Strategy. The International Small Company Portfolio is a fund of funds, which means the Portfolio generally allocates its assets among other funds managed by Dimensional Fund Advisors LP (the Underlying Funds), although it has the ability to invest directly in securities and derivatives. To achieve the International Small Company Portfolios and the Underlying Funds investment objectives, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP (the Advisor) implements an integrated investment approach that combines research, portfolio design, portfolio management, and trading functions. As further described below, the Portfolios and the Underlying Funds designs emphasize 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 … Show more… The International Small Company Portfolio is a fund of funds, which means the Portfolio generally allocates its assets among other funds managed by Dimensional Fund Advisors LP (the Underlying Funds), although it has the ability to invest directly in securities and derivatives. To achieve the International Small Company Portfolios and the Underlying Funds investment objectives, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP (the Advisor) implements an integrated investment approach that combines research, portfolio design, portfolio management, and trading functions. As further described below, the Portfolios and the Underlying Funds designs emphasize 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 International Small Company Portfolio is designed to provide investors with access to securities portfolios consisting of a broad range of equity securities of primarily small Canadian, Japanese, United Kingdom, Continental European and Asia Pacific companies. The Portfolio also may have some exposure to small capitalization equity securities associated with other countries or regions. The Portfolio pursues its investment objective by investing substantially all of its assets in the following Underlying Funds: The Canadian Small Company Series, The Japanese Small Company Series, The Asia Pacific Small Company Series, The United Kingdom Small Company Series and The Continental Small Company Series of The DFA Investment Trust Company. Periodically, the Advisor will review the allocations for the Portfolio in each Underlying Fund and may adjust allocations to the Underlying Funds or may add or remove Underlying Funds in the Portfolio without notice to shareholders. Each Underlying Fund invests in small companies using a market capitalization weighted approach in each country or region designated by the Advisor as an approved market for investment. A companys market capitalization is the number of its shares outstanding times its price per share. Under a market capitalization weighted approach, companies with higher market capitalizations generally represent a larger proportion of an Underlying Fund than companies with relatively lower market capitalizations. The Portfolio and Underlying Funds may emphasize certain stocks, including smaller capitalization companies, lower relative price stocks, and/or higher profitability stocks as compared to their representation in the countries and/or regions in which the Portfolio and/or Underlying Funds are authorized to invest. An equity issuer is considered to have a low relative price (i.e., a value stock) primarily because it has a low price in relation to its book value. In assessing relative price, the Advisor may consider additional factors such as price to cash flow or price to earnings ratios. An equity issuer is considered to have high profitability because it has high earnings or profits from operations in relation to its book value or assets. The criteria the Advisor uses for assessing relative price and profitability are subject to change from time to time. As a non-fundamental policy, under normal circumstances, the International Small Company Portfolio, through its investments in the Underlying Funds, will invest at least 80% of its net assets in securities of small companies. The Advisor may also increase or reduce the International Small Company Portfolios and/or Underlying Funds 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 International Small Company Portfolio and each Underlying Fund may invest in affiliated and unaffiliated registered and unregistered money market funds to manage its cash pending investment in other securities or to maintain liquidity for the payment of redemptions or other purposes. Investments in money market funds may involve a duplication of certain fees and expenses. Each Underlying Fund may gain exposure to companies associated with approved markets by purchasing equity securities in the form of depositary receipts, which may be listed or traded outside the issuers domicile country. The International Small Company Portfolio and each Underlying Fund may purchase or sell futures contracts and options on futures contracts for equity securities and indices of its approved markets or other equity market securities or indices, including those of the United States, to increase or decrease equity market exposure based on actual or expected cash inflows to or outflows from the Portfolio or Underlying Fund. Because many of the Portfolios and the Underlying Funds investments may be denominated in foreign currencies, the Portfolio and each Underlying Fund may enter into foreign currency exchange transactions, including foreign currency forward contracts, in connection with the settlement of foreign securities or to transfer cash balances from one currency to another currency. The International Small Company Portfolio and the Underlying Funds may lend their portfolio securities to generate additional income. A summary of the investment strategies and policies of the Underlying Funds in which the International Small Company Portfolio invests as of the date of this Prospectus is described in the Portfolios Prospectus in the section entitled ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON INVESTMENT OBJECTIVES AND POLICIES. Show less