Fund Evaluator:

DFA US Vector Equity I Overview

DFA US Vector Equity I (DFVEX) is an actively managed U.S. Equity Mid-Cap Value fund. Dimensional Fund Advisors launched the fund in 2005.

The investment seeks long-term capital appreciation. The fund purchases a broad and diverse group of equity securities of U.S. operating 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 Vector Equity I (DFVEX)

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 Vector Equity I has 2101 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 25.1% 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 Vector Equity I is part of the Equity global asset class and is within the U.S. Equity fund group. DFA US Vector Equity I has 1.0% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is 94.1%. 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 Vector Equity I has 4.9% of the portfolio in cash.

Assets Under Management

The fund has $5 billion in total assets, which is above the $642 million average for the Mid-Cap Value 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.

DFVEX 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 Vector Equity I expense ratio is below average compared to funds in the Mid-Cap Value category. DFA US Vector Equity I has an expense ratio of 0.24%, which is 77% 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 Vector Equity I has a portfolio turnover rate of 11%, indicating that holds its assets around 0.1 years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 51% for the Mid-Cap Value category.

Recently, in the month of July 2026, DFA US Vector Equity I returned 1.2%, which earned it a grade of D, as the Mid-Cap Value category had an average return of 1.7%. 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 Vector Equity I has a trailing yield of 1.08%, which is above the 0.87% 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 Vector Equity I Grades

Year to date, the fund has returned 14.2%, 1.3 percentage points worse than the category, which translates into a grade of D. The fund has returned 24.2% over the past year (grade of C), 15.8% over the past three years (grade of B) and 11.0% per year over the past five years (grade of B) and 12.0% per year over the past 10 years (grade of A).

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