Investment objective & strategy
As of Feb. 27, 2026 · prospectusObjective. The investment objective of the Dimensional US Small Cap Value ETF (the US Small Cap Value ETF or Portfolio) is to achieve long-term capital appreciation.
Strategy. To achieve the US Small Cap Value ETFs 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 and sectors. 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 Portfolio, using a market capitalization weighted approach, is designed to purchase a broad and diverse group of the readily marketable securities of U.S. small cap companies that the Advisor determines to be lower relative price stocks. … To achieve the US Small Cap Value ETFs 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 and sectors. 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 Portfolio, using a market capitalization weighted approach, is designed to purchase a broad and diverse group of the readily marketable securities of U.S. small cap companies that the Advisor determines to be lower relative price stocks. 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 the Portfolio than companies with relatively lower market capitalizations. The Portfolio may emphasize certain stocks, including smaller capitalization companies, lower relative price stocks, and/or higher profitability stocks as compared to their representation in the small-cap value segment of the U.S. market. An equity issuer is considered to have a low relative price (i.e., a value stock) primarily because it has a low price in relation to its book value. In assessing relative price, the Advisor may consider additional factors such as price to cash flow or price to earnings ratios. An equity issuer is considered to have high profitability because it has high earnings or profits from operations in relation to its book value or assets. The criteria the Advisor uses for assessing relative price and profitability are subject to change from time to time. As a non-fundamental policy, under normal circumstances, the Portfolio will invest at least 80% of its net assets in securities of small cap U.S. companies. The Advisor generally defines a U.S. company as one that is listed and principally traded on a securities exchange in the United States that is deemed appropriate by the Advisor. As of the date of this Prospectus, for purposes of the Portfolio, the Advisor considers small cap companies to be companies whose market capitalizations are generally in the lowest 10% of total market capitalization or companies whose market capitalizations are smaller than the 1,000th largest U.S. company within the U.S. Universe, whichever results in the higher market capitalization break. The Advisor generally defines the U.S. Universe as a portfolio of U.S. operating companies listed on securities exchanges in the United States that are deemed appropriate by the Advisor. Total market capitalization is based on the market capitalization of eligible operating companies within the U.S. Universe. Under the Advisors market capitalization guidelines described above, based on market capitalization data as of December 31, 2025, the market capitalization of a small cap company would be below $16,768 million. This threshold will change due to market conditions. The Advisor may also increase or reduce the 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 Portfolio may purchase or sell futures contracts and options on futures contracts for U.S. equity securities and indices to increase or decrease equity market exposure based on actual or expected cash inflows to or outflows from the Portfolio. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| The DFA Short Term Investment Fund | — | $573.94M | 7.64% |
| HF SINCLAIR CORP | — | $60.50M | 0.81% |
| OVINTIV INC | — | $59.82M | 0.80% |
| APA CORP | — | $58.04M | 0.77% |
| BORGWARNER INC | — | $56.90M | 0.76% |
| INVESCO LTD | — | $55.89M | 0.74% |
| WESCO INTL | — | $53.68M | 0.71% |
| KNIGHT-SWIFT TRANSPORTATION HOLDINGS INC | — | $53.20M | 0.71% |
| WEBSTER FINL | — | $50.57M | 0.67% |
| AMKOR TECHNOLOGY INC | — | $48.81M | 0.65% |
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. |
|---|---|---|
| U.S. SMALL CAP VALUE PORTFOLIO · DFSVX | 72% | 0.31% |
| Dimensional U.S. Targeted Value ETF · DFAT | 70% | 0.28% |
| Small Cap Opportunities Trust · JADMX, JADLX, JADPX | 67% | 0.81% |
Advisers
| Firm | Role |
|---|---|
| DIMENSIONAL FUND ADVISORS LP | 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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