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 3 mutual funds in the Short-Term Bond category with higher risk-adjusted ranks, going as high as 99.

Symbol	Name	Risk / Return Rank	AUM	Inception
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
BATAX	BlackRock Allocation Target Shares Series A Portfo...	97	—	Sep 2015	DFAIX vs BATAX
DLSNX	DoubleLine Low Duration Bond Fund Class N	97	—	Sep 2011	DFAIX vs DLSNX

Top Performing DFAIX Alternatives (YTD)

DFAIX is at 2.10% YTD. There are 2 mutual funds in the Short-Term Bond category with higher YTD returns, going as high as 8.20%.

Symbol	Name	YTD Return	AUM	Inception
GPARX	GuidePath Absolute Return Allocation Fund	8.20%	—	Apr 2011	DFAIX vs GPARX
LCCMX	Leader Short Term High Yield Bond Fund	4.01%	—	Jul 2005	DFAIX vs LCCMX
HOBEX	Holbrook Income Fund	1.91%	—	Jul 2016	DFAIX vs HOBEX
DHEIX	Diamond Hill Short Duration Securitized Bond Fund ...	1.88%	—	Jul 2016	DFAIX vs DHEIX
BATAX	BlackRock Allocation Target Shares Series A Portfo...	1.87%	—	Sep 2015	DFAIX vs BATAX

Lowest Volatility Alternatives to DFAIX

DFAIX has 1.19% 1-year volatility. There are 5 mutual funds in the Short-Term Bond category with lower 1-year volatility, going as low as 0.80%.

Symbol	Name	Volatility 1Y	AUM	Inception
GPICX	GuidepathConservative Income Fund	0.80%	—	Apr 2018	DFAIX vs GPICX
DHEIX	Diamond Hill Short Duration Securitized Bond Fund ...	1.07%	—	Jul 2016	DFAIX vs DHEIX
DHEAX	Diamond Hill Short Duration Securitized Bond Fund	1.12%	—	Jul 2016	DFAIX vs DHEAX
DFEQX	DFA Short-Term Extended Quality Portfolio	1.13%	—	Mar 2009	DFAIX vs DFEQX
DLSNX	DoubleLine Low Duration Bond Fund Class N	1.18%	—	Sep 2011	DFAIX vs DLSNX

Lowest Drawdown Alternatives to DFAIX

DFAIX has a 1-year max drawdown of -0.47%. There is 1 mutual fund in the Short-Term Bond category with a shallower 1-year drawdown, going as shallow as -0.25%.

Symbol	Name	Max Drawdown 1Y	AUM	Inception
GPICX	GuidepathConservative Income Fund	-0.25%	—	Apr 2018	DFAIX vs GPICX
DHEIX	Diamond Hill Short Duration Securitized Bond Fund ...	-0.50%	—	Jul 2016	DFAIX vs DHEIX
DHEAX	Diamond Hill Short Duration Securitized Bond Fund	-0.50%	—	Jul 2016	DFAIX vs DHEAX
HOBEX	Holbrook Income Fund	-0.61%	—	Jul 2016	DFAIX vs HOBEX
DLDFX	Destinations Low Duration Fixed Income Fund	-0.64%	—	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.

Symbol	Name	Category	Risk / Return Rank	YTD Return	AUM	Inception
DFSVX	DFA U.S. Small Cap Value Portfolio I	Small Cap Value Equities	61	16.82%	—	Mar 1993	DFAIX vs DFSVX
DFIVX	DFA International Value Portfolio Institutional Cl...	Foreign Large Cap Equities	83	12.21%	—	Feb 1994	DFAIX vs DFIVX
DGEIX	DFA Global Equity Portfolio Institutional Class	Global Equities	78	12.60%	—	Dec 2003	DFAIX vs DGEIX
DFUSX	DFA U.S. Large Company Portfolio	Large Cap Blend Equities	68	9.80%	—	Sep 1999	DFAIX vs DFUSX
DISVX	DFA International Small Cap Value Portfolio	Foreign Small & Mid Cap Equities	68	9.87%	—	Dec 1994	DFAIX vs DISVX
DFFVX	DFA U.S. Targeted Value Portfolio	Small Cap Value Equities	59	15.95%	—	Feb 2000	DFAIX vs DFFVX
DFIEX	DFA International Core Equity Portfolio I	Foreign Large Cap Equities, Large Cap Blend Equities	53	10.75%	—	Sep 2005	DFAIX vs DFIEX
DFSTX	DFA U.S. Small Cap Portfolio	Small Cap Blend Equities	58	16.97%	—	Mar 1992	DFAIX vs DFSTX
DFEOX	DFA US Core Equity 1 Portfolio I	Large Cap Blend Equities	77	11.47%	—	Sep 2005	DFAIX vs DFEOX
DFLVX	DFA U.S. Large Cap Value Portfolio	Large Cap Value Equities	92	16.63%	—	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	87	0.95%	2.36B	Oct 2013	DFAIX vs SLQD
HAWX	iShares Currency Hedged MSCI ACWI ex U.S. ETF	Foreign Large Cap Equities	82	16.22%	355.60M	Jun 2015	DFAIX vs HAWX
SDMZX	PGIM Short Duration Multi-Sector Bond Fund	Short-Term Bond	50	0.81%	—	Dec 2013	DFAIX vs SDMZX
SCHO	Schwab Short-Term U.S. Treasury ETF	Government Bonds, Short-Term Bond	76	0.42%	12.71B	Aug 2010	DFAIX vs SCHO
VCSH	Vanguard Short-Term Corporate Bond ETF	Corporate Bonds	70	0.72%	50.50B	Nov 2009	DFAIX vs VCSH
IEF	iShares 7-10 Year Treasury Bond ETF	Government Bonds	18	-0.53%	47.34B	Jul 2002	DFAIX vs IEF
LSCIX	Lord Abbett Short Duration Core Bond Fund	Short-Term Bond	62	0.45%	—	Apr 2017	DFAIX vs LSCIX
APSTX	Cavanal Hill Limited Duration Fund	Short-Term Bond	30	0.63%	—	Oct 1994	DFAIX vs APSTX
SNSAX	SEI Asset Allocation Trust Defensive Strategy Fund	Short-Term Bond	87	1.66%	—	Nov 2003	DFAIX vs SNSAX
FILDX	Frost Low Duration Bond Fund	Short-Term Bond	67	0.51%	—	Apr 2008	DFAIX vs FILDX
STBCX	Invesco Short Term Bond Fund	Short-Term Bond	62	0.40%	—	Aug 2002	DFAIX vs STBCX
VTAPX	Vanguard Short-Term Inflation-Protected Securities...	Inflation-Protected Bonds	84	1.33%	70.50B	Oct 2012	DFAIX vs VTAPX
HSDAX	Hartford Short Duration Fund	Short-Term Bond	81	0.72%	—	Oct 2002	DFAIX vs HSDAX
FOSIX	Tributary Short-Intermediate Bond Fund	Short-Term Bond	59	0.39%	—	Dec 1992	DFAIX vs FOSIX
EVV	Eaton Vance Limited Duration Income Fund	Short-Term Bond	3	-2.78%	—	May 2003	DFAIX vs EVV
RSDIX	RBC Short Duration Fixed Income Fund	Short-Term Bond	2	-2.58%	—	Dec 2013	DFAIX vs RSDIX
MCAD.TO	Evolve Premium Cash Management ETF	Short-Term Bond	99	1.06%	—	May 2023	DFAIX vs MCAD.TO
PIFZX	PGIM Short-Term Corporate Bond Fund Class Z	Short-Term Bond	55	0.51%	—	Dec 1996	DFAIX vs PIFZX
APIMX	Yorktown Short Term Bond Fund	Short-Term Bond	65	0.78%	—	Jul 1997	DFAIX vs APIMX
PYSGX	Payden Strategic Income Fund	Short-Term Bond	71	0.83%	—	May 2014	DFAIX vs PYSGX

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