Mutual funds from Dimensional Fund Advisors ("DFA") tend to be attractive for the following reasons:
 

DFA is owned and operated by academics.  Five of the seven members of the DFA funds' Board of Directors are Finance/Economics professors at major universities.  Two board members (Myron Scholes and Robert Merton) are winners of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics.  Nobel prize winner Merton Miller was also a director before his death. DFA's Director of Research is Professor Eugene Fama, of the University of Chicago (he is also on DFA's Board of Directors).  Dr. Fama is generally credited with developing the Efficient Market Hypothesis (in 1965) and co-developing the Three Factor Model for predicting stock returns (in 1992).  For more information on Dr. Fama, see: Peter J. Tanous, An interview with Dr. Fama.  The interview originally appeared in Peter J. Tanous, Investment Gurus (New York Institute of Finance, 1997). DFA's brief biography. Roger Ibbotson, Random Talks with Eugene Fama, An interview from 2000. "The Efficient Pioneer," an article in InvestmentAdvisor.com in 2000. Dr. Fama's website at the University of Chicago. Dr. Fama's Vita (i.e., academic resume).

DFA's funds are passively managed.  Their mutual funds are engineered to follow guidelines which have been shown to result in improved long-term performance.  They don't try to "pick stocks" which will do better than others.  Instead they design their funds in order to expose investors to key risk factors (which have been shown to be associated with higher long-term performance).  Stocks are picked in a mechanical fashion in order to meet the pre-ordained risk factor goals of each fund.

 

	DFA's small cap stock mutual funds invest in smaller companies than nearly all other such funds, which should increase their long-term returns.
	DFA's value stock mutual funds invest in more "valuey" stocks than virtually any other such funds, which should increase their long-term returns.
	DFA has the only tax-managed value stock funds available (they have three).
	DFA's tax-managed funds are among the very few available which minimize both capital gain and dividend distributions.  Most tax-managed funds only minimize capital gains distributions.
	DFA's international small and value stock funds are among the very few funds available in those asset classes.
	DFA's management fees are significantly lower than those of most mutual funds.

For more information on DFA, see
 

	"How the REALLY smart money INVESTS: Nobel Prize winners entrust their nest eggs to DFA, where investing is a science, not a spectator sport," an excellent article from Fortune magazine in 1998.
	"Investment Porn' Panned by DFA Funds Preaching Fama's Gospel," an article from Bloomberg.com in 2007.
	"The Dimensions of a Pioneering Strategy," an article from The Wall Street Journal in 2006.
	"The Index Insurgents," an article from Forbes in 2006.
	"Ditching the Monkey," an article from Barron's in 2006.
	"Dimensional's 'Passive' Course Pays Off," an article from the Los Angeles Times in 2005.
	"Going their own way," an article from Financial Advisor magazine in 2001.
	"Taking a Market's Measure," an article from Mutual Funds magazine in 2001.
	"The Best Fund Family You've Never Heard of — and Why It Doesn't Want Your Money," an article from TheStreet.com in 2002.
	"Brain Trust: With a host of noted academics minding the store, Dimensional Fund Advisors has attracted a loyal following among fee-only advisors", an article from Bloomberg Wealth Manager in 2002.
	"DFA funds hard to buy, easy to own," an article in CNBC Money Central in 2002.
	"Dear Dagen: What's a Good Substitute for the Exclusive DFA Funds," an article from TheStreet.com in 1999.
	DFA vs. Vanguard: A Comparison, which compares DFA funds to Vanguard funds in each of several asset classes and lists our preferences.
	DFA's brochure for individual investors (takes a while to load — 353 kb).
	"Dimensions of Stock Returns: 2002 Update," an article which summarizes DFA's equity investing strategies.
	DFA's website.