US fund managers Dimensional Fund Advisors is to reduce management fees across 47 mutual funds and three ETFs, effective February 28, 2022.
The changes represent a 13 per cent reduction on an asset-weighted basis1 for the impacted funds, which cover a broad range of investment solutions, from global equity and fixed income strategies to sustainability and social funds.
The firm writes that throughout its history, Dimensional has continually enhanced its investment solutions and sought to pass efficiencies and benefits of scale along to clients. The firm says that it is proactive in taking a long-term view, pricing by strategy rather than product wrapper as it seeks to deliver value over index, traditional active, and systematic active alternatives.
The move builds on the momentum of Dimensional’s successful ETF launches and mutual fund conversions over the past year. The firm’s current lineup of 13 ETFs has grown to more than USD42 billion in assets under management during that time, putting Dimensional on the cusp of becoming one of the top 10 issuers by assets.
“For 40 years, Dimensional has been an industry leader in providing low-cost, diversified strategies,” Dimensional Co-CEO and Chief Investment Officer Gerard O’Reilly says. “We are committed to continuing to offer investors robust solutions that provide the benefits of indexing with the higher expected returns and increased risk management of flexible, daily implementation.”
The firm writes that it has a track record of regularly reviewing and reducing fees for the benefit of clients and investors. Morningstar places the majority of the firm’s management fees in the lowest decile relative to peer funds, the firm says.
“We’ve always sought to ensure our investment strategies are priced competitively across asset classes and to empower financial professionals to make the best decisions for those they serve,” Dimensional Co-CEO Dave Butler says. “Clients want the flexibility to customise solutions. By offering a growing suite of mutual funds and ETFs and expanding our separately managed accounts (SMA) offering, we feel confident that we’re well positioned to serve clients’ current and future needs.”
