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These articles contain the opinions of the author but not necessarily Dimensional Fund Advisors or DFA Securities Inc., and do not represent a recommendation of any particular security, strategy or investment product. The author's opinions are subject to change without notice. Information contained herein has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but is not guaranteed. These articles are distributed for educational purposes and should not be considered investment advice or an offer of any security for sale.

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Active vs. Passive Management

by Rex A. Sinquefield

October 1995

A transcript of Rex Sinquefield's opening statement in a debate about active vs. passive management with Donald Yacktman at the Schwab Institutional conference in San Francisco, October 12, 1995.

 

The Dimensions of Stock Returns: 2007

by Truman A. Clark

September 2007

In his most recent update on the size and value effects, Truman Clark explains the advantages of seeking exposure to these risk dimensions through core equity strategies.

Earnings Growth and Stock Returns

by Truman A. Clark

August 2000

Many investors and financial commentators believe high earnings growth rates and high rates of return go hand in hand. But earnings growth only determines the breakdown of total returns into dividend yield and capital gain. Total expected returns are determined by risk alone.

 

Explaining Stock Returns: A Literature Survey

by James L. Davis

December 2001

Some of the important financial theories underlying the behavior of stock returns are summarized. Results of several empirical studies into these theories are also described.

Index and Enhanced Index Funds

by David G. Booth

April 2001

Though they were only launched in the early 1970s, index funds have attracted many investors lured by the logic and overwhelming empirical evidence in support of indexing. This paper develops a case for the use of index funds and Dimensional's enhanced index funds.

 

The Informational Efficiency of Stock Prices: A Review

by James L. Davis

March 2006

Many studies have discussed whether securities are efficiently priced. The available evidence indicates that professional money managers have not been able to exploit cost-effectively any pricing errors that do occur.

Is There Still Value in the Book-to-Market Ratio?

by James L. Davis

January 2001

Despite recent arguments to the contrary, there is no evidence of book-to-market ratio (BtM) becoming irrelevant for identifying value stocks. Compared to popular alternatives, BtM is at least as good at producing dispersion in average returns.

 

The New Indexing

by Eugene Fama Jr.

July 2000

Old-school indexers claim that holding anything beyond the market portfolio is akin to stock picking. But market risk is only one factor driving returns, and an index fund that takes advantage of other dimensions of risk is not betting—it's the new face of indexing.

Presidential Elections and Market Returns

by David G. Booth

September 2004

A look at the Fama/French factor returns reveals presidential elections don't seem to impact market performance. However, history shows that factor performance in the month preceding an election seems to predict reelection results.

 

Random Drift and Asset Allocation

by David G. Booth

July 1999

The unusually strong performance of large cap stocks in the late 1990s is put into perspective. Patterns in the historical returns represent the normal drift of a random walk.

Update of the Research Underlying Dimensional's Bond Strategies

by Eugene F. Fama

September 2003

Many investors and financial commentators believe high earnings growth rates and high rates of return go hand in hand. But earnings growth only determines the breakdown of total returns into dividend yield and capital gain. Total expected returns are determined by risk alone.