Introduction

The Dimensional U.S. Small Cap ETF, known as DFAS and valued at $60.48, is a part of Dimensional Fund Advisors' (DFA) offerings. Formerly a mutual fund, it transitioned to an ETF format in June 2021, following the conversion of six actively managed ETFs in that year. Currently, DFA boasts a collection of 30 available ETFs.

While DFAS has only operated as an ETF for less than three years, it has functioned as an actively managed fund since December 1998. The main objective of this ETF is to achieve long-term capital growth while minimizing federal income tax on returns, all the while striving to maintain low fees despite active management.

Though it is actively managed, DFAS aims to surpass the performance of its benchmark - the Russell 2000, which represents 2,000 smaller U.S. companies. Since its inception in late 1998, DFAS has yielded an annualized total return of 8.9% through November 30, outperforming the Russell 2000 by 111 basis points, where each basis point equals 0.01%.

In terms of sector weightings, the top three sectors in the portfolio are industrials (21%), financials (19%), and consumer discretionary stocks (14%). Consisting of approximately 2,040 companies with an average market capitalization of $3.6 billion, the top 10 holdings in DFAS constitute just under 3% of the $7.3 billion net assets, showcasing a low turnover rate of 9%.

Analyzing the valuation metrics, DFAS exhibits below-average Price-to-Earnings (P/E), Price-to-Book (P/B), and Price-to-Sales (P/S) ratios at 12.4, 1.6, and 0.9, respectively.