A Wendy’s Wednesday Whimsy
If you haven’t been paying close attention, you may not have noticed that Dimensional Fund Advisors has just released a powerful new, massively overhauled public-facing website, www.dimensional.com.
It’s just so Dimensional, isn’t it, to do something fabulous and virtually whisper about the news?
Now, whenever you’re struggling to explain to current or would-be clients why they shouldn’t be loading up on gold, chasing the latest red-hot ETF, dumping everything into an S&P 500 index fund, avoiding all things international, or otherwise pursuing the most popular possibilities of the day … you’ve got a great first stop on the tour. Just point your visitor to Dimensional’s new site in his or her chosen language, and your work may very nearly be done.
Using the U.S. site as my reference point, here are a few of my favorite things:
Being Seen – I wouldn’t swear by it, but I think their “find an advisor” function has gotten a lot more functional. That’s good news for those of you who would like to be found.
Being Heard – You and I have known all along that Dimensional’s returns are a thing of beauty, and that its track record for inflows is often second to none … especially during the ugliest times when everybody else is heading for the hills. Now, these sorts of critical stats are almost the first thing a visitor sees, in stunningly simple glory. They’ve even managed to keep the disclosures from cluttering up the scenery. (Hopefully no compliance attorneys were harmed in the making of this site.)
Being Quietly Compliant – Sure, you may run aground on the shoals of compliance if you start showcasing outperforming returns. Dimensional’s disclosure requirements are not the same as yours. You should be able to point visitors to their site and let them do the talking for you.
Being True to Form – For those of us already familiar with Dimensional, the site is a fun and fresh reminder of everything we already know and appreciate about them – the history, the science, the academic underpinnings.
It’s just so Dimensional.