Basic Articles
These articles are very approachable and user friendly. We hope that you enjoy them as they fire your intellectual curiosity to learn more about investments and finance.
Why Dimensional Fund Advisors?
http://www.dfaus.com/service/why-dimensional.html
Most of the mutual funds in the PIA Dimensions Portfoliossm are provided by Dimensional Fund Advisors (DFA). This short piece explains twelve ways how DFA differentiates itself in the financial marketplace. It answers in a simple and straightforward way why PIA uses DFA mutual funds in the PIA Dimensions Portfoliossm.
FAQs About Dimensional Fund Advisors
http://www.dfaus.com//library/faqs.html
These are frequently asked questions about DFA, indexing and financial theory.
The Science of Investing
This brochure is an easy read that provides the highlights of modern prudent fiduciary investing as applied by DFA. It also provides a glimpse into the future evolution of financial theory.
Randomness of Returns
The Randomness of Returns (PDF)
This three-page chart demonstrates the randomness of returns in financial markets; it also provides historical returns generated by broadly diversified investment strategies. The chart is an excellent illustration of how diversification can be applied to control risk so that a plan participant can capture market rates of return effectively and efficiently over time.
Active vs. Passive Management
- DFA co-founder Rex Sinquefield, October 1995
http://www.dfaus.com/2009/05/active-vs-passive-management.html
This transcript provides an informative (and humorous) debate about the two fundamentally different ways to invest: active investing and passive investing.
Tax Efficient Investing
- May 2002
This short article explains the importance of diversification and low turnover as key components in overall portfolio returns. The article provides information that’s valid for all types of investment accounts, although it focuses on taxable accounts.
The Dimensions of a Pioneering Return
- The Wall Street Journal, November 2006
http://content.advisorflex.com/ontarget/The_Dimensions_of_a_
Pioneering_Strategy.pdf
This article provides an excellent overview of the financial theories that are the heart of DFA’s money management business. It covers the history of DFA as well as its core strategies for success.
Dimensional’s Passive Course Pays Off
- Los Angeles Times, December 2005
http://www.dfaus.com/2009/05/dimensionals-passive-course-pays-off.html
This article provides a historical overview of DFA on the eve of the retirement of DFA co-founder Rex Sinquefield.
Reading the Index to Beat the Index
- New York Times, January 2004
This article provides additional information about DFA and how the firm differs from other investment companies that offer passively managed investments.
DFA Funds Hard to Buy, Easy to Own
- Timothy Middleton of CNBC on MSN, June 2002
http://www.dfaus.com/2009/05/dfa-funds-hard-to-buy-easy-to-own.html
This article provides a good primer on DFA and how it operates its business, including its investment philosophy and discipline. It is short and approachable for those who are looking for a quick overview of DFA funds.
Index and Enhanced Index Funds
- DFA co-founder David Booth, April 2001
Index and Enhanced Index Funds (PDF)
This article is an excellent primer for understanding the world of passive management and the factors involved in capturing market rates of return at market level risk.
Dramatic Events
This chart shows what U.S. financial markets have done in the wake of certain historical events. It shows that short-term reactions in financial markets to unexpected events are normally fleeting and irrelevant to long-term investment returns.
Innovations in Finance
This chart highlights the evolution of financial thought over the past fifty years, beginning with the Big Bang of all modern finance: Modern Portfolio Theory. DFA and its academic partners have been at the center of many of the advances in financial thought.
Nobel Thinkers - Theory, Practice and Implementation
http://www.dfaus.com/2009/12/nobel-thinkers-theory-practice-and-implementation.html
A capstone to the Nobel Thinkers series, this short documentary compares the work and ideas of five recipients of the Nobel Prize in Economics. A brief history of their theories and experiences culminates in a host of insights for today's investors. The esteemed speakers in this documentary are recipients of the Nobel Prize in Economics. They are Harry Markowitz, William Sharpe, Paul Samuelson, Myron Scholes and Robert Merton.
Market Timing is Risky
A graphic demonstration of the futility and the potential harm when an investor attempts to time the market. Since market timing does not work, the proper construction of a prudent, well diversified portfolio becomes paramount.