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T.A. U.S. Core Equity 2 Portfolio
T.A. U.S. Core Equity 2 Portfolio
Investment Objective
The investment objective of the T.A. U.S. Core Equity 2 Portfolio is to achieve long-term capital appreciation while considering federal income tax implications of investment decisions.
Fees and Expenses of the Portfolio
This table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the T.A. U.S. Core Equity 2 Portfolio.
Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment):
Shareholder Fees
T.A. U.S. Core Equity 2 Portfolio
Institutional Class
USD ($)
Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment) none
Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
Annual Fund Operating Expenses
T.A. U.S. Core Equity 2 Portfolio
Institutional Class
Management Fee 0.22%
Other Expenses 0.02%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses 0.24%
EXAMPLE
This Example is meant to help you compare the cost of investing in the T.A. U.S. Core Equity 2 Portfolio with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Portfolio for the time periods indicated. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Portfolio’s operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
Expense Example
1 Year
3 Years
5 Years
10 Years
T.A. U.S. Core Equity 2 Portfolio | Institutional Class | USD ($) 25 77 135 306
Expense Example, No Redemption
1 Year
3 Years
5 Years
10 Years
T.A. U.S. Core Equity 2 Portfolio | Institutional Class | USD ($) 25 77 135 306
PORTFOLIO TURNOVER
The T.A. U.S. Core Equity 2 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 T.A. U.S. Core Equity 2 Portfolio’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the T.A. U.S. Core Equity 2 Portfolio’s portfolio turnover rate was 7% of the average value of its investment portfolio.
Principal Investment Strategies
When constructing the T.A. U.S. Core Equity 2 Portfolio’s investment portfolio, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP (the “Advisor”) intends to consider federal tax implications when making investment decisions with respect to individual securities to seek to provide a tax advantage. When consistent with the Portfolio’s investment policies, the Advisor will buy and sell securities for the Portfolio considering the goals of: (i) delaying and minimizing the realization of net capital gains (e.g., selling stocks with capital losses to offset gains, realized or anticipated); and (ii) maximizing the extent to which any realized net capital gains are long-term in nature (i.e., taxable at lower capital gains tax rates).

The T.A. U.S. Core Equity 2 Portfolio purchases a broad and diverse group of securities of U.S. companies with a greater emphasis on small capitalization and value companies as compared to their representation in the U.S. Universe. The Advisor generally defines the U.S. Universe as a market capitalization weighted portfolio of U.S. operating companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”), NYSE MKT LLC, Nasdaq Global Market®, Nasdaq Capital Market®, or such other securities exchanges deemed appropriate by the Advisor. The Portfolio’s increased exposure to small and value companies may be achieved by decreasing the allocation of the Portfolio’s assets to the largest U.S. growth companies relative to their weight in the U.S. Universe. An equity issuer is considered a growth company primarily because it has a low book value, that is not negative, in relation to its market capitalization. Securities are considered value stocks primarily because a company’s shares have a high book value in relation to their market value.

As a non-fundamental policy, under normal circumstances, the T.A. U.S. Core Equity 2 Portfolio will invest at least 80% of its net assets in securities of U.S. companies. The percentage allocation of the assets of the T.A. U.S. Core Equity 2 Portfolio to securities of the largest U.S. growth companies will generally be reduced from between 5% and 35% of their percentage weight in the U.S. Universe. For example, as of December 31, 2016, securities of the largest U.S. growth companies comprised 31% of the U.S. Universe and the Advisor allocated approximately 15% of the T.A. U.S. Core Equity 2 Portfolio to securities of the largest U.S. growth companies. The percentage by which the T.A. U.S. Core Equity 2 Portfolio’s allocation to securities of the largest U.S. growth companies is reduced will change due to market movements. The Advisor may also adjust the representation in the T.A. U.S. Core Equity 2 Portfolio of an eligible company, or exclude a company, after considering such factors as free float, momentum, trading strategies, liquidity, profitability, and other factors that the Advisor determines to be appropriate, given market conditions. 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 T.A. U.S. Core Equity 2 Portfolio may purchase or sell futures contracts and options on futures contracts for 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 sell futures contracts to establish short positions in individual securities or to use derivatives for purposes of speculation or leveraging investment returns.

The T.A. U.S. Core Equity 2 Portfolio may lend its portfolio securities to generate additional income.
Principal Risks
Because the value of your investment in the Portfolio will fluctuate, there is the risk that you will lose money. The following is a description of principal risks of investing in the Portfolio.

Equity Market Risk: Even a long-term investment approach cannot guarantee a profit. Economic, market, political, and issuer-specific conditions and events will cause the value of equity securities, and the T.A. U.S. Core Equity 2 Portfolio that owns them, to rise or fall. Stock markets tend to move in cycles, with periods of rising prices and periods of falling prices.

Value Investment Risk: Value stocks may perform differently from the market as a whole and following a value-oriented investment strategy may cause the Portfolio to at times underperform equity funds that use other investment strategies.

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.

Tax Advantage Strategy Risk: An investment strategy that considers the tax implications of investment decisions may alter the construction of the T.A. U.S. Core Equity Portfolio and affect the portfolio holdings, when compared to those of non-tax managed mutual funds. The Advisor anticipates that performance of the Portfolio may deviate from that of non-tax managed mutual funds.

Derivatives Risk: Derivatives are instruments, such as futures contracts, whose value is derived from that of other assets, rates or indices. The use of derivatives for non-hedging purposes may be considered to carry more risk than other types of investments. When the T.A. U.S. Core Equity 2 Portfolio uses derivatives, the Portfolio will be directly exposed to the risks of those derivatives. Derivative instruments are subject to a number of risks including 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 T.A. U.S. Core Equity 2 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 T.A. U.S. Core Equity 2 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 T.A. U.S. Core Equity 2 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 table illustrates how annualized one year, five year and since inception 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 T.A. U.S. Core Equity 2 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-advantaged arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts.
T.A. U.S. Core Equity 2 Portfolio—Total Returns
Bar Chart
January 2008-December 2016

Highest Quarter    Lowest Quarter
18.98% (7/09–9/09)
   -24.21% (10/08–12/08)
Annualized Returns (%)
Periods ending December 31, 2016
Average Annual Total Returns - T.A. U.S. Core Equity 2 Portfolio
1 Year
5 Years
Since Inception
Inception Date
Institutional Class 16.31% 15.04% 6.90% Oct. 04, 2007
Institutional Class | Return After Taxes on Distributions 15.84% 14.50% 6.52% Oct. 04, 2007
Institutional Class | Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Portfolio Shares 9.57% 12.07% 5.51% Oct. 04, 2007
Russell 3000® Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses, or taxes) 12.74% 14.67% 6.56%