Instead of buying securities directly, the Fund invests substantially all of its assets in the DFA Portfolio, which is managed by the Sub-Adviser and has the same investment objective and investment policies as the Fund. The DFA Portfolio seeks to provide investors with access to securities portfolios consisting of a broad range of equity securities of primarily small Japanese, United Kingdom, Continental European, Asia Pacific and Canadian companies. The DFA Portfolio invests substantially all of its assets in: The Japanese Small Company Series (the “Japanese Series”), The United Kingdom Small Company Series (the “United Kingdom Series”), The Continental Small Company Series (the “Continental Series”), The Asia Pacific Small Company Series (the “Asia Pacific Series”) and The Canadian Small Company Series (the “Canadian Series”) (each an “Underlying Fund” and together, the “Underlying Funds”), each of which is a series of The DFA Investment Trust Company. Periodically, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP (the “Sub-Adviser”) will review the allocations for the DFA Portfolio in each Underlying Fund and may adjust allocations to the Underlying Funds or may add or remove Underlying Funds in the DFA Portfolio without notice to shareholders.

To achieve the DFA Portfolio’s and the Underlying Funds’ investment objectives, the Sub-Adviser implements an integrated investment approach that combines research, portfolio design, portfolio management, and trading functions. As further described below, the DFA Portfolio’s and the Underlying Funds’ designs emphasize long-term drivers of expected returns identified by the Sub-Adviser’s research, while balancing risk through broad diversification across companies and sectors. The Sub-Adviser’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 DFA Portfolio is designed to provide investors with access to securities portfolios consisting of a broad range of equity securities of primarily small Canadian, Japanese, United Kingdom, Continental European and Asia Pacific companies. The DFA Portfolio also may have some exposure to small capitalization equity securities associated with other countries or regions. Each Underlying Fund invests in small companies using a market capitalization weighted approach in each country or region designated by the Sub-Adviser as an approved market for investment. 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 DFA 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 DFA Portfolio and/or Underlying Funds are authorized to invest. 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 Sub-Adviser may consider additional factors such as price-to-cash flow or price-to-earnings ratios. 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 Sub-Adviser uses for assessing relative price and profitability are subject to change from time to time. As a non-fundamental policy, under normal circumstances, the Fund, through its investments in the DFA Portfolio and, indirectly, the Underlying Funds, will invest at least 80% of its net assets in securities of small companies.

The Sub-Adviser may also increase or reduce the DFA 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 Sub-Adviser considers ratios such as recent changes in assets divided by total assets. The criteria the Sub-Adviser uses for assessing a company’s investment characteristics are subject to change from time to time. In addition, the Sub-Adviser seeks to reduce trading costs using a flexible trading approach that looks for opportunities to participate in the available market liquidity, while managing turnover and explicit transaction costs.

As of August 31, 2024, the DFA Portfolio invested its assets in the Underlying Funds within the following ranges (expressed as a percentage of the DFA Portfolio’s assets):

The allocation of the assets of the DFA Portfolio to be invested in the Underlying Funds will be determined by the Sub-Adviser on at least a semi-annual basis. The Underlying Funds invest primarily in countries that the Sub-Adviser views as developed market countries. Each Underlying Fund may lend its portfolio securities to generate additional income.

The DFA Portfolio and the Underlying Funds are advised by the Sub-Adviser. For as long as the Fund invests substantially all of its assets in the DFA Portfolio, the Sub-Adviser will not receive any sub-advisory fee from the Fund for its sub-advisory services. The Sub-Adviser receives an investment management fee from the DFA Portfolio for the services the Sub-Adviser provides to the DFA Portfolio. The Sub-Adviser also receives investment management fees for providing investment management services to the Underlying Funds. The Sub-Adviser has agreed to this fee arrangement in order to prevent duplication of advisory fees to the Sub-Adviser.

The Fund may withdraw its investment in the DFA Portfolio at any time if the Fund’s Board of Trustees determines that it is in the best interest of the Fund and its shareholders to do so. If this happens, the Fund’s assets either will be invested in another mutual fund or will be invested directly according to the investment policies and restrictions described in this Prospectus.