Factor-based investment house, Dimensional Fund Advisors (DFA), has added three more ASX-listed exchange-traded funds (ETFs) to its product range.
After joining the Australian ETF rush last November in listing three core equity funds, DFA has followed up with two value products and a global small companies strategy.
The DFA Australian Value Trust, Global Value Trust and Dimensional Small Company Trust have been in issued in the popular ‘dual-access’ format that allows investors to opt for either the ETF or unlisted version that flow into the same underlying pool.
Bhanu Singh, DFA Australia chief, said in a release: “These component strategies supplement the Australian and Global Core Equity ETFs launched last year and allow financial professionals to tailor asset allocations to meet a range of client needs.”
According to the Betashares June half-year Australian ETF market update, the DFA Australian Core Equity strategy was the 10th largest listed fund, boasting some A$5 billion under management.
The Texas-headquartered firm, a pioneer of the factor investing style, manages more than A$1.1 trillion globally including A$50 billion or so from Australian and NZ investors.
And despite being a late-comer to the ETF game, listing its first products in the US in November 2020, DFA has rapidly accrued about A$220 billion in a range of more than 35 exchange-traded strategies.
DFA “decided last year to begin offering funds under the dual-access model in Australia because of requests from intermediaries for greater flexibility in how they access the firm’s approach”, the statement says.
While the ASX-listed fund model might not be ideal tax-wise for NZ investors, DFA has a large following from advisers on this side of the Tasman, too.
Historically, NZ advisers have sourced the DFA funds through Australian unlisted trusts but the manager now markets three portfolio investment entity (PIE) products under its own brand here through hosting firm, FundRock.
Since launching two global equity funds (hedged and unhedged) in June 2022 plus an Australian shares strategy the following year, the DFA PIEs now account for about $750 million.
Furthermore, DFA manages about $850 million in two PIEs offered by the Consilium-owned investment label, Evidential.
As at the end of June, Evidential reported about $413 million in a global bond fund, established in mid-2022, and almost $430 million in the Sustainable Targeted Factor PIE that went live only in April this year.
The Booster KiwiSaver-hosted ‘Asset Class’ fund range, managed by DFA, add almost $200 million in PIE money for the firm.