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VA INTERNATIONAL SMALL PORTFOLIO
VA International Small Portfolio
INVESTMENT OBJECTIVE
The investment objective of the VA International Small Portfolio is to achieve long-term capital appreciation.
FEES AND EXPENSES OF THE PORTFOLIO
This table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the VA International Small Portfolio. The expenses in the table do not include any fees or charges imposed by the variable insurance contract. If such fees and charges were included, the expenses would be higher.
Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
Annual Fund Operating Expenses
VA INTERNATIONAL SMALL PORTFOLIO
VA International Small Portfolio
Management Fee 0.50%
Other Expenses 0.09%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses 0.59%
Example
This Example is meant to help you compare the cost of investing in the VA International Small Portfolio with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. The Example does not include any fees or charges imposed by the variable insurance contract and if such fees were included, expenses would be higher. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Portfolio for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Portfolio’s operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
Expense Example
1 Year
3 Years
5 Years
10 Years
VA INTERNATIONAL SMALL PORTFOLIO | VA International Small Portfolio | USD ($) 60 189 329 738
Portfolio Turnover
The VA International Small Portfolio pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Portfolio shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in Annual Fund Operating Expenses or in the Example, affect the VA International Small Portfolio’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the VA International Small Portfolio’s portfolio turnover rate was 8% of the average value of its investment portfolio.
PRINCIPAL INVESTMENT STRATEGIES
The VA International Small Portfolio, using a market capitalization weighted approach, purchases securities of (1) Japanese small companies; (2) United Kingdom small companies; (3) small companies organized under the laws of certain European countries; (4) small companies associated with Australia, New Zealand and Pacific Rim Asian countries; and (5) Canadian small companies. The VA International Small Portfolio also may have some exposure to small cap equity securities associated with other countries or regions. A company’s market capitalization is the number of its shares outstanding times its price per share. In general, the higher the relative market capitalization of a small company within an eligible country, the greater its representation in the Portfolio. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP (the “Advisor”) may modify market capitalization weights and even exclude companies after considering such factors as free float, momentum, trading strategies, liquidity management, and profitability, as well as other factors that the Advisor determines to be appropriate, given market conditions. The Advisor will determine the allocation of assets among the five segments and will periodically review and modify such allocation, all in its sole discretion. As a non-fundamental policy, under normal circumstances, the Portfolio will invest at least 80% of its net assets in securities of small companies. As of December 31, 2014, the highest maximum market capitalization of a small company in any country in which the VA International Small Portfolio invests was $5,218 million. In assessing profitability, the Advisor may consider different ratios, such as that of earnings or profits from operations relative to book value or assets.

The VA International Small Portfolio also 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 issuer’s domicile country. The VA International Small Portfolio may use derivatives, such as futures contracts and options on futures contracts for foreign or U.S. equity securities and indices, to adjust market exposure based on actual or expected cash inflows to or outflows from the Portfolio. The Portfolio does not intend to use derivatives for purposes of speculation or leveraging investment returns.

The VA International Small Portfolio may lend its portfolio securities to generate additional income.
PRINCIPAL RISKS
Market Risk: Even a long-term investment approach cannot guarantee a profit. Economic, political, and issuer-specific events will cause the value of securities, and the VA International Small Portfolio that owns them, to rise or fall. Because the value of your investment in the Portfolio will fluctuate, there is the risk that you will lose money.

Foreign Securities and Currencies Risk: Foreign securities prices may decline or fluctuate because of: (a) economic or political actions of foreign governments, and/or (b) less regulated or liquid securities markets. Investors holding these securities may also be exposed to foreign currency risk (the possibility that foreign currency will fluctuate in value against the U.S. dollar or that a foreign government will convert, or be forced to convert, its currency to another currency, changing its value against the U.S. dollar). The VA International Small Portfolio does not hedge foreign currency risk.

Small Company Risk: Securities of small companies are often less liquid than those of large companies and this could make it difficult to sell a small company security at a desired time or price. As a result, small company stocks may fluctuate relatively more in price. In general, smaller capitalization companies are also more vulnerable than larger companies to adverse business or economic developments and they may have more limited resources.

Derivatives Risk: Derivatives are instruments, such as swaps, futures and foreign exchange forward contracts, whose value is derived from that of other assets, rates or indices. The use of derivatives for non-hedging purposes may be considered more speculative than other types of investments. When the VA International Small Portfolio uses derivatives, the Portfolio will be directly exposed to the risks of that derivative. Derivative instruments are subject to a number of risks including counterparty, liquidity, interest rate, market, credit and management risks, and the risk of improper valuation. Changes in the value of a derivative may not correlate perfectly with the underlying asset, rate or index, and the Portfolio could lose more than the principal amount invested.

Securities Lending Risk: Securities lending involves the risk that the borrower may fail to return the securities in a timely manner or at all. As a result, the VA International Small Portfolio may lose money and there may be a delay in recovering the loaned securities. The Portfolio could also lose money if it does not recover the securities and/or the value of the collateral falls, including the value of investments made with cash collateral. Securities lending also may have certain adverse tax consequences.

Cyber Security Risk: The VA International Small Portfolio’s and its service providers’ use of internet, technology and information systems may expose the Portfolio to potential risks linked to cyber security breaches of those technological or information systems. Cyber security breaches, amongst other things, could allow an unauthorized party to gain access to proprietary information, customer data, or fund assets, or cause the Portfolio and/or its service providers to suffer data corruption or lose operational functionality.
PERFORMANCE
The bar chart and table immediately following illustrate the variability of the VA International Small Portfolio’s returns and are meant to provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Portfolio. The bar chart shows the changes in the Portfolio’s performance from year to year. The performance reflected in the bar chart for the Portfolio does not reflect any insurance company separate account charges, which if reflected would lower returns. The table illustrates how annualized one year, five year and ten year returns, both before and after taxes, compare with those of a broad measure of market performance. The Portfolio’s past performance (before and after taxes) is not an indication of future results. Updated performance information for the Portfolio can be obtained by visiting http://us.dimensional.com.

The after-tax returns presented in the table for the VA International Small Portfolio are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on an investor’s tax situation and may differ from those shown in the table. In addition, the after-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold shares of the Portfolio through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts.
VA International Small Portfolio
Total Returns (%)
Bar Chart
January 2005-December 2014

Highest Quarter    Lowest Quarter
31.25 (4/09-6/09)    -22.08 (7/08-9/08)
Periods ending December 31, 2014
Annualized Returns (%)
Average Annual Total Returns - VA INTERNATIONAL SMALL PORTFOLIO
One Year
Five Years
Ten Years
VA International Small Portfolio (5.78%) 8.73% 7.00%
VA International Small Portfolio | Return After Taxes on Distributions (7.28%) 7.29% 5.53%
VA International Small Portfolio | Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Portfolio Shares (2.97%) 6.50% 5.51%
MSCI World ex USA Small Cap Index (net dividends) (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses, or taxes on sales) (5.35%) 7.91% 5.87%