ETF Evaluator: Dimensional World ex US Core Eq 2 ETF () Follow This ETF

Dimensional World ex US Core Eq 2 ETF Overview

Dimensional World ex US Core Eq 2 ETF (DFAX) is an actively managed International Equity Foreign Large Blend exchange-traded fund (ETF). Dimensional Fund Advisors launched the ETF in 2008.

The investment seeks to achieve long-term capital appreciation while considering federal tax implications of investment decisions. Generally, the Advisor buys and sells securities for the Portfolio with 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 Portfolio is designed to purchase a broad and diverse group of equity securities of non‑U.S. companies in countries with developed and emerging markets.

About Dimensional World ex US Core Eq 2 ETF (DFAX)

There are 3 members of the management team with an average tenure of 10.81 years: Jed Fogdall (2010), Mary Phillips (2017) and William Collins-Dean (2019). Management tenure is more important for actively managed ETFs than passive index ETFs.

The ETF has 1 primary benchmark: MSCI ACWI Ex USA IMI NR USD index with a weighting of 100%. Dimensional World ex US Core Eq 2 ETF has 10433 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 8.3% of the ETF’s assets. The ETF meets the SEC requirement of being classified as a diversified fund. The ETF is not considered to have an ESG focus with its investment selection and management.

Dimensional World ex US Core Eq 2 ETF is part of the Equity global asset class and is within the International Equity ETF group. Dimensional World ex US Core Eq 2 ETF has 99.2% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is 1.0% There is 99.2% allocated to foreign stock, and 0.0% is allocated to preferred stocks. The bond allocation as a percentage of total assets is 0.0% (0.0% domestic bond, 0.0% foreign bond and 0.0% convertible bond). Dimensional World ex US Core Eq 2 ETF has -0.2% of the portfolio in cash.

Assets Under Management

The fund has $12 billion in total assets, which is above the $9 billion average for the Foreign Large Blend category. Normally, lower assets under management translates to higher average expense ratios, and greater total assets are desired. However, for some investment categories, such as small-cap investing, it may be difficult for the manager to fully employ the desired active strategy if assets grow too large or too quickly.

DFAX Performance and Fees

The expense ratio measures how much of a fund’s assets are used for administrative expenses and operating expenses, including adviser fees and fees for the transfer agent and custodial services. The Dimensional World ex US Core Eq 2 ETF expense ratio is below average compared to funds in the Foreign Large Blend category. Dimensional World ex US Core Eq 2 ETF has an expense ratio of 0.28%, which is 29% lower than its category average, making the fund expense ratio grade a B. While it is difficult to predict returns, it is known that high annual expense ratios reduce your rate of return, and excessive fees are difficult to overcome. Active management normally comes with higher expense ratios than passive index management. Certain investment categories such as small company and foreign also normally have higher expense ratios. It is best to compare fund expense ratios against the category averages for meaningful assessments.

High portfolio turnover can translate to higher expenses and lower aftertax returns. Dimensional World ex US Core Eq 2 ETF has a portfolio turnover rate of 5%, which indicates that it holds its assets around / 0.2 years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 38% for the Foreign Large Blend category.

Recently, in the month of July 2026, Dimensional World ex US Core Eq 2 ETF returned -0.1%, which earned it a grade of D, as the Foreign Large Blend category had an average return of 1.1%. The letter grades of A, B, C, D and F are based upon relative rankings within the investment category. A grade of A, for example, would indicate that the return is in the highest 20% for that time period compared to all ETFs in that category.

Dimensional World ex US Core Eq 2 ETF has a trailing yield of 2.34%, which is below the 2.56% category average. The fund normally distributes its income quarterly.

It’s natural to seek the best-performing investments, but you must consider the relationship between risk and return and the impact of costs and taxes on your realized returns.

Dimensional World ex US Core Eq 2 ETF Grades

Year to date, the ETF has returned 13.3%, 1.2 percentage points better than the category, which translates into a grade of B. The fund has returned 27.6% over the past year (grade of B), 18.0% over the past three years (grade of B) and 10.0% per year over the past five years (grade of B) and 9.9% per year over the past 10 years (grade of B).

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