An analysis of mutual fund design: the case of investing in small-cap stocks

In 1982, Dimensional Fund Advisors launched a mutual fund intended to capture the returns of small-cap stocks. The '9-10 Fund' is based on the CRSP 9-10 Index, an index of small-cap stocks constituting the ninth and tenth deciles of NYSE market capitalization, although the 9-10 Fund incorporates investment rules and a trading strategy that are aimed at minimizing the potentially excessive trade costs associated with such illiquid stocks, As a result, the 9-10 Fund provided a 2.2% annual premium over the 9-10 Index for the 1982-1995 period. We show that both the investment rules and the trade strategy components of the Fund's design contribute significantly to this return difference. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.