DFAIX Alternatives & Similar Mutual Funds

DFA Short-Duration Real Return Portfolio (DFAIX) belongs to the Short-Term Bond category. Below you'll find alternative mutual funds from the same category, ranked by key criteria, plus funds that investors commonly compare with DFAIX. Use the tables to find lower-cost options, better risk-adjusted returns, or a closer substitute for your current allocation.

Cheapest Alternatives to DFAIX

DFAIX charges 0.22% annually. There are 9 mutual funds in the Short-Term Bond category with lower expense ratios, going as low as 0.02%.

Symbol	Name	Expense Ratio	AUM	Inception
VISTX	Vanguard Institutional Short-Term Bond Fund	0.02%	—	Jun 2015	DFAIX vs VISTX
VIITX	Vanguard Institutional Intermediate-Term Bond Fund	0.02%	—	Jun 2015	DFAIX vs VIITX
FUMBX	Fidelity Short-Term Treasury Bond Index Fund	0.03%	—	Dec 2005	DFAIX vs FUMBX
SWSBX	Schwab Short-Term Bond Index Fund	0.06%	—	Feb 2017	DFAIX vs SWSBX
TNSHX	TIAA-CREF Short-Term Bond Index Fund	0.09%	—	Aug 2015	DFAIX vs TNSHX

Best Risk-Adjusted Alternatives to DFAIX

DFAIX has a PortfoliosLab risk / return rank of 98. There are 4 mutual funds in the Short-Term Bond category with higher risk-adjusted ranks, going as high as 100.

Symbol	Name	Risk / Return Rank	AUM	Inception
DFCFX	DFA Two-Year Fixed Income Portfolio	100	—	Jun 1996	DFAIX vs DFCFX
GPICX	GuidepathConservative Income Fund	99	—	Apr 2018	DFAIX vs GPICX
DHEIX	Diamond Hill Short Duration Securitized Bond Fund ...	99	—	Jul 2016	DFAIX vs DHEIX
DHEAX	Diamond Hill Short Duration Securitized Bond Fund	99	—	Jul 2016	DFAIX vs DHEAX
DLDFX	Destinations Low Duration Fixed Income Fund	98	—	Mar 2017	DFAIX vs DLDFX

Top Performing DFAIX Alternatives (YTD)

DFAIX is at 2.38% YTD. There are 2 mutual funds in the Short-Term Bond category with higher YTD returns, going as high as 7.16%.

Symbol	Name	YTD Return	AUM	Inception
GPARX	GuidePath Absolute Return Allocation Fund	7.16%	—	Apr 2011	DFAIX vs GPARX
LCCMX	Leader Short Term High Yield Bond Fund	4.03%	—	Jul 2005	DFAIX vs LCCMX
HOBEX	Holbrook Income Fund	2.30%	—	Jul 2016	DFAIX vs HOBEX
BATAX	BlackRock Allocation Target Shares Series A Portfo...	2.22%	—	Sep 2015	DFAIX vs BATAX
DHEIX	Diamond Hill Short Duration Securitized Bond Fund ...	2.14%	—	Jul 2016	DFAIX vs DHEIX

Lowest Volatility Alternatives to DFAIX

DFAIX has 1.20% 1-year volatility. There are 6 mutual funds in the Short-Term Bond category with lower 1-year volatility, going as low as 0.69%.

Symbol	Name	Volatility 1Y	AUM	Inception
DFCFX	DFA Two-Year Fixed Income Portfolio	0.69%	—	Jun 1996	DFAIX vs DFCFX
GPICX	GuidepathConservative Income Fund	0.79%	—	Apr 2018	DFAIX vs GPICX
DHEIX	Diamond Hill Short Duration Securitized Bond Fund ...	1.07%	—	Jul 2016	DFAIX vs DHEIX
DFEQX	DFA Short-Term Extended Quality Portfolio	1.10%	—	Mar 2009	DFAIX vs DFEQX
DHEAX	Diamond Hill Short Duration Securitized Bond Fund	1.12%	—	Jul 2016	DFAIX vs DHEAX

Lowest Drawdown Alternatives to DFAIX

DFAIX has a 1-year max drawdown of -0.47%. There are 2 mutual funds in the Short-Term Bond category with shallower 1-year drawdowns, going as shallow as -0.21%.

Symbol	Name	Max Drawdown 1Y	AUM	Inception
DFCFX	DFA Two-Year Fixed Income Portfolio	-0.21%	—	Jun 1996	DFAIX vs DFCFX
GPICX	GuidepathConservative Income Fund	-0.25%	—	Apr 2018	DFAIX vs GPICX
DHEAX	Diamond Hill Short Duration Securitized Bond Fund	-0.50%	—	Jul 2016	DFAIX vs DHEAX
DHEIX	Diamond Hill Short Duration Securitized Bond Fund ...	-0.50%	—	Jul 2016	DFAIX vs DHEIX
DLDFX	Destinations Low Duration Fixed Income Fund	-0.53%	—	Mar 2017	DFAIX vs DLDFX

Other Mutual Funds from Dimensional

The 10 most viewed Dimensional mutual funds shown here include DFSVX, DFIVX, DGEIX and span 7 categories. AUM among these funds goes as high as $42B.

Symbol	Name	Category	Risk / Return Rank	YTD Return	AUM	Inception
DFSVX	DFA U.S. Small Cap Value Portfolio I	Small Cap Value Equities	55	18.64%	18.78B	Mar 1993	DFAIX vs DFSVX
DFIVX	DFA International Value Portfolio Institutional Cl...	Foreign Large Cap Equities	83	12.87%	18.44B	Feb 1994	DFAIX vs DFIVX
DGEIX	DFA Global Equity Portfolio Institutional Class	Global Equities	73	13.02%	—	Dec 2003	DFAIX vs DGEIX
DFUSX	DFA U.S. Large Company Portfolio	Large Cap Blend Equities	68	11.36%	14.37B	Sep 1999	DFAIX vs DFUSX
DISVX	DFA International Small Cap Value Portfolio Instit...	Foreign Small & Mid Cap Equities	59	8.84%	13.91B	Dec 1994	DFAIX vs DISVX
DFFVX	DFA U.S. Targeted Value Portfolio Institutional Cl...	Small Cap Value Equities	55	18.13%	16.13B	Feb 2000	DFAIX vs DFFVX
DFIEX	DFA International Core Equity 2 Portfolio Institut...	Foreign Large Cap Equities, Large Cap Blend Equities	48	10.41%	41.84B	Sep 2005	DFAIX vs DFIEX
DFSTX	DFA U.S. Small Cap Portfolio	Small Cap Blend Equities	52	17.71%	19.50B	Mar 1992	DFAIX vs DFSTX
DFEOX	DFA US Core Equity 1 Portfolio I	Large Cap Blend Equities	75	12.87%	41.19B	Sep 2005	DFAIX vs DFEOX
DFLVX	DFA U.S. Large Cap Value Portfolio	Large Cap Value Equities	91	17.40%	30.16B	Feb 1993	DFAIX vs DFLVX

Often Compared With DFAIX

Investors most often compare DFAIX with SLQD, HAWX, SDMZX. These 20 comparison targets span 5 categories, based on PortfoliosLab usage data.

Symbol	Name	Category	Risk / Return Rank	YTD Return	AUM	Inception
SLQD	iShares 0-5 Year Investment Grade Corporate Bond E...	Corporate Bonds	90	0.91%	2.36B	Oct 2013	DFAIX vs SLQD
HAWX	iShares Currency Hedged MSCI ACWI ex U.S. ETF	Foreign Large Cap Equities	84	15.34%	349.30M	Jun 2015	DFAIX vs HAWX
SDMZX	PGIM Short Duration Multi-Sector Bond Fund	Short-Term Bond	58	1.18%	—	Dec 2013	DFAIX vs SDMZX
SCHO	Schwab Short-Term U.S. Treasury ETF	Government Bonds, Short-Term Bond	88	0.58%	12.67B	Aug 2010	DFAIX vs SCHO
VCSH	Vanguard Short-Term Corporate Bond ETF	Corporate Bonds	76	0.58%	50.50B	Nov 2009	DFAIX vs VCSH
IEF	iShares 7-10 Year Treasury Bond ETF	Government Bonds	20	-1.08%	46.97B	Jul 2002	DFAIX vs IEF
LSCIX	Lord Abbett Short Duration Core Bond Fund	Short-Term Bond	71	0.71%	—	Apr 2017	DFAIX vs LSCIX
APSTX	Cavanal Hill Limited Duration Fund	Short-Term Bond	31	0.60%	—	Oct 1994	DFAIX vs APSTX
STBCX	Invesco Short Term Bond Fund	Short-Term Bond	75	0.69%	—	Aug 2002	DFAIX vs STBCX
SNSAX	SEI Asset Allocation Trust Defensive Strategy Fund	Short-Term Bond	90	1.91%	—	Nov 2003	DFAIX vs SNSAX
FILDX	Frost Low Duration Bond Fund	Short-Term Bond	74	0.56%	—	Apr 2008	DFAIX vs FILDX
HSDAX	Hartford Short Duration Fund	Short-Term Bond	85	0.99%	—	Oct 2002	DFAIX vs HSDAX
VTAPX	Vanguard Short-Term Inflation-Protected Securities...	Inflation-Protected Bonds	90	1.73%	70.50B	Oct 2012	DFAIX vs VTAPX
FOSIX	Tributary Short-Intermediate Bond Fund	Short-Term Bond	71	0.60%	—	Dec 1992	DFAIX vs FOSIX
EVV	Eaton Vance Limited Duration Income Fund	Short-Term Bond	3	-1.51%	—	May 2003	DFAIX vs EVV
RSDIX	RBC Short Duration Fixed Income Fund	Short-Term Bond	4	-2.16%	—	Dec 2013	DFAIX vs RSDIX
APIMX	Yorktown Short Term Bond Fund	Short-Term Bond	63	0.59%	—	Jul 1997	DFAIX vs APIMX
PYSGX	Payden Strategic Income Fund	Short-Term Bond	68	0.77%	—	May 2014	DFAIX vs PYSGX
PIFZX	PGIM Short-Term Corporate Bond Fund Class Z	Short-Term Bond	62	0.75%	—	Dec 1996	DFAIX vs PIFZX
JNSTX	Janus Henderson Short Duration Flexible Bond Fund	Short-Term Bond	83	1.50%	—	Sep 1992	DFAIX vs JNSTX

Compare DFAIX with Any Fund or Stock

Compare DFAIX with any ETF, mutual fund, or stock using PortfoliosLab's comparison tool.

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Diversifiers

Pair DFAIX with funds that move differently

DFA Short-Duration Real Return Portfolio alternatives help with substitution. Diversifiers are the next step when you want funds with lower historical correlation to DFAIX.

Explore DFAIX Diversifiers

DFA Short-Duration Real Return Portfolio (DFAIX) Alternatives