Admittedly, few investment companies inspire more passionate feelings than Vanguard and Dimensional Fund Advisors (DFA). So many investors are invested in the idea that either one of those companies is the best that there are numerous analyses devoted to comparing them.
A Google search on “DFA vs. Vanguard” yields 114,000 results. A page on the Bogleheads website—named for Vanguard founder John Bogle—has 168 posts; Morningstar has a similarly named thread in its discussion forum. Indeed, the New York Times recently waded into the dispute with an article last month.
Now comes advisor Jeff Troutner, writing “DFA and Vanguard,” the subject of his firm Equius Partners’ April newsletter.
While there are legions of Vanguard fanatics out there, the good folks at Equius are confirmed DFAheads, as many advisors are.
Troutner argues that media coverage of investments tend to be biased toward Vanguard because of a simpleminded focus on costs, thereby missing out on the research DFA employs to engineer funds he claims delivers higher net returns over time. “You really do get what you pay for,” Troutner writes.