In the first six months of 2006, Dimensional Fund Advisors had nearly $6.4 billion in net inflows, up from close to $5.6 billion in the same period of 2005, according to the Financial Research Corporation. Assets stood at some $67 billion in June vs. about $47 billion a year earlier.
DFA says it manages a total of $100 billion-plus of fund investments for both institutional and RIA clients worldwide. Its clients include some 570 independent advisory firms, each with at least $10 million in DFA investments.
Genworth Financial Advisers Corporation of Chicago, for instance, says more than 400 of its affiliated RIAs are selling DFA products nationwide. These advisors have a total of about $2.4 billion invested in DFA funds, according to Genworth VP Norm Mindel. Net new inflows have generally grown by 45 percent or more a year in the past decade, while redemptions have stayed under 2 percent. "We are very happy with the program," Mindel adds.
But just how is Santa Monica, Calif.-based DFA attracting such inflows? According to Charles Massimo, president of CJM Fiscal Management in Garden City, N.Y., "There's no better way to manage money over the long term."
CJM has about $55 million in assets and 36 family relationships. Most of these assets are held in DFA portfolios that are bought through Loring Ward Asset Management & Advisory Services of San Jose, Calif., Massimo says.
