Strategy. To achieve the World ex U.S. Value 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 World ex U.S. Value Portfolio seeks to achieve its investment objective through exposure to a broad portfolio of securities of non-U.S. companies associated with countries with developed … Show more… To achieve the World ex U.S. Value 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 World ex U.S. Value Portfolio seeks to achieve its investment objective through exposure to a broad portfolio of securities of non-U.S. companies associated with countries with developed and emerging markets, which may include frontier markets (emerging market countries in an earlier stage of development), that the Advisor believes to be lower relative price stocks at the time of purchase. To achieve this exposure, the Advisor will currently generally purchase shares of The DFA International Value Series (the DFA International Value Series), DFA International Small Cap Value Portfolio, and Dimensional Emerging Markets Value Fund (the Underlying Funds), which are other funds managed by the Advisor. 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. In addition to, or in place of, investments in the Underlying Funds, the Portfolio also is permitted to invest directly in the same types of securities of companies that are described in this Prospectus as eligible investments for the Underlying Funds. 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. The Advisor may consider the relative market capitalization weighting of developed and emerging markets within the universe of eligible securities when allocating Portfolio investments among the Underlying Funds or securities. The DFA International Value Series invests in large lower relative price companies associated with developed market countries and the DFA International Small Cap Value Portfolio invests in small lower relative price companies associated with developed market countries. Generally, the Advisor determines if a company is large or small based on its market capitalization. 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 Dimensional Emerging Markets Value Fund may purchase securities of lower relative price companies associated with emerging markets, including frontier markets, across all market capitalizations. With respect to each Underlying Fund, the Advisor may limit or fix the Underlying Funds exposure to a particular country, region or issuer. 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 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. The World ex U.S. Value Portfolio and each Underlying Fund intend to purchase securities of companies associated with countries that the Advisor has identified as approved markets for investment for such Portfolio or Underlying Fund. As a non-fundamental policy, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of the Portfolios net assets will be invested directly, or indirectly through its investment in the Underlying Funds, in securities of non-U.S. companies. The Portfolio, directly or indirectly through its investment in the Underlying Funds, intends to invest its assets to gain exposure to at least three different countries, excluding the United States. The Advisor may also increase or reduce the World ex U.S. Value 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 World ex U.S. Value Portfolio and Underlying Funds may gain exposure to companies associated with approved markets by purchasing equity securities in the form of depositary receipts which may be domiciled or traded outside the issuers domicile country. The World ex U.S. Value Portfolio and each Underlying Fund may purchase or sell futures contracts and options on futures contracts for equity securities and indices 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 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 World ex U.S. Value Portfolio and 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 World ex U.S. Value Portfolio invests as of the date of this Prospectus (other than the Underlying Funds that are included elsewhere in the Portfolios Prospectus) is described in the Portfolios Prospectus in the section entitled ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON INVESTMENT OBJECTIVES AND POLICIES. Show less