Dimensional funds in the UK: what DIY investors can now hold, and where
Updated: 16 minutes ago
Dimensional Fund Advisors stamps its press releases 'not for use with retail investors'. Yet Dimensional funds are now listed on mainstream UK DIY platforms, many with ISA and SIPP eligibility. For dsciplined, long-term investors, they can be a very good addition to a market-cap-weighted global tracker.
Dimensional Fund Advisors aims its marketing at financial professionals. That is a choice about who it talks to, not a rule about who may hold its funds. What decides access is whether a platform lists them.
A TEBI check of five UK platforms found Dimensional products on every one: AJ Bell, Fidelity, Interactive Investor, Bestinvest and Hargreaves Lansdown. AJ Bell, Fidelity and Interactive Investor list its conventional funds with ISA and SIPP eligibility. These are funds bought and sold once a day at a single price, rather than traded on the stock exchange. Its exchange-traded funds (ETFs) appear on all five.
Dimensional's own documents describe funds that hold more of smaller, cheaper and more profitable companies than the market does. Avantis Investors, a firm set up by former Dimensional executives, runs ETFs built on similar lines, and those are listed on the same platforms.
Neither firm's funds replace a simple core. For most investors, that remains a low-cost global tracker, which owns companies in proportion to their stock market value.
How Dimensional reached investors
Dimensional was founded in 1981 by David Booth and Rex Sinquefield. Booth studied at the University of Chicago's business school, where he was taught by Eugene Fama and went on to work as Fama's research assistant. In Booth's own account, he met Sinquefield through Fama's class. According to Chicago Booth, the pair built the firm on the efficient-markets principles Fama pioneered, and Dimensional was the first firm to introduce a fully indexed small-company fund.
Dimensional has long been associated with financial advisers, and its own website shows why. Its UK Find an Adviser page offers 'a list of advisers near you who are authorised to use our funds'.
The firm's press releases are explicit about who they are written for. Both releases announcing its London-listed ETFs carry the line 'FOR PROFESSIONAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR USE WITH RETAIL INVESTORS.'
What has changed
Dimensional's first UK-listed ETFs were Global Core Equity (ticker DPGC) and Global Targeted Value (DPGT). The firm announced on 14/11/2025 that both were listed in London and Frankfurt, describing them as its first European ETFs. Two more followed in March 2026, US Core Equity Market (DPUM) and Global ex US Core Equity Market (DPXM), with inception on 18/03/2026 and a listing release on 20/03/2026. At 0.15 per cent a year, DPUM is the cheapest of the four.
Dimensional's conventional funds have a longer UK history. Nothing published dates their arrival on DIY platforms.
Neither Dimensional nor Avantis has announced a launch aimed at private investors. Both direct their fund materials at professionals.
An adviser is still one way to hold Dimensional's funds, and it was the route TEBI described when it wrote about Avantis in January. It is no longer the only one.
Where UK investors can hold Dimensional funds
TEBI checked the public listings of five large UK platforms on 02/10/2026, without logging in and without placing test orders. A listing with ISA and SIPP eligibility shows that a product can be selected for those accounts. It does not prove that an order would go through. Where the table says a product was not found, that is strong evidence it is not offered, but not conclusive.
The Avantis column is there for comparison. The next section covers Avantis.
Dimensional and Avantis listings on five UK platforms, as at 02/10/2026
Platform | Dimensional funds | Dimensional ETFs | Avantis ETFs |
AJ Bell | 75 | All four | All six |
Fidelity | 68 | DPGC | AVCG, AVSG, AVEG |
Interactive Investor | 33 | DPGC, DPGT, DPXM | All six |
Bestinvest | None | All four | AVCG, AVSG, AVEG, AVAE |
Hargreaves Lansdown | None | DPGC, DPGT | AVCG, AVSG, AVEG |
Notes: fund figures count share classes of Dimensional's conventional funds. On AJ Bell, Fidelity and Interactive Investor, everything listed shows ISA and SIPP eligibility, with two exceptions: AJ Bell offers Avantis Pacific (AVEP) in its dealing account only, and five of Interactive Investor's fund classes are restricted. Bestinvest and Hargreaves Lansdown don't clearly show which accounts each product can go in.
Source: TEBI check of logged-out platform listings, 02/10/2026.
AJ Bell lists the most Dimensional products. It shows 75 sterling classes of Dimensional's conventional funds and all four ETFs, all with ISA and SIPP eligibility.
Fidelity lists almost as many conventional funds, at 68 classes, but only one Dimensional ETF, DPGC.
Interactive Investor lists 33 classes. Some of the versions that reinvest income automatically are missing. The reinvesting version of Global Core Equity, for example, was not found, so an investor there would need the version that pays income out.
Bestinvest and Hargreaves Lansdown list none of Dimensional's conventional funds. Both list some or all of its ETFs.
No platform has announced these listings or dated them. Ranges and charges change, so check the platform itself before acting on the table.
Avantis, the closest alternative
Avantis Investors was established in 2019 as a subsidiary of American Century Investments. Its founders came from Dimensional, according to Avantis's own biographies. Among them was Eduardo Repetto, Dimensional's co-chief executive and co-chief investment officer until 2017. Mitchell Firestein, Ted Randall and Daniel Ong also joined from Dimensional.
Avantis's ETFs reached the London Stock Exchange in three batches. AVCG and AVSG listed on 04/12/2024 and AVEG on 19/12/2024. AVAE, AVUE and AVEP followed on 13/02/2026. TEBI's editor, Robin Powell, owns three of them.
Both firms' funds use a tilt: holding more of some companies than an index. Dimensional's key investor information document for the Global Core Equity ETF, dated 18/02/2026, says the fund is 'generally overweighted in shares of smaller sized companies, value companies, and/or high profitability companies'. The same document says it is not managed in reference to a benchmark. Avantis reports each fund's characteristics against a named benchmark.
Three pairs of funds offer comparable exposure. They are comparable, not identical.
Exposure | Avantis | Ongoing charge | Dimensional | Ongoing charge |
Global equity | AVCG | 0.22% | DPGC or Global Core Equity fund | 0.26% |
Global small-cap value | AVSG | 0.39% | DPGT or Global Targeted Value fund | 0.44% |
Emerging markets | AVEG | 0.35% | Emerging Markets Core Equity fund (no ETF) | 0.45% |
Source: Avantis manager documents; Dimensional key investor information documents; AJ Bell fund pages.
Avantis is cheaper in each pair, by 0.04, 0.05 and 0.10 percentage points. Dimensional has no emerging markets ETF, so that pair sets an Avantis ETF against a Dimensional conventional fund.
Dimensional has strengths of its own. It has been running money since 1981, Avantis since 2019. Its UK range is also far wider. AJ Bell and Fidelity list Dimensional bond funds and World Allocation funds, which hold shares and bonds in set proportions within a single fund. All six of Avantis's UK ETFs invest in shares. An investor who wants one fund to cover both shares and bonds can find it at Dimensional but not at Avantis.
The global pairs differ in one important way. Each of Dimensional's two global ETFs can hold up to 20 per cent in emerging markets, according to its key investor information document. Avantis's global funds invest in developed markets only.
Avantis also publishes how far its funds lean. At 31/08/2026, AVCG held 4,276 companies and was benchmarked against the MSCI World IMI index. Its holdings carried 28p of accounting value for every £1 of share price, against 20p for the benchmark. The higher the figure, the cheaper the shares relative to the companies' accounting value. AVSG, benchmarked against the MSCI World Small Cap Value index, held 1,812 companies, at 66p against 53p.
Equivalent figures for Dimensional's ETFs were not available. Dimensional's UK fund pages ask visitors to confirm they are professional clients, and no factsheets were found. A like-for-like comparison of how strongly each firm tilts is therefore not possible. The theory behind these funds is set out in TEBI's January piece on Avantis.
ETF or fund: what it costs on AJ Bell
Whether you hold Dimensional's global fund as an ETF or as a conventional fund makes more difference to the bill than whether you choose Dimensional or Avantis. AJ Bell's charges, effective from 10/07/2026, show why.
In an ISA, AJ Bell charges 0.25 per cent a year to hold ETFs, capped at £3.50 a month, or £42 a year. Funds pay 0.25 per cent on the first £250,000, 0.10 per cent on the next £250,000 and nothing above £500,000.
Take £100,000 held in an AJ Bell ISA for a year. Adding each product's ongoing charge to the platform charge gives these totals.
Holding | Fund ongoing charge | Platform charge | Total a year |
Avantis AVCG (ETF) | £220 | £42 | £262 |
Dimensional DPGC (ETF) | £260 | £42 | £302 |
Dimensional Global Core Equity (fund) | £260 | £250 | £510 |
Source: fund manager documents; AJ Bell charges effective 10/07/2026; TEBI calculations.
Between the two firms in ETF form, the gap is £40 a year. Between the ETF and fund versions of the same Dimensional exposure, it is £208.
AJ Bell's ETF cap explains the difference. The cap starts to bite once ETF holdings in the ISA pass £16,800, and above that the platform charge stays at £42 however much you hold. A fund pays a percentage on every pound up to £500,000. Avantis's UK range is all ETFs, so its holders always get the capped charge. Most of Dimensional's range on AJ Bell is conventional funds, which pay the percentage.
The figures leave out two costs. ETFs carry a spread, the gap between the buying and selling price. And online dealing costs £5 for an ETF against £1.50 for a fund. Platform charges change, so check the current tariff before choosing, and work out the total cost of a platform in pounds rather than comparing headline percentages.
Where a planner still earns their fee
A platform listing gives you a product. It does not give you a plan. A good financial planner helps you set goals, models whether your money will last and advises on pensions and tax. A planner also talks you out of costly decisions when markets fall. None of that comes with a fund code.
TEBI's view is that a planner who can give you access to Dimensional funds is a very good option. The platform listings add a second route. They do not close the first.
How the planner charges matters. A percentage fee rises with your wealth, while the work often does not. The lang cat, a consultancy that studies the advice market, puts the average ongoing adviser charge at 0.77 per cent a year, before platform and fund costs. [CHECK: 0.77 per cent comes from the lang cat's blog of 16/07/2025, citing its State of the Advice Nation report, which has not been read. NextWealth's fee benchmarking is reported by Portfolio Adviser as putting the average close to 1 per cent. Keep, replace or give both.] At 0.77 per cent, advice on a £500,000 portfolio costs £3,850 a year, on £1m it costs £7,700 and on £2m it costs £15,400. A fixed fee stays the same as the portfolio grows. For many larger portfolios, that makes it cheaper in pounds for the same work.
Fixed fees are not automatically better. A fixed fee can buy a narrow service, and a percentage fee can buy a broad one. Compare what each covers, ask for both in pounds and ask how the adviser is paid. Then judge the planner by the value of the planning, not by any promise of beating the market.
Who these funds suit
Dimensional's funds are a very good option for long-term investors who can stay put when a tilted portfolio lags a global tracker, sometimes for years. That condition is harder to meet than it sounds. Nobody knows how much extra return, if any, smaller, cheaper or more profitable companies will deliver in future, and a tilt can trail the market for long stretches. An investor who sells after five lean years has paid the extra costs and may miss whatever premium follows.
None of this makes a global tracker second best. It remains an excellent core, and many investors will never need anything else. Dimensional's funds are a reasonable addition to it, not a necessity.
UK investors can now reach these funds on their own or through a planner. The patience they demand is the same either way. With a planner, you don't have to find it alone.
Disclosure
The Evidence-Based Investor publishes journalism, not financial advice. Nothing here is a personal recommendation, and none of it takes account of your circumstances. Investments can fall as well as rise, and you may get back less than you put in. If you're unsure what's right for you, speak to a regulated financial adviser. In the UK, you can check an adviser on the Financial Conduct Authority's register.
Resources
AJ Bell. (2026). Dealing account charges, effective 10 July 2026. AJ Bell.
Avantis Investors. (2026). Avantis Global Equity UCITS ETF fact sheet, as at 31 August 2026. American Century Investments.
Avantis Investors. (2026). Avantis Global Small Cap Value UCITS ETF fact sheet, as at 31 August 2026. American Century Investments.
Avantis Investors. (n.d.). Leadership biographies: Eduardo Repetto and Mitchell Firestein. Avantis Investors.
Booth, D. (n.d.). David Booth reflects on University of Chicago and Dimensional. Dimensional Fund Advisors.
Chicago Booth. (n.d.). David G. Booth, '71 and Rex A. Sinquefield, '72. Distinguished Alumni Award honorees. University of Chicago Booth School of Business.
Chicago Booth. (n.d.). The true believer. Chicago Booth alumni stories. University of Chicago Booth School of Business.
Dimensional Fund Advisors. (2025, November 14). Dimensional's first active UCITS ETFs now listed in London and Frankfurt [Press release].
Dimensional Fund Advisors. (2026, March 20). Dimensional lists Core Equity Market UCITS ETFs [Press release].
Dimensional Fund Advisors. (n.d.). Find an adviser. Dimensional Fund Advisors UK. Retrieved 05/10/2026.
Dimensional Funds ICAV. (2026, February 18). Global Core Equity UCITS ETF, USD accumulation shares (ISIN IE000EGGFVG6): Key investor information. Dimensional Ireland Limited.
Dimensional Funds ICAV. (2025, September 5). Global Targeted Value UCITS ETF, USD accumulation shares (ISIN IE000S67ID55): Key investor information. Dimensional Ireland Limited.
The lang cat. (2025, July 16). The Top Class Wednesday Update is an old softy really. The lang cat.
Choosing the planner route
For readers who would rather have a planner hold funds like these for them, and help with the decisions around them, TEBI's Find an Adviser directory is a place to start. Everyone listed has publicly committed to evidence-based investing. Ask any adviser on it how they charge, and what the fee covers, in pounds.
For readers managing their own portfolio, the TEBI Digest brings together TEBI's latest articles, with curated reading and commentary from editor Robin Powell. Sign up here.
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