Dimensional to Enter European ETF Market

Dimensional Fund Advisors will build on its position as the largest active exchange-traded fund (ETF) issuer in the US by launching its first ETFs in Europe, subject to regulatory approval.

The firm has filed to list two ETFs by the end of 2025 to complement its existing UCITS funds and separate account solutions in the region.

The ETFs will be managed using Dimensional’s characteristic investment approach, systematically targeting benchmark outperformance in broadly diversified, low-cost portfolios. The first two UCITS ETFs will invest in developed markets: a core all cap fund and a small and mid cap value fund. Both ETFs will be listed in London (USD and GBP) and Frankfurt (EUR).

Dimensional is a global asset manager with $853 billion in firmwide assets under management.¹ The firm has significant experience managing active ETFs in the US and Australia, with ETF assets now over $200 billion across more than 40 funds.²

The UCITS ETFs will be managed alongside the firm’s other fund families and client assets, with a team-based approach across Research, Portfolio Management and Capital Markets. The ETFs will employ an investment strategy similar to that of existing core and value UCITS funds.

John Romiza, Co-CEO, Dimensional Fund Advisors Ltd., said the new funds offer investors greater choice: “ETFs are growing in popularity around the world given their compatibility with financial technology and ease of access. And we have found that a growing number of financial professionals in Europe want the choice to use Dimensional ETFs in addition to existing UCITS funds and separate accounts.”

Dimensional has been applying financial science to investing since 1981. The firm is driven by an evidence-based approach, Nobel Prize-winning insights, and decades of expertise working to outperform benchmarks and peers while maintaining low costs and diversification.

Dimensional ETFs are designed with the goal of outperforming the market by using a flexible daily process and varying emphasis on known equity premiums to pursue higher expected returns for investors.³

Nathan Lacaze, Co-CEO, Dimensional Fund Advisors Ltd., said of the ETFs’ investment strategy: “At Dimensional, we believe markets do a good job at setting prices, and every basis point counts for investors. That’s why our philosophy is to start with the market, then aim to beat it through systematically targeting securities with higher expected returns. And because we are not constrained by a target of minimising tracking error, we have the flexibility to focus every day on increasing expected returns.”

Source: Dimensional