Despite large and persistent outflows, the firm has remained steadfast in its philosophy and responded in a way that benefits clients while improving its competitiveness. Dimensional maintains its High Parent Pillar rating.
More than $80 billion left Dimensional’s mutual funds between 2020 and 2022, but its response to the turmoil has been admirable. The firm started reducing fees in early 2020, and it continued the effort with three additional rounds of cuts.
Dimensional’s endeavor into exchange-traded funds was the biggest step it took to shore up its business. The firm converted seven tax-managed mutual funds to ETFs between mid-2021 and mid-2022. Along the way, it launched an additional two dozen that largely follow the same strategies underpinning the existing mutual funds. The firm also reinvested in its separate accounts platform by bolstering the technology used to manage these portfolios. The effort was aimed at improving operational efficiencies.
These measures appear to be paying off. The firm’s new ETFs have proved popular among its clients. In 2022, they brought in enough new money to nearly offset the outflows from its mutual funds. The separate account platform’s operational improvements, along with the new ETF lineup’s tax efficiency, should benefit clients and strengthen the firm’s prospects.