DFA named “Best Fund Families of 2022” by Barron’s

Written by Damian Barry, CFA

We are thrilled to announce that Dimensional has claimed the top spot in Barron’s ‘Best Fund Families’ report for 2022, rising from fifth place in 2021. With $584 billion in firmwide assets under management, Dimensional stands out for its skilled approach to risk management and factor investing including in volatile markets such as last year. At MASECO, we have been invested in Dimensional funds since 2007 and we continue to be impressed by the firm’s capabilities.

Dimensional, based in Austin Texas, is known for its roots in academic research on factor investing, with a particular focus on value investing. This approach, which involves selecting stocks that are attractive based on valuation, profitability and capitalisation metrics has shown to deliver consistent outperformance over the long term.

Source: Barrons, 16/02/2023, For further information, please refer to Barron’s Best Fund Families (djreprints.com).

As investors, we know that building wealth when markets rally is crucial for achieving long-term financial goals. However, what many may not realise is that losing less when markets fall can be just as important. That’s why the year 2022 was a critical year for fund managers to showcase their risk-management skills, given the challenging market conditions that prevailed.

In fact, 2022 saw some of the worst one-year returns for US equities since the financial crisis of 2008, and bonds did not fare any better either. As such, fund managers had  a good opportunity to  demonstrate their fund management capabilities by limiting losses and outperforming their broader indexes.

Dimensional’s success in 2022 is a testament to the value of a disciplined, factor-based investment approach. By sticking to a process that favors undervalued companies, the firm was able to deliver positive returns for its clients, even in the face of market volatility. This performance indicates that factor investing can be a powerful tool for achieving long-term financial goals. By selecting stocks based on proven factors, investors can reduce their exposure to market volatility and potentially outperform broader market benchmarks.

Josh Matthews, Co-Founder and Partner at MASECO has commented:

“We have been close with Dimensional for years and are proud to have been recommending investments in Dimensional funds for many years. We congratulate them on claiming the top spot on Barron’s Best Fund Families 2022 report which is well deserved. We look forward to many more years of continued investment success as investors in Dimensional funds and continuing to work with them to provide our clients with long-term investment success.”

Damian Barry, Chief Investment Officer at MASECO also commented:

“Dimensional’s investment performance has been excellent over short, medium and long term. It is based on supporting academic work based on nearly 100 years of market analysis. The investment results are a vindication for taking a disciplined long-term view in a world that is too often focused on the short term.”

The Legal Stuff

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