Strategy. The Municipal Real Return Portfolio seeks its investment objective by investing primarily in a universe of investment grade municipal securities, including inflation-protected municipal securities, and in derivative instruments to provide inflation protection. Municipal securities in which the Portfolio may invest include, among others, revenue bonds, general obligation bonds, industrial development bonds, municipal lease obligations, commercial paper, variable rate demand obligations and other instruments (including participation interests in such securities) issued by or on behalf of the states, territories and possessions of the United States (including the District of Columbia) and their political subdivisions, agencies and instrumentalities. The interest on the municipal securities purchased by the Portfolio, in the opinion of bond counsel for the issuers and under current tax law, … Show more… The Municipal Real Return Portfolio seeks its investment objective by investing primarily in a universe of investment grade municipal securities, including inflation-protected municipal securities, and in derivative instruments to provide inflation protection. Municipal securities in which the Portfolio may invest include, among others, revenue bonds, general obligation bonds, industrial development bonds, municipal lease obligations, commercial paper, variable rate demand obligations and other instruments (including participation interests in such securities) issued by or on behalf of the states, territories and possessions of the United States (including the District of Columbia) and their political subdivisions, agencies and instrumentalities. The interest on the municipal securities purchased by the Portfolio, in the opinion of bond counsel for the issuers and under current tax law, is exempt from federal income tax (i.e., excludable from gross income for individuals for federal income tax purposes but not necessarily exempt from state or local taxes). As a fundamental investment policy, under normal market conditions, the Portfolio will invest at least 80% of its net assets in municipal securities that pay interest exempt from federal income tax. The Portfolio does not currently intend to invest its assets in municipal securities whose interest is subject to the federal alternative minimum tax. Under normal circumstances, the Municipal Real Return Portfolio will maintain a weighted average duration of no greater than five years. If a security has been or is expected to be redeemed by the issuer at a date prior to the stated final maturity date for the purposes of the above duration restriction, the early redemption date shall be considered the maturity date regardless of the stated final maturity. If a security's coupon or interest rate is periodically reset, the reset date will be considered for the purposes of the above duration restriction. 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. At least 75% of the assets of the Municipal Real Return Portfolio will be invested in municipal securities that, at the time of purchase, are rated in the top three credit-rating categories (e.g., Aaa, Aa and A for Moodys Ratings (Moodys) or AAA, AA and A for S&P Global Ratings (S&P) or Fitch Ratings Ltd. (Fitch), or an equivalent rating assigned by another nationally recognized statistical rating organization, or that are unrated but have been determined by Dimensional Fund Advisors LP (the Advisor) to be of comparable quality). No more than 25% of the Portfolios assets will be invested in municipal securities that, at the time of purchase, are rated in the lowest quarter of the investment grade spectrum (e.g., rated Baa1 to Baa3 (by Moodys) or BBB+ to BBB- (by S&P or Fitch), or an equivalent rating assigned by another nationally recognized statistical rating organization, or that are unrated but have been determined by the Advisor to be of comparable quality). The fixed income securities in which the Portfolio invests are considered investment grade at the time of purchase. Municipal securities are often issued to obtain funds for various public purposes, including the construction of a wide range of public facilities, such as bridges, highways, housing, hospitals, mass transportation facilities, schools, streets and public utilities, such as water and sewer works. Municipal securities include municipal leases, certificates of participation, municipal obligation components and municipal custody receipts. The Municipal Real Return Portfolio may invest more than 25% of its assets in municipal securities issued to finance projects in a particular segment of the bond market including, but not limited to, health care, housing, education, utilities, and transportation. The Portfolio also may invest more than 25% of its assets in industrial development bonds. The Municipal Real Return Portfolio may (1) purchase certain municipal securities that are insured, (2) invest in municipal securities secured by mortgages on single-family homes and multi-family projects, (3) invest in pre-refunded municipal securities, (4) purchase tax-exempt municipal securities on a when-issued basis, and (5) use derivatives, such as fixed income related futures and options contracts, credit default swaps and interest rate swaps, to hedge against changes in interest rates. The Portfolio may also invest in exchange-traded funds (ETFs) to gain exposure to the municipal bond market pending investment in municipal bonds. The Portfolio may also invest in money market funds. The Municipal Real Return Portfolio may enter into swaps, such as inflation swaps, to seek inflation protection. The Portfolio also 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 also may purchase or sell futures contracts and options on futures contracts, 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. Although the Municipal Real Return Portfolio attempts to invest all of its assets in tax-exempt securities, it is possible, although not anticipated, that a portion of its assets may be invested in securities that pay taxable interest, including interest that may be subject to the federal alternative minimum tax. These investments could generate taxable income for shareholders. Show less