Investment objective & strategy
As of Feb. 27, 2026 · prospectusObjective. The investment objective of the Dimensional Short-Duration Fixed Income ETF (the Short-Duration Fixed Income ETF or Portfolio) is to maximize total returns from the universe of fixed income securities in which the Portfolio invests. Total return is comprised of income and capital appreciation.
Strategy. The Short-Duration Fixed Income ETF will seek to achieve its investment objective through exposure to a broad portfolio of U.S. and foreign corporate debt securities with an investment grade rating. In addition, the Portfolio may invest in obligations issued or guaranteed by the U.S. and foreign governments, their agencies and instrumentalities, including mortgage-backed securities, bank obligations, commercial paper, repurchase agreements, money market funds, corporate debt obligations having investment grade ratings, securities of domestic or foreign issuers denominated in U.S. dollars but not trading in the United States, and obligations of supranational organizations. As a non-fundamental policy, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of the Portfolios net assets will be invested in fixed income securities considered to be investment grade quality. … The Short-Duration Fixed Income ETF will seek to achieve its investment objective through exposure to a broad portfolio of U.S. and foreign corporate debt securities with an investment grade rating. In addition, the Portfolio may invest in obligations issued or guaranteed by the U.S. and foreign governments, their agencies and instrumentalities, including mortgage-backed securities, bank obligations, commercial paper, repurchase agreements, money market funds, corporate debt obligations having investment grade ratings, securities of domestic or foreign issuers denominated in U.S. dollars but not trading in the United States, and obligations of supranational organizations. As a non-fundamental policy, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of the Portfolios net assets will be invested in fixed income securities considered to be investment grade quality. In addition, the Portfolio is authorized to invest more than 25% of its total assets in U.S. Treasury bonds, bills and notes, and obligations of federal agencies and instrumentalities. The Portfolio may invest in fixed income securities considered investment grade at the time of purchase (e.g., rated AAA to BBB- by S&P Global Ratings (S&P) or Fitch Ratings Ltd. (Fitch) or Aaa to Baa3 by Moodys Ratings (Moodys)). The Portfolio may invest with an emphasis on debt securities rated A+ to BBB- by S&P or Fitch or A1 to Baa3 by Moodys. The Portfolio will increase or decrease investment exposure to lower-rated investment grade securities (i.e., those rated A+ to BBB- by S&P or Fitch or A1 to Baa3 by Moodys) depending on the expected credit premium. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP (the Advisor) expects that the Portfolio will primarily invest in the obligations of issuers that are in developed countries. The Portfolio primarily invests in securities that mature within five 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 ICE BofA 1-5 Year US Corporate & Government Index, which was approximately 2.56 years as of December 31, 2025. From time to time, the Portfolio may deviate from this duration range when the Advisor determines it to be appropriate under the circumstances. In making these purchase decisions, if the expected term premium is greater for longer-term securities in the eligible maturity range, the Advisor will focus on investment in the longer-term area, otherwise, the Portfolio will focus its investment in the shorter-term area of the eligible maturity range. Duration is a measure of the sensitivity of a securitys price to changes in interest rates. The longer a securitys duration, the more sensitive it will be to changes in interest rates. The Portfolios investments may include securities denominated in foreign currencies. The Portfolio intends to hedge foreign currency exposure to attempt to protect against uncertainty in the level of future foreign currency rates. The Portfolio may enter into foreign currency forward contracts to hedge against fluctuations in currency exchange rates or to transfer balances from one currency to another. The Portfolio 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 Portfolios total return. The Portfolio may purchase or sell futures contracts and options on futures contracts, to hedge its currency exposure or 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. The Portfolio may lend its portfolio securities to generate additional income. The Portfolio is an actively managed exchange-traded fund and does not seek to replicate the performance of a specific index and may have a higher degree of portfolio turnover than such index funds.
Top holdings
As of April 30, 2026 · N-PORT| Security | Ticker | Value | % of fund |
|---|---|---|---|
| NEW ZEALAND GVT | — | $137.56M | 2.09% |
| The DFA Short Term Investment Fund | — | $110.85M | 1.68% |
| US TREASURY N/B | — | $50.87M | 0.77% |
| ACCENTURE CAPITA | — | $48.58M | 0.74% |
| NOVARTIS CAPITAL | — | $42.20M | 0.64% |
| JOHNSON&JOHNSON | — | $37.51M | 0.57% |
| CDP FINANCIAL INC | — | $36.64M | 0.56% |
| RADIAN GROUP INC | — | $31.98M | 0.49% |
| KOMMUNALBANKEN AS | — | $31.97M | 0.49% |
| AKER BP ASA | — | $29.94M | 0.45% |
Portfolio moves
Jan 31, 2026 → Apr 30, 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. |
|---|---|---|
| DFA Short-Duration Real Return Portfolio | 24% | 0.22% |
| iShares iBonds Dec 2030 Term Corporate ETF · IBDV | 19% | 0.10% |
| Schwab 1-5 Year Corporate Bond ETF · SCHJ | 17% | 0.03% |
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 April 30, 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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