Dimensional Filing Signals SEC Progress on ETF-Share Classes

Dimensional Fund Advisors amended its bid for multi-share class fund structures, in a sign that the Securities and Exchange Commission is making progress on the applications after the agency’s acting chair named them a priority last month.

The David Booth-founded firm was among the first to file for exemptive relief for the Vanguard-pioneered fund structure. The move would allow Dimensional to issue ETFs as share classes of its existing mutual funds — effectively porting over the tax efficiency of the former wrapper onto the latter. Since Dimensional first applied in mid-2023, more than 50 issuers have followed suit with their own applications, including BlackRock Inc., Fidelity and Morgan Stanley.