Dimensional Fund Advisors' $477B Q4 2025 Filing Spreads Across 3,239 Positions With No Stock Above 3.7%

Dimensional Fund Advisors filed its Q4 2025 13F showing $476.7 billion across 3,239 unique holdings. The largest position, Nvidia, accounts for just 3.68% of the portfolio. No stock exceeds 4%. In a world where concentrated conviction bets dominate the headlines, DFA runs the opposite playbook: systematic, factor-based diversification at massive scale.

TL;DR

• AUM: $476.7B (Q4 2025)
• Holdings count: 3,239 unique — broadest active manager in the top 50
• Max position weight: 3.68% (Nvidia) — the lowest max-weight among top-30 filers
• Top-5 concentration: 12.6% — far below the 16-25% range of peers
• Factor approach: DFA's signature systematic value/small-cap tilts visible in the breadth
• Healthcare presence: Eli Lilly ($4.1B, 0.85%) and Johnson & Johnson ($3.6B, 0.75%) in top 12
• Berkshire at #12: BRK/B at $3.6B (0.75%) — Buffett's conglomerate fits the value factor tilt
• Whale Score: 69.00

The Anti-Concentration Strategy

DFA's 3,239 positions with a 3.68% maximum weight is fundamentally different from peers like Capital International (454 holdings, 7.7% top weight) or Capital Research Global (434 holdings, 6.55% top weight). DFA's approach is rooted in academic finance: diversify across factors (value, size, profitability) rather than concentrating in individual names.

The top-5 (NVDA 3.68%, AAPL 3.28%, MSFT 2.69%, AMZN 1.54%, META 1.39%) totals just 12.6% — the lowest among any top-30 filer. Even passive index funds like Vanguard show higher concentration because they weight purely by market cap.

The Value Factor Footprint

JPMorgan at $5.9B (1.24%) and Berkshire Hathaway at $3.6B (0.75%) in the top 12 reflect DFA's value tilt. Both are classic value names that systematic factor portfolios overweight relative to pure market-cap indexing. Johnson & Johnson ($3.6B, 0.75%) adds defensive quality — another DFA factor preference.

What Analysts Might Misread

Misread #1: “Low concentration means no conviction”

DFA's conviction is expressed through factor exposures, not individual stock bets. The portfolio is deliberately diversified — that IS the strategy, not a lack of one.

Misread #2: “DFA is just another index fund”

DFA is not an index fund. It uses proprietary factor models to tilt toward value, small-cap, and high-profitability stocks. The result looks like an index but weights are systematically different from any standard benchmark.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Dimensional Fund Advisors' investment approach?

DFA uses systematic, factor-based investing rooted in academic research. Portfolios tilt toward value, small-cap, and profitability factors rather than concentrating in individual stocks.

How concentrated is DFA's portfolio?

Minimal. The top holding (Nvidia) is just 3.68%, and the top-5 total 12.6%. With 3,239 positions, DFA is the broadest active manager among top-50 filers.

What is DFA's AUM?

$476.7 billion in 13F AUM as of Q4 2025 across 3,239 unique holdings.