The takeaway
Dimensional ETF Trust - Dimensional Emerging Markets Value ETF shows a slight seasonal lean over 4 years of data — strongest in March (+1.2%) and softest in October (−1.5%).
Right now
In July, the fund has risen 75% of years, averaging +1.5%, roughly 0.7 pts behind the S&P 500.
The full picture
Dimensional ETF Trust - Dimensional Emerging Markets Value ETF's most dependable month has been March, higher in 3 of 3 years; October has been its least reliable, up just 25% of the time.
| Year | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win rate % | ||||||||||||
| Median return % | ||||||||||||
| 2025 | ||||||||||||
| 2024 | ||||||||||||
| 2023 | ||||||||||||
| 2022 | — | — | — |
Month by month
The fund's clearest edge over the S&P 500 lands in January (+2.2 pts); it has trailed the market most in October (−2.5 pts).
“vs S&P” is Dimensional ETF Trust - Dimensional Emerging Markets Value ETF’s average for a month minus the S&P 500’s average for that same month — isolating Dimensional ETF Trust - Dimensional Emerging Markets Value ETF’s own seasonal edge from broad market drift.
Reality check
Over the last 3 years, March has closed higher 100% of the time versus 100% across the last 4 years — the pattern is holding.
Figures are the typical (median) March return and how often it rose — the last 3 years versus the last 4(the heatmap’s default window). This verdict stays anchored to that 4-year window even if you zoom the chart, so it never disagrees with the badges above.
In plain English
Dependability is the through-line here. March stands out, higher in all 3 Marches, but it heads a clutch of months that pull the year reliably upward.
Its average (+1.2%) and median (+1.1%) land within a hair of each other — the tell of steady, year-after-year gains rather than one outlier doing the work. It is also the calendar's calmest month, its returns swinging least from year to year (a 0.8% spread), and even its worst March in 4 years lost only 0.2% — the gentlest downside anywhere on its calendar. Set against the S&P 500, mind, March is close to a wash — the gain mirrors the market more than it beats it. That consistency sets it apart from the field, where the average stock manages March only about 56% of the time.
The strength clusters rather than stands alone — January–April forms a firm stretch that carries much of the year. At the other end of the calendar, October has been the soft spot — the weakest of 2 months that average a loss (−1.5%), and the edge isn't year-round — the fund has trailed the S&P 500 in October, April, and July.
The takeaway is less about when to buy than what to expect: March aside, the fund's months offer little reliable tilt. With a short 4-year record, the signal is best held loosely.
Short answers on the fund's best month (March), its worst (October), and whether it really trades seasonally.
Only mildly. The fund's months are fairly even — March is the firmest (+1.2%) and October the softest (−1.5%), a narrow spread that points to weak seasonality rather than a strong calendar effect.
March has been the strongest, averaging +1.2% and closing higher in all 3 years on record since 2022.
It's the weakest, averaging −1.5% — historically a soft spot, though it still varies from year to year.
Explore
These names have the strongest July track records on record — a starting point for comparison.
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