Fund Evaluator:

DFA US Core Equity 1 I Overview

DFA US Core Equity 1 I (DFEOX) is an actively managed U.S. Equity Large Blend fund. Dimensional Fund Advisors launched the fund in 2005.

The investment seeks to achieve long-term capital appreciation. The fund purchases a broad and diverse group of securities of U.S. companies. It 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 U.S. Universe. The Advisor generally defines the U.S. Universe as a market capitalization weighted set of U.S. operating companies listed on a securities exchange in the United States that is deemed appropriate by the Advisor.

About DFA US Core Equity 1 I (DFEOX)

There are 3 members of the management team with an average tenure of 7.09 years: Jed Fogdall (2012), Allen Pu (2024), John Hertzer (2022). Management tenure is more important for actively managed funds than passive index funds.

The fund has 1 primary benchmark: Russell 3000 TR USD index with a weighting of 100%. DFA US Core Equity 1 I has 2330 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 28.4% of the fund’s assets. The fund meets the SEC requirement of being classified as a diversified fund. The fund is not considered to have an ESG focus with its investment selection and management.

DFA US Core Equity 1 I is part of the Equity global asset class and is within the U.S. Equity fund group. DFA US Core Equity 1 I has 1.0% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is 94.4%. There is 1.0% 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). DFA US Core Equity 1 I has 4.6% of the portfolio in cash.

Assets Under Management

The fund has $41 billion in total assets, which is above the $6 billion average for the 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.

DFEOX 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 DFA US Core Equity 1 I expense ratio is low compared to funds in the Large Blend category. DFA US Core Equity 1 I has an expense ratio of 0.15%, which is 82% lower than its category average, making the fund expense ratio grade a A. 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. DFA US Core Equity 1 I has a portfolio turnover rate of 6%, indicating that holds its assets around 0.2 years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 48% for the Large Blend category.

Recently, in the month of July 2026, DFA US Core Equity 1 I returned 0.2%, which earned it a grade of C, as the Large Blend category had an average return of 0.4%. 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 funds in that category.

DFA US Core Equity 1 I has a trailing yield of 0.98%, which is above the 0.56% category average. The fund normally distributes its income quarterly and its capital gains annually.

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.

DFA US Core Equity 1 I Grades

Year to date, the fund has returned 12.3%, 3.0 percentage points better than the category, which translates into a grade of A. The fund has returned 21.5% over the past year (grade of A), 18.2% over the past three years (grade of C) and 12.2% per year over the past five years (grade of B) and 14.3% per year over the past 10 years (grade of C).

For more mutual fund grades, analysis and screening tools to help your investment discovery, join AAII for a $2, full-access trial. Learn more here: https://invest.aaii.com/membership.

Otherwise, for more information about DFA US Core Equity 1 I, including its riskiness, submit your email to unlock the rest of the article.