 | |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Finance |
| Founded | 1981; 45 years ago (1981) |
| Founders | David G. Booth Rex Sinquefield |
| Headquarters | Austin,Texas, United States |
Key people | David G. Booth (Executive Chairman) Dave Butler (Co-CEO) Gerard K. O'Reilly (Co-CEO) |
| Products | Money Management and Investment |
| AUM |  $1 trillion (Feb 9, 2026)[1] |
Number of employees | 1,500+ (2024)[2] |
| Website | www |
Dimensional Fund Advisors, L.P. (brandedDimensional abbreviatedDFA[3]) is a privately owned investment firm headquartered inAustin, Texas. Dimensional was founded inBrooklyn[4] in 1981 byDavid Booth,Rex Sinquefield and Larry Klotz. The company has 15 international offices in the U.S., Canada, U.K., Germany, Netherlands, Australia, Singapore, and Japan.[5] Dimensional maintains additional U.S. offices inCharlotte, North Carolina andSanta Monica, California.
The company's founders studied at theUniversity of Chicago underEugene Fama.Kenneth French is co-chair of the firm's investment research committee.[6] DFA's investment strategy is based on application of theefficient market hypothesis.[7] Dimensional was one of the earliest firms to offerpassive investing and "runs the oldest small-cap index fund" in the United States.[8] However, the firm's versions ofindex funds have the flexibility to trade daily[9] and skew towards smaller company stocks andvalue stocks; They operate differently from most index funds which rebalance on specific dates and are weighted by market capitalization.[10] This strategy results in regulators, such as the SEC,[11] and some analysts[12][13][14] describing the funds asactively managed. The company offers equity and fixed income mutual funds,Exchange-traded funds, separately managed accounts, and model portfolios.
In 2009, Dimensional acquired SmartNest, a retirement planning computer software company.[15] ResearcherRobert C. Merton left SmartNest's board after the purchase and became a Resident Scientist at Dimensional.[16][17][18]
In November 2020, the firm announced it was augmenting its strictly advisor-access[19] and institutional[20] only mutual fund business model by offering openly accessed exchange-traded funds.[21][22][23][24]
Board of Directors of the general partner of Dimensional Fund Advisors LP:[25]
Board of Directors, Dimensional Mutual Funds and ETFs, US:[26]
