYNIX INC | — | $620.67M | 1.73% |
| The DFA Short Term Investment Fund | — | $604.76M | 1.68% |
| DFA Short Term Investment Fund | — | $554.38M | 1.54% |
| BABA-W | — | $503.41M | 1.40% |
| PING AN-H | — | $216.44M | 0.60% |
| CCB-H | — | $188.05M | 0.52% |
Portfolio moves
Oct 31, 2025 → Jan 31, 2026How many positions this fund opened, exited, grew, trimmed, or left unchanged between its two most recent N-PORT snapshots — net changes between point-in-time reports, not a trade log.
Similar funds
Funds whose portfolios most overlap this one, by weight| Fund | Overlap | Net exp. |
|---|---|---|
| Emerging Markets Social Core Equity Portfolio | 80% | 0.44% |
| Dimensional Emerging Markets Core Equity 2 ETF · DFEM | 75% | 0.39% |
| Dimensional Emerging Core Equity Market ETF · DFAE | 70% | 0.29% |
Advisers
| Firm | Role |
|---|---|
| DIMENSIONAL FUND ADVISORS LP | Adviser |
| Dimensional Fund Advisors Ltd. | Sub-adviser |
| DFA Australia Limited | Sub-adviser |
Footnotes
- Expense ratio as of February 27, 2026, from the fund's prospectus.
- Net assets and holdings count as of January 31, 2026, from the fund's N-PORT filing.
- Total return for calendar year 2025, before tax and after fund expenses. As reported in the fund's prospectus performance bar chart.
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