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World ex U.S. Value Portfolio

 

SHARE CLASS (TICKER): INSTITUTIONAL CLASS (DFWVX)

Summary Prospectus

February 28, 2025

 

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://www.dimensional.com/us-en/document-center. 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, 2025, as may be supplemented, are incorporated by reference into this Summary Prospectus.


Investment Objective

The investment objective of the World ex U.S. Value Portfolio (the “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, 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): None

 

 

 

 

Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each
year as a percentage of the value of your investment)

 

 

 

 

Management Fee

0.32%

Other Expenses

0.06%

Acquired Fund Fees & Expenses

0.19%

Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses

0.57%

Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement1

0.19%

Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement

0.38%

 

  

1

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP (the “Advisor”) has agreed to waive certain fees and in certain instances, assume certain expenses of the Portfolio. The Fee Waiver and/or Expense Assumption Agreement for the Portfolio will remain in effect through February 28, 2026, and may only be terminated by the Fund’s Board of Directors prior to that date. Under certain circumstances, the Advisor retains the right to seek reimbursement for any fees previously waived and/or expenses previously assumed up to thirty-six months after such fee waiver and/or expense assumption.

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. The costs for the Portfolio reflect the net expenses of the Portfolio that result from the contractual expense waiver in the first year only. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs whether you redeem or hold your shares would be:

  

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1 Year

3 Years

5 Years

10 Years

$39

$163

$299

$695

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. The Portfolio does not pay transaction costs when buying and selling shares of other funds managed by the Advisor (the “Underlying Funds”); however, the Underlying Funds pay transaction costs when buying and selling securities for their portfolio. 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 13% of the average value of its investment portfolio.

Principal Investment Strategies

To achieve the World ex U.S. Value Portfolio’s and the Underlying Funds’ investment objectives, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP (the “Advisor”) implements an integrated investment approach that combines research, portfolio design, portfolio management, and trading functions. As further described below, the Portfolio’s and the Underlying Funds’ designs emphasize long-term drivers of expected returns identified by the Advisor’s research, while balancing risk through broad diversification across companies and sectors. The Advisor’s portfolio management and trading processes further balance those long-term drivers of expected returns with shorter-term drivers of expected returns and trading costs.

The World ex U.S. Value Portfolio seeks to achieve its investment objective through exposure to a broad portfolio of securities of non-U.S. companies associated with countries with developed and emerging markets, which may include frontier markets (emerging market countries in an earlier stage of development), that the Advisor believes to be lower relative price stocks at the time of purchase. To achieve this exposure, the Advisor will generally purchase shares of The DFA International Value Series (the “DFA International Value Series”), DFA International Small Cap Value Portfolio, and Dimensional Emerging Markets Value Fund (the “Underlying Funds”), which are other funds managed by the Advisor. The Portfolio currently intends to allocate its investments among the following Underlying Funds: DFA International Value Series; DFA International Small Cap Value Portfolio; and Dimensional Emerging Markets Value Fund. Periodically, the Advisor will review the allocations for the Portfolio in each Underlying Fund and may adjust allocations to the Underlying Funds or may add or remove Underlying Funds in the Portfolio without notice to shareholders. In addition to, or in place of, investments in the Underlying Funds, the Portfolio also is permitted to invest directly in the same types of securities of companies that are described in this Prospectus as eligible investments for the

  

World ex U.S. Value Portfolio

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Underlying Funds. 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. The Advisor may consider the relative market capitalization weighting of developed and emerging markets within the universe of eligible securities when allocating Portfolio investments among the Underlying Funds or securities.

The DFA International Value Series invests in large lower relative price companies associated with developed market countries and the DFA International Small Cap Value Portfolio invests in small lower relative price companies associated with developed market countries. Generally, the Advisor determines if a company is large or small based on its market capitalization. A company’s market capitalization is the number of its shares outstanding times its price per share. Under a market capitalization weighted approach, companies with higher market capitalizations generally represent a larger proportion of an Underlying Fund than companies with relatively lower market capitalizations. The Dimensional Emerging Markets Value Fund may purchase securities of lower relative price companies associated with emerging markets, including frontier markets, across all market capitalizations. With respect to each Underlying Fund, the Advisor may limit or fix the Underlying Fund’s exposure to a particular country, region or issuer. The Portfolio and Underlying Funds may emphasize certain stocks, including smaller capitalization companies, lower relative price stocks, and/or higher profitability stocks as compared to their representation in the countries and/or regions in which the Portfolio and/or Underlying Funds are authorized to invest. An equity issuer is considered to have high profitability because it has high earnings or profits from operations in relation to its book value or assets. The criteria the Advisor uses for assessing relative price and profitability are subject to change from time to time.

The World ex U.S. Value Portfolio and each Underlying Fund intend to purchase securities of companies associated with countries that the Advisor has identified as approved markets for investment for such Portfolio or Underlying Fund. As a non-fundamental policy, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of the Portfolio’s net assets will be invested directly, or indirectly through its investment in the Underlying Funds, in securities of non-U.S. companies. The Portfolio, directly or indirectly through its investment in the Underlying Funds, intends to invest its assets to gain exposure to at least three different countries, excluding the United States.

The Advisor may also increase or reduce the World ex U.S. Value Portfolio’s and/or Underlying Funds’ exposure to an eligible company, or exclude a company, based on shorter-term considerations, such as a company’s price momentum, short-run reversals, and investment characteristics. 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. In addition, the Advisor seeks to reduce trading costs using a flexible trading approach that looks for opportunities

  

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to participate in the available market liquidity, while managing turnover and explicit transaction costs.

The World ex U.S. Value Portfolio and Underlying Funds may gain exposure to companies associated with approved markets by purchasing equity securities in the form of depositary receipts which may be domiciled or traded outside the issuer’s domicile country.

The World ex U.S. Value Portfolio and each Underlying Fund may purchase or sell futures contracts and options on futures contracts for equity securities and indices to increase or decrease equity market exposure based on actual or expected cash inflows to or outflows from the Portfolio or Underlying Fund. Because many of the Portfolio’s and Underlying Funds’ investments may be denominated in foreign currencies, the Portfolio and each Underlying Fund may enter into foreign currency exchange transactions, including foreign currency forward contracts, in connection with the settlement of foreign securities or to transfer cash balances from one currency to another currency.

The World ex U.S. Value Portfolio and Underlying Funds may lend their portfolio securities to generate additional income.

A summary of the investment strategies and policies of the Underlying Funds in which the World ex U.S. Value Portfolio invests as of the date of this Prospectus (other than the Underlying Funds that are included elsewhere in the Portfolio’s Prospectus) is described in the Portfolio’s Prospectus in the section entitled “ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON INVESTMENT OBJECTIVES AND POLICIES”.

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.

Fund of Funds Risk: The investment performance of a fund of funds is affected by the investment performance of the underlying funds in which the fund of funds invests. The ability of a fund of funds to achieve its investment objective depends on the ability of the underlying funds to meet their investment objectives and on the Advisor’s decisions regarding the allocation of a fund of funds’ assets among the underlying funds. A fund of funds may allocate assets to an underlying fund or asset class that underperforms other funds or asset classes. There can be no assurance that the investment objective of a fund of funds or any underlying fund will be achieved. Through its investments in the underlying funds, a fund of funds is subject to the risks of the underlying funds’ investments. When a fund of funds invests in underlying funds, investors are exposed to a proportionate share of the expenses of

  

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5


those underlying funds in addition to the expenses of a fund of funds. Certain risks of the Underlying Funds’ investments that are principal risks of investing in the Portfolio are described below.

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 a fund that owns them, to rise or fall. Stock markets are volatile, with periods of rising prices and periods of falling prices.

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 Underlying Funds do not hedge 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.

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 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.

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.

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

  

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market as a whole and other types of stocks. Value stocks also may underperform the market for long periods of time.

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 a fund to at times underperform equity funds that use other investment strategies.

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: 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. Certain securities issued by companies located or operating in China, such as China A-shares, are also subject to trading restrictions, quota limitations and less market liquidity, which could pose risks to a fund investing

  

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in such securities. In addition, investments in special structures that utilize contractual arrangements to provide exposure to certain Chinese companies, known as variable interest entities (“VIEs”), that operate in sectors in which China restricts and/or prohibits foreign investments may present additional risks. The Chinese government’s acceptance of the VIE structure is evolving. It is uncertain whether Chinese officials and regulators will withdraw their acceptance of the structure generally, or with respect to certain industries, or whether Chinese courts or arbitration bodies would decline to enforce the contractual rights of foreign investors, each of which would likely have significant, detrimental, and possibly permanent losses on the value of such investments.

Derivatives Risk: Derivatives are instruments, such as futures contracts, 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 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.

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 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: 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.

  

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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 table also includes the performance of an additional index with a similar investment universe as the Portfolio. 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.

 

World ex U.S. Value PortfolioInstitutional Class Shares —Total Returns

PerformanceBarChartData(2015:-8.29,2016:10.7,2017:28.21,2018:-16.69,2019:14.47,2020:-0.41,2021:16.32,2022:-6.38,2023:17.34,2024:6.66)

  

January 2015-December 2024

Highest Quarter

Lowest Quarter

21.68% 2020, Q4

-32.09% 2020, Q1

  

World ex U.S. Value Portfolio

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Annualized Returns (%)
Periods ended December 31, 2024

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1 Year

 

5 Years

 

10 Years

 

World ex U.S. Value Portfolio

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Return Before Taxes

 

6.66%

 

6.30%

 

5.35%

 

 

Return After Taxes on Distributions

 

5.65%

 

5.38%

 

4.46%

 

 

Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Portfolio Shares

 

4.73%

 

4.86%

 

4.11%

 

MSCI All Country World ex USA IMI Value Index (net dividends)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes on sales)

 

5.69%

 

4.50%

 

4.26%

 

MSCI All Country World ex USA IMI Index (net dividends)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes on sales)

 

5.23%

 

4.12%

 

4.91%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Investment Advisor/Portfolio Management

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP serves as the investment advisor for the 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 inception (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 2017.

 Ashish P. Bhagwanjee, Vice President and Senior Portfolio Manager of the Advisor, has been a portfolio manager of the Portfolio since 2022.

Purchase and Redemption of Fund Shares

Investors may purchase or redeem shares of the 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.

  

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Tax Information

The dividends and distributions you receive from the 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.

Payments to Financial Intermediaries

If you purchase the 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.

  

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Dimensional Fund Advisors LP
6300 Bee Cave Road, Building One
Austin, TX 78746
(512) 306-7400

COMM-022825-DFWVX

00311042