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Oct. 31, 2024
Prospectus Summary | DFA Global Core Plus Real Return Portfolio
DFA Global Core Plus Real Return Portfolio
Investment Objective

The investment objective of the DFA Global Core Plus Real Return Portfolio (the “Global Core Plus Real Return Portfolio” or “Portfolio”) is to seek inflation protection and maximize total returns.

Fees and Expenses of the Portfolio

This table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy, hold or sell shares of the Portfolio. You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the table and Example below.

Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)
Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
Annual Fund Operating Expenses
Prospectus Summary
DFA Global Core Plus Real Return Portfolio
Institutional Class
Management Fee 0.21%
Other Expenses 0.07%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses 0.29%
EXAMPLE

This Example is meant to help you compare the cost of investing in the Portfolio with the cost of investing in other 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 whether you redeem or hold your shares would be:

Expense Example
Prospectus Summary
DFA Global Core Plus Real Return Portfolio
Institutional Class
USD ($)
1 Year $ 30
3 Years 93
5 Years 163
10 Years $ 368
Expense Example, No Redemption
Prospectus Summary
DFA Global Core Plus Real Return Portfolio
Institutional Class
USD ($)
1 Year $ 30
3 Years 93
5 Years 163
10 Years $ 368
PORTFOLIO TURNOVER

A fund generally 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 fund 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 34% of the average value of its investment portfolio.

Principal Investment Strategies

The Global Core Plus Real Return Portfolio will pursue its investment objective by investing in a universe of U.S. and foreign debt securities, including inflation-protected securities, and derivative instruments. The Portfolio primarily invests in securities that mature within twenty years from the date of settlement, but may, as in the case of mortgage-backed securities, invest in securities with longer maturities. Under normal circumstances, the Portfolio

will generally maintain a weighted average duration between three and ten years. Duration is a measure of the sensitivity of a security’s price to changes in interest rates. The longer a security’s duration, the more sensitive it will be to changes in interest rates. The Advisor expects that the Portfolio will primarily invest in the obligations of issuers that are in developed countries. However, the Advisor may invest in issuers located in other countries as well, which may include emerging markets. The Advisor selects the Portfolio's foreign country and currency compositions based on an evaluation of various factors, including, but not limited to, relative interest rates and exchange rates.

In making purchase decisions, if the expected term premium is greater for longer-term securities in the eligible maturity range, the Advisor will focus investments in the longer-term area, otherwise, the Global Core Plus Real Return Portfolio will focus investments in the shorter-term area of the eligible maturity range.

The Global Core Plus Real Return Portfolio may invest in fixed income securities considered investment grade at the time of purchase (e.g., rated AAA to BBB- by S&P Global Ratings (“S&P”) or Fitch Ratings Ltd. (“Fitch”) or Aaa to Baa3 by Moody’s Investor’s Service, Inc. (“Moody’s”)). The Portfolio may invest with an emphasis on fixed income securities rated A+ to BBB- by S&P or Fitch or A1 to Baa3 by Moody’s. In addition, the Portfolio may invest in fixed income securities rated below investment grade (also known as “junk” bonds). The Portfolio will be managed with a view to capturing expected credit premiums and expected term premiums. The term “expected credit premium” means the expected incremental return on investment for holding obligations considered to have greater credit risk than direct obligations of the U.S. Treasury, and “expected term premium” means the expected incremental return on investment for holding securities having longer-term maturities as compared to shorter-term maturities. In managing the Portfolio, the Advisor will increase or decrease investment exposure to intermediate-term securities depending on the expected term premium and also increase or decrease investment exposure to lower-rated debt securities depending on the expected credit premium.

The Global Core Plus Real Return Portfolio may invest in inflation protected securities, obligations issued or guaranteed by the U.S. and foreign governments, their agencies and instrumentalities, including mortgage-backed securities, corporate debt obligations, bank obligations, commercial paper, repurchase agreements, money market funds, securities of domestic or foreign issuers denominated in U.S. dollars but not trading in the United States, and obligations of supranational organizations. The Portfolio may purchase or sell mortgage-backed securities on a delayed delivery or forward commitment basis through the “to-be-announced” (TBA) market. In addition, the Portfolio is authorized to invest more than 25% of its total assets in U.S. Treasury bonds, bills and notes, and obligations of federal agencies and instrumentalities. The Advisor expects that the Portfolio will primarily invest in the obligations of issuers that are in developed countries. The Portfolio intends to invest its assets to gain exposure to at least three different countries, including the United States. As of the date of the Prospectus, the Portfolio invests approximately 50% of its net assets in U.S. issuers. This percentage will change due to market conditions. An issuer may be considered to be of a country if it is organized under the laws of, maintains its principal place of business in, has at least 50% of its assets or derives at least 50% of its operating income in, or is a government, government agency, instrumentality or central bank of, that country.

The Global Core Plus Real Return Portfolio may enter into swaps, such as inflation swaps, to seek inflation protection. Because many of the Global Core Plus Real Return Portfolio’s investments may be denominated in foreign currencies, the Portfolio may enter into foreign currency forward contracts to attempt to protect against uncertainty in the level of future foreign currency rates, to hedge against fluctuations in currency exchange rates or to transfer balances from one currency to another. 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 Portfolio’s total return. The Portfolio may purchase or sell futures contracts and options on futures contracts, to hedge its interest rate or currency exposure or for non-hedging purposes, such as a substitute for direct investment or to increase or decrease market exposure, including adjustments based on actual or expected cash inflows to or outflows from the Portfolio.

The Global Core Plus Real Return Portfolio may lend its portfolio securities to generate additional income.

Principal Risks
Risk Table - Prospectus Summary - DFA Global Core Plus Real Return Portfolio
Risk [Text Block]
Principal Risks

Principal Risks

Because the value of your investment in the 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.

Risk Lose Money [Member] Because the value of your investment in the Portfolio will fluctuate, there is the risk that you will lose money.
Risk Not Insured [Member] 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.
Market Risk

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 securities, and a fund that owns them, to rise or fall.

Foreign Securities and Currencies Risk

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 Portfolio hedges foreign currency risk.

Foreign issuers may not be subject to uniform accounting, auditing and financial reporting standards and there may be less reliable and publicly available financial and other information about such issuers, as compared to U.S. issuers. A fund may have greater difficulty voting proxies, exercising shareholder rights, securing dividends and/or interest and obtaining information regarding corporate actions on a timely basis, pursuing legal remedies, and obtaining judgments with respect to foreign investments in foreign courts than with respect to domestic issuers in U.S. courts.

Foreign Government Debt Risk

Foreign Government Debt Risk: The risk that: (a) the governmental entity that controls the repayment of government debt may not be willing or able to repay the principal and/or to pay the interest when it becomes due, due to factors such as political considerations, the relative size of the governmental entity’s debt position in relation to the economy, cash flow problems, insufficient foreign currency reserves, the failure to put in place economic reforms required by the International Monetary Fund or other multilateral agencies, and/or other national economic factors; (b) governments may default on their debt securities, which may require holders of such securities to participate in debt rescheduling; and (c) there is no legal or bankruptcy process by which defaulted government debt may be collected in whole or in part.

Emerging Markets Risk

Emerging Markets Risk: Securities of issuers associated with emerging market countries may be subject to higher and additional risks than securities of issuers in developed foreign markets. Numerous emerging market countries have a history of, and continue to experience serious, and potentially continuing, economic and political problems. Stock markets in many emerging market countries are relatively small, expensive to trade in and generally have higher risks than those in developed markets. Securities in emerging markets also may be less liquid than those in developed markets and foreigners are often limited in their ability to invest in, and withdraw assets from, these markets. Additional restrictions may be imposed under other conditions. Frontier market countries generally have smaller economies or less developed capital markets and, as a result, the risks of investing in emerging market countries are magnified in frontier market countries.

China Investments Risk

China Investments Risk: There are special risks associated with investments in China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan are highly interconnected and interdependent, with relationships and tensions built on trade, finance, culture, and politics. Despite prior economic and trade reforms and the prior expansion of private ownership of companies in certain sectors, the Chinese government still exercises substantial influence over many aspects of the private sector and may own or control many companies, including by embedding Chinese Communist Party or People’s Armed Forces Department personnel in Chinese companies. In addition, the Chinese government continues to maintain a major role in economic policy making and may alter or discontinue economic or trade reforms at any time. Investing in China involves risks of losses due to expropriation, nationalization, confiscation of assets and property, and the imposition of restrictions on foreign investments and on repatriation of capital invested.

Investments in China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan are also subject to the risk of escalating tensions and deteriorating relations with the U.S. as economic and strategic competition between the U.S. and China intensifies, which could result in further tariffs, trade restrictions, sanctions, or other actions that adversely impact the value of such investments. A reduction in spending on Chinese products and services, supply chain diversification or the institution of additional tariffs or other trade barriers, including as a result of heightened trade tensions between China and the United States may also have an adverse impact on the Chinese economy. In addition, investments in Taiwan could be adversely affected by its political and economic relationship with China.

Mortgage-Backed Securities Risk

Mortgage-Backed Securities Risk: Mortgage-backed securities represent interests in “pools” of mortgages and often involve risks that are different from or potentially more significant than risks associated with other types of debt instruments. Mortgage securities differ from typical debt securities in that principal is not paid back at maturity, but rather periodically over the life of the security. A fund may receive unscheduled payments of principal due to voluntary prepayments, refinancings or foreclosures on the underlying mortgage loans. When interest rates decline, borrowers may pay off their mortgages sooner than expected. This can reduce the returns of a fund because it may have to reinvest that money at the lower prevailing interest rates. As a result, mortgage securities may be less effective than some other types of debt securities as a means of securing long-term interest rates and may have less potential for capital appreciation during periods of falling interest rates. Conversely, in a period of rising interest rates, a fund may exhibit additional volatility since rising interest rates tend to extend the duration of fixed rate mortgage-related securities, making them more sensitive to changes in interest rates. As interest rates rise mortgage borrowers are less likely to exercise prepayment options, which may reduce the value of these securities and potentially cause a fund to lose money. This is known as extension risk.

Interest Rate Risk

Interest Rate Risk: Fixed income securities are subject to interest rate risk because the prices of fixed income securities tend to move in the opposite direction of interest rates. When interest rates rise, fixed income security prices fall. During periods of very low or negative interest rates, a fund may be subject to a greater risk of rising interest rates. When interest rates fall, fixed income security prices rise. In general, fixed income securities with longer maturities are more sensitive to changes in interest rates.

Inflation-Protected Securities Interest Rate Risk

Inflation-Protected Securities Interest Rate Risk: Inflation-protected securities may react differently from other fixed income securities to changes in interest rates. Because interest rates on inflation-protected securities are adjusted for inflation, the values of these securities are not materially affected by inflation expectations. Therefore, the value of inflation-protected securities are anticipated to change in response to changes in “real” interest rates, which represent nominal (stated) interest rates reduced by the expected impact of inflation. Generally, the value of an inflation-protected security will fall when real interest rates rise and will rise when real interest rates fall.

Inflation-Protected Securities Tax Risk

Inflation-Protected Securities Tax Risk: Any increase in the principal amount of an inflation-protected security may be included for tax purposes in a fund’s gross income, even though no cash attributable to such gross income has been received by a fund. In such event, a fund may be required to make annual gross distributions to shareholders that exceed the cash it has otherwise received. In order to pay such distributions, a fund may be required to raise cash by selling its investments. The sale of such investments could result in capital gains to a fund and additional capital gain distributions to shareholders. In addition, adjustments during the taxable year for deflation to an inflation-indexed bond held by a fund may cause amounts previously distributed to shareholders in the taxable year as income to be characterized as a return of capital, which could increase or decrease a fund’s ordinary income distributions to shareholders, and may cause some of a fund’s distributed income to be classified as a return of capital.

Risks of Investing for Inflation Protection

Risks of Investing for Inflation Protection: Because the interest and/or principal payments on an inflation-protected security are adjusted periodically for changes in inflation, the income distributed by a fund investing in such securities may be irregular. Although the U.S. Treasury guarantees to pay at maturity at least the original face value of any inflation-protected securities the Treasury issues, other issuers may not offer the same guarantee. Inflation-protected securities are not protected against deflation. As a result, in a period of deflation, the principal and income of inflation-protected securities held by a fund will decline and the fund may suffer a loss during such periods. While inflation-protected securities are expected to be protected from long-term inflationary trends, short-term increases in inflation may lead to a decline in the value of a fund holding such securities. For example, if interest rates rise due to reasons other than inflation, a fund’s investment in these securities may not be protected to the extent that the increase is not reflected in the securities’ inflation measures. In addition, positive adjustments to principal generally will result in taxable income to a fund at the time of such adjustments (which generally would be distributed by the fund as part of its taxable dividends), even though the principal amount is not paid until maturity. The current market value of inflation-protected securities is not guaranteed and will fluctuate.

Credit Risk

Credit Risk: Credit risk is the risk that the issuer of a security may be unable to make interest payments and/or repay principal when due. A downgrade to an issuer’s credit rating or a perceived change in an issuer’s financial strength may affect a security’s value, and thus, impact the performance of a fund holding such securities. Government agency obligations have different levels of credit support and, therefore, different degrees of credit risk. Securities issued by agencies and instrumentalities of the U.S. Government that are supported by the full faith and credit of the United States, such as the Federal Housing Administration and Ginnie Mae, present little credit risk. Other securities issued by agencies and instrumentalities sponsored by the U.S. Government, that are supported only by the issuer’s

right to borrow from the U.S. Treasury, subject to certain limitations, and securities issued by agencies and instrumentalities sponsored by the U.S. Government that are sponsored by the credit of the issuing agencies, such as Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, are subject to a greater degree of credit risk. U.S. government agency securities issued or guaranteed by the credit of the agency may still involve a risk of non-payment of principal and/or interest. Credit risk is greater for fixed income securities with ratings below investment grade (e.g., BB+ or below by S&P or Fitch or Ba1 or below by Moody’s). Fixed income securities that are below investment grade involve high credit risk and are considered speculative. Below investment grade fixed income securities may also fluctuate in value more than higher quality fixed income securities and, during periods of market volatility, may be more difficult to sell at the time and price the Portfolio desires.

High Yield Risk

High Yield Risk: Securities rated below investment grade may be subject to greater credit and liquidity risks than investment grade securities. Fixed income securities that are below investment grade involve high credit risk and are considered speculative. Below investment grade fixed income securities may also fluctuate in value more than higher quality fixed income securities and, during periods of market volatility, may be more difficult to sell at the time and price a fund desires.

Income Risk

Income Risk: Income risk is the risk that falling interest rates will cause a fund’s income to decline because, among other reasons, the proceeds from maturing short-term securities in its portfolio may be reinvested in lower-yielding securities.

Call Risk

Call Risk: Call risk is the risk that during periods of falling interest rates, an issuer will call or repay a higher-yielding fixed income security before its maturity date, forcing a fund to reinvest in fixed income securities with lower interest rates than the original obligations.

Derivatives Risk

Derivatives Risk: Derivatives are instruments, such as swaps, futures contracts, and options thereon, and foreign currency forward contracts, whose value is derived from that of other assets, rates or indices. Derivatives can be used for hedging (attempting to reduce risk by offsetting one investment position with another) or non-hedging purposes. Hedging with derivatives may increase expenses, and there is no guarantee that a hedging strategy will work. While hedging can reduce or eliminate losses, it can also reduce or eliminate gains or cause losses if the market moves in a manner different from that anticipated by a fund or if the cost of the derivative outweighs the benefit of the hedge. In regard to currency hedging, it is generally not possible to precisely match the foreign currency exposure of such foreign currency forward contracts to the value of the securities involved due to fluctuations in the market values of such securities and cash flows into and out of a fund between the date a foreign currency forward contract is entered into and the date it expires. The use of derivatives for non-hedging purposes may be considered to carry more risk than other types of investments. When a fund uses derivatives, the fund 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 a fund could lose more than the principal amount invested. Additional risks are associated with the use of swaps including counterparty and credit risk (the risk that the other party to a swap agreement will not fulfill its contractual obligations, whether because of bankruptcy or other default) and liquidity risk (the possible lack of a secondary market for the swap agreement). Credit risk increases when a fund is the seller of swaps and counterparty risk increases when the fund is a buyer of swaps. In addition, where a fund is the seller of swaps, it may be required to liquidate portfolio securities at inopportune times in order to meet payment obligations. Swaps may be illiquid or difficult to value.

Liquidity Risk

Liquidity Risk: Liquidity risk exists when particular portfolio investments are difficult to purchase or sell. To the extent that a fund holds illiquid investments, the fund’s performance may be reduced due to an inability to sell the investments at opportune prices or times. Liquid portfolio investments may become illiquid or less liquid after purchase by a fund due to low trading volume, adverse investor perceptions and/or other market developments. Liquidity risk includes the risk that a fund will experience significant net redemptions at a time when it cannot find willing buyers for its portfolio securities or can only sell its portfolio securities at a material loss or at increased costs. Liquidity risk can be more pronounced in periods of market turmoil or in situations where ownership of shares of a fund are concentrated in one or a few investors.

Securities Lending Risk

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, a fund may lose money and there may be a delay in recovering the loaned securities. A fund 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.

Operational Risk

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 a fund’s or its advisor’s control, including instances at third parties. A fund and its advisor seek to reduce these operational risks through controls and procedures. However, measures that seek to reduce these operational risks through controls and procedures may not address every possible risk and may be inadequate to address these risks.

Cyber Security Risk

Cyber Security Risk: A fund and its service providers’ use of internet, technology and information systems may expose the fund 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 fund 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 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 returns for certain periods, 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 https://www.dimensional.com/us-en/funds.

The after-tax returns presented in the table for the 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.

DFA Global Core Plus Real Return Portfolio Institutional Class Shares —Total Returns
Bar Chart
Annualized Returns (%)
Average Annual Total Returns - Prospectus Summary - DFA Global Core Plus Real Return Portfolio
Label
1 Year
Since Inception
[1]
Institutional Class Return Before Taxes 4.41% 1.37%
Institutional Class | After Taxes on Distributions Return After Taxes on Distributions 2.73% 0.16%
Institutional Class | After Taxes on Distributions and Sales Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Portfolio Shares 2.61% 0.53%
Bloomberg Global Aggregate Bond Index (hedged to USD) Bloomberg Global Aggregate Bond Index (hedged to USD)    
Bloomberg Global Aggregate Bond Index (hedged to USD)   3.40% (0.28%)
[1]

Since inception April 26, 2021.