497K 1 d14697d497k.htm INTERNATIONAL SUSTAINABILITY CORE 1 PORTFOLIO International Sustainability Core 1 Portfolio

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International Sustainability Core 1 Portfolio

 

 

SHARE CLASS (TICKER): INSTITUTIONAL CLASS (DFSPX)

 

 

Summary Prospectus

February 28, 2021

Before you invest, you may want to review the Portfolio’s Prospectus, which contains more information about the Portfolio and its risks. You can find the Portfolio’s Prospectus and other information about the Portfolio, including the Statement of Additional Information (SAI) and most recent reports to shareholders, when available, online at https://us.dimensional.com/fund-documents. You can also get this information at no cost by calling collect to (512) 306-7400 or by sending an e-mail request to document_requests@dimensional.com. The Portfolio’s Prospectus and SAI, both dated February 28, 2021, as may be supplemented, are incorporated by reference into this Summary Prospectus.


Investment Objective

The investment objective of the International Sustainability Core 1 Portfolio (the “Portfolio”) is 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 International Sustainability Core 1 Portfolio.

 

 

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)*

 

Management Fee        0.21%  
Other Expenses        0.05%  
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses        0.26%  
*

The “Management Fee” and “Total Annual Operating Expenses” have been adjusted to reflect the decrease in management fee payable by the International Sustainability Core 1 Portfolio from 0.27% to 0.21% effective as of February 28, 2021.

EXAMPLE

This Example is meant to help you compare the cost of investing in the International Sustainability Core 1 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:

 

1 Year      3 Years      5 Years      10 Years  
$ 27      $ 84      $ 146      $ 331  

PORTFOLIO TURNOVER

The International Sustainability Core 1 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 Portfolio’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Portfolio’s portfolio turnover rate was 4% of the average value of its investment portfolio.

 

2    Dimensional Fund Advisors


Principal Investment Strategies

The International Sustainability Core 1 Portfolio purchases a broad and diverse group of securities of non-U.S. companies in developed markets. The Portfolio invests in companies of all sizes, with increased exposure to smaller capitalization, lower relative price, and higher profitability companies as compared to their representation in the International Universe, while adjusting the composition of the Portfolio based on sustainability impact considerations. For purposes of this Portfolio, the Advisor defines the International Universe as a market capitalization weighted set (e.g., the larger the company, the greater the proportion of the International Universe it represents) of non-U.S. companies in developed markets that have been authorized as approved markets for investment by the Advisor’s Investment Committee. The Portfolio’s increased exposure to smaller capitalization, lower relative price, and higher profitability companies may be achieved by decreasing the allocation of the Portfolio’s assets to larger capitalization, higher relative price, or lower profitability companies relative to their weight in the International Universe. An equity issuer is considered to have a high relative price (i.e., a growth stock) primarily because it has a high price in relation to its book value. 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. In assessing profitability, the Advisor considers different ratios, such as that of earnings or profits from operations relative to book value or assets. The criteria the Advisor uses for assessing relative price and profitability are subject to change from time to time.

The International Sustainability Core 1 Portfolio intends to purchase securities of companies associated with developed market countries that the Advisor has designated as approved markets. As a non-fundamental policy, under normal circumstances, the Portfolio will invest at least 80% of its net assets in equity securities. The Advisor determines company size on a country or region specific basis and based primarily on market capitalization. The percentage allocation of the assets of the Portfolio to securities of the largest high relative price companies as defined above will generally be reduced from between 1% and 35% of their percentage weight in the International Universe. As of December 31, 2020, securities of the largest high relative price companies in the International Universe comprised approximately 16% of the International Universe and the Advisor allocated approximately 14% of the Portfolio to securities of the largest high relative price companies in the International Universe. The percentage by which the Portfolio’s allocation to securities of the largest high relative price companies is reduced will change due to market movements, sustainability impact considerations and other factors. Additionally, the range by which the Portfolio’s percentage allocation to all securities as compared to the International Universe may be impacted by the Portfolio’s investment strategies with respect to sustainability impact considerations and the Advisor may also adjust the representation in the Portfolio of an eligible company, or exclude a company, after considering such factors as free float, momentum, trading strategies, liquidity, size, relative price, profitability, investment characteristics, and other factors that the

 

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Advisor determines to be appropriate. In assessing a company’s investment characteristics, the Advisor considers ratios such as recent changes in assets divided by total assets. The criteria the Advisor uses for assessing a company’s investment characteristics are subject to change from time to time.

The International Sustainability Core 1 Portfolio 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 Portfolio may purchase or sell futures contracts and options on futures contracts for foreign or 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 above-referenced investments are not subject to, although they may incorporate, the Portfolio’s sustainability impact considerations.

The International Sustainability Core 1 Portfolio may lend its portfolio securities to generate additional income.

The Advisor intends to take into account the impact that companies may have on the environment and other sustainability considerations when making investment decisions for the International Sustainability Core 1 Portfolio. Relative to a portfolio without these considerations, the Portfolio intends to exclude or underweight securities of companies that, according to the Portfolio’s sustainability impact considerations, may be less sustainable as compared either to other companies in the Portfolio’s investment universe or other companies with similar business lines. Similarly, relative to a portfolio without sustainability impact considerations, the Portfolio intends to overweight securities of companies that, according to the Portfolio’s sustainability impact considerations, may be more sustainable as compared either to other companies in the Portfolio’s investment universe or other companies with similar business lines. In considering sustainability impact and other factors that the Advisor believes may be important to investors, the Advisor may consider carbon and other greenhouse emissions, or potential emissions, land use, cluster munitions manufacturing, landmine manufacturing, civilian firearms manufacturing, biodiversity, involvement in toxic spills or releases, operational waste, water use, tobacco, palm oil, coal, child labor, and factory farming activities, among other factors. In particular, the Portfolio may exclude companies the Advisor considers to have high carbon or greenhouse gas emissions or reserves that may produce those emissions. The Advisor may engage third party service providers to provide research and/or ratings information relating to the Portfolio’s sustainability impact considerations with respect to securities in the portfolio, where information is available from such providers.

The Portfolio may periodically modify, add, or remove certain sustainability impact considerations. (See “Additional Information on Investment Objectives and Policies—Applying the Sustainability Portfolios’ Sustainability Impact Considerations” in this Prospectus.)

 

4    Dimensional Fund Advisors


Principal Risks

Because the value of your investment in the International Sustainability Core 1 Portfolio will fluctuate, there is the risk that you will lose money. An investment in the Portfolio is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. 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 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.

Profitability Investment Risk: High relative profitability stocks may perform differently from the market as a whole and an investment strategy purchasing these securities may cause the Portfolio to at times underperform equity funds that use other investment strategies.

Value Investment Risk: Value stocks may perform differently from the market as a whole and an investment strategy purchasing these securities may cause the Portfolio to at times underperform equity funds that use other investment strategies. Value stocks can react differently to political, economic, and industry developments than the market as a whole and other types of stocks. Value stocks also may underperform the market for long periods of time.

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

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 International Sustainability Core 1 Portfolio does not hedge foreign currency risk.

Depositary receipts are generally subject to the same risks as the foreign securities that they evidence or into which they may be converted. In addition, the underlying issuers of certain depositary receipts, particularly unsponsored or unregistered depositary receipts, are under no obligation to distribute shareholder

 

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communications to the holders of such receipts, or to pass through to them any voting rights with respect to the deposited securities. Depositary receipts that are not sponsored by the issuer may be less liquid and there may be less readily available public information about the issuer.

Sustainability Impact Consideration Investment Risk: The Portfolio’s sustainability impact considerations may limit the number of investment opportunities available to the Portfolio, and as a result, at times, the Portfolio may underperform funds that are not subject to such sustainability impact considerations. For example, the Portfolio may decline to purchase, or underweight its investment in, certain securities due to sustainability impact considerations when other investment considerations would suggest that a more significant investment in such securities would be advantageous. The Portfolio may also overweight its investment in certain securities due to sustainability impact considerations when other investment considerations would suggest that a lesser investment in such securities would be advantageous. In addition, the Portfolio may sell or retain certain securities due to sustainability impact considerations when it is otherwise disadvantageous to do so. The sustainability impact considerations may also cause the Portfolio’s industry allocation to deviate from that of funds without these considerations and of conventional benchmarks. The Advisor may also not be able to assess the sustainability impact of each company eligible for purchase by the Portfolio. For example, the Advisor may not be able to determine an overall sustainability impact score for each company based on the sustainability considerations because the third party service providers may not have data on the entire universe of companies considered by the Advisor for the Portfolio, or may not have information with respect to each factor considered as a sustainability impact consideration.

Derivatives Risk: Derivatives are instruments, such as futures, and options thereon, and foreign currency 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 to carry more risk than other types of investments. When the 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 counterparty, settlement, liquidity, interest rate, market, credit and management risks, as well as 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 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.

 

6    Dimensional Fund Advisors


Operational Risk: Operational risks include human error, changes in personnel, system changes, faults in communication, and failures in systems, technology, or processes. Various operational events or circumstances are outside the Advisor’s control, including instances at third parties. The Portfolio and the Advisor seek to reduce these operational risks through controls and procedures. However, these measures do not address every possible risk and may be inadequate to address these risks.

Cyber Security Risk: The 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 International Sustainability Core 1 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 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 International Sustainability Core 1 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.

 

International Sustainability Core 1 Portfolio Summary Prospectus    7


 

International Sustainability Core 1 Portfolio—Total Returns

 

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January 2011-December  2020

Highest Quarter

  

Lowest Quarter

19.05% (4/20–6/20)

  

-25.02% (1/20–3/20)

 

 

Annualized Returns (%)

Periods ending December 31, 2020

 

     1 Year     5 Years     10 Years  
International Sustainability Core 1 Portfolio                         

Return Before Taxes

     11.63     8.91     5.99

Return After Taxes on Distributions

     11.27     8.35     5.42

Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Portfolio Shares

     7.19     6.97     4.71
MSCI World ex USA Index (net dividends)
(reflects no deduction for fees, expenses, or taxes on sales)
     7.59     7.64     5.19

The implementation and management of the Advisor’s “Sustainability” portfolios, including without limitation, the International Sustainability Core 1 Portfolio, is protected by U.S. Patent Nos. 7,596,525 B1, 7,599,874 B1 and, 8,438,092 B2.

 

8    Dimensional Fund Advisors


Investment Advisor/Portfolio Management

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP serves as the investment advisor for the International Sustainability Core 1 Portfolio. Dimensional Fund Advisors Ltd. and DFA Australia Limited serve as the sub-advisors for the Portfolio. The following individuals are responsible for leading the day-to-day management of the Portfolio:

 

   

Jed S. Fogdall, Global Head of Portfolio Management, Chairman of the Investment Committee, Vice President and Senior Portfolio Manager of the Advisor, has been a portfolio manager of the Portfolio since 2010.

 

   

Allen Pu, Deputy Head of Portfolio Management, North America, member of the Investment Committee, Vice President and Senior Portfolio Manager of the Advisor, has been a portfolio manager of the Portfolio since 2015.

 

   

Bhanu P. Singh, Vice President and Senior Portfolio Manager of the Advisor, has been a portfolio manager of the Portfolio since 2015.

 

   

Mary T. Phillips, Deputy Head of Portfolio Management, North America, member of the Investment Committee, Vice President and Senior Portfolio Manager of the Advisor, has been a portfolio manager of the Portfolio since 2017.

 

   

William B. Collins-Dean, Vice President and Senior Portfolio Manager of the Advisor, has been a portfolio manager of the Portfolio since 2019.

Purchase and Redemption of Fund Shares

Investors may purchase or redeem shares of the International Sustainability Core 1 Portfolio on each day that the New York Stock Exchange is scheduled to be open for business by first contacting the Portfolio’s transfer agent at (888) 576-1167. Shareholders that invest in the Portfolio through a financial intermediary should contact their financial intermediary regarding purchase and redemption procedures. The Portfolio generally is available for investment only by institutional clients, clients of registered investment advisors, clients of financial institutions and a limited number of certain other investors as approved from time to time by the Advisor. All investments are subject to approval of the Advisor.

Tax Information

The dividends and distributions you receive from the International Sustainability Core 1 Portfolio are taxable and generally will be taxed as ordinary income, capital gains, or some combination of both, unless you are investing through a tax-advantaged arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or an individual retirement account, in which case distributions may be taxed as ordinary income when withdrawn from the plan or account.

 

International Sustainability Core 1 Portfolio Summary Prospectus    9


Payments to Financial Intermediaries

If you purchase the International Sustainability Core 1 Portfolio through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Portfolio and its related companies may pay the intermediary for the sale of the Portfolio shares and/or related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the financial intermediary to recommend the Portfolio over another investment. Ask your financial advisor or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.

 

10    Dimensional Fund Advisors


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Dimensional Fund Advisors LP

6300 Bee Cave Road, Building One

Austin, TX 78746

(512) 306-7400

 

RRD022821-DFSPX

00257183

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