How von Borstel & Associates Is Repositioning: The $74 Million Global Fixed Income Play

A Significant Shift in Fixed Income Strategy

Oregon-based wealth manager von Borstel & Associates made a notable strategic move in the third quarter, adding 97,269 shares to its Dimensional Global Core Plus Fixed Income ETF (NASDAQ: DFGP) position. This expansion increased the fund’s stake by $5.75 million, bringing the total holding to 1.34 million shares worth $74.09 million—now representing the portfolio’s second-largest concentrated position at 11.36% of total assets.

The acquisition signals something broader than typical portfolio rebalancing: a deliberate commitment to restoring fixed income’s role in diversified wealth management after years when bonds served primarily as portfolio anchors rather than return drivers.

Understanding the $74 Million Commitment

The timing and scale of this acquisition matter. By quarter-end September 30, DFGP had grown to become the firm’s second-ranked holding, trailing only their core equity position. This isn’t a tactical nibble—it represents a structural reallocation.

Current top portfolio positions:

• NYSEMKT: DFAC (Core U.S. equity): $133.53 million (20.2% of AUM)
• NASDAQ: DFGP (Global fixed income): $74.09 million (11.2% of AUM)
• NYSEMKT: DFIC (International core): $45.49 million (6.9% of AUM)
• NYSEMKT: DUHP (U.S. high yield): $26.78 million (4.0% of AUM)
• NYSEMKT: DFSV (Small-cap value): $25.95 million (3.9% of AUM)

The positioning tells a story: equity exposure remains dominant, but global fixed income now occupies meaningful real estate alongside it—not as a satellite position, but as a foundational pillar.

Why Global Fixed Income Now?

The fund’s investment approach centers on globally diversified debt securities spanning both investment-grade and selective lower-rated bonds. This blended strategy aims to capture yield enhancement while maintaining manageable credit and interest rate risk profiles.

Fund mechanics at a glance:

• Total AUM: $2.06 billion
• Yield: 3.4%
• Current price: $54.03 per share
• One-year total return: 6%
• Expense ratio: 0.22% (exceptionally low)

Compare this to recent equity performance: DFGP gained roughly 2% over the past year, while the S&P 500 posted a nearly 17% return. The global fixed income trade isn’t about chasing near-term gains—it’s about stability and income generation in a shifting rate environment.

The Disciplined Architecture Behind Global Fixed Income Exposure

What separates this Dimensional product isn’t just its global scope, but its systematic construction. The ETF distributes risk across more than 1,300 individual holdings, blending approximately 70% investment-grade securities with selective high-yield components. This fragmentation reduces concentration risk while the yield-enhancement strategy doesn’t force the fund into outright junk territory.

With a yield to maturity exceeding 5.5% and duration clocking in under seven years, the fund occupies that rare middle ground: meaningful income without forcing aggressive calls on future rate movements. For institutional and individual investors alike, that equilibrium has become increasingly valuable as volatility reshapes portfolio assumptions.

Market Context: Why Advisors Are Rotating Into Global Fixed Income

After a prolonged era where bonds underperformed equities, the calculus has shifted. The traditional 60/40 portfolio—60% stocks, 40% bonds—spent years with bonds acting as return drag. That dynamic is reversing.

The von Borstel move reflects a broader institutional recognition: fixed income markets have moved past the zero-yield environment. Real yields on global bonds now offer genuine compensation for duration risk. Combined with equity markets displaying elevated valuations and periodic volatility spikes, a $74 million allocation to global fixed income looks less like defensive positioning and more like intelligent portfolio engineering.

This isn’t passive hedging. It’s active allocation.

The Structural Case for Maintaining Global Fixed Income

What distinguishes systematic global fixed income strategies from opportunistic bond trading is permanence. Von Borstel’s scale of commitment—and its ranking as the second-largest portfolio position—suggests this isn’t a temporary trade waiting to unwind.

The firm appears to be signaling that global fixed income now warrants the same structural respect as equity ETFs. It deserves a permanent seat at the table, sized appropriately for a diversified portfolio seeking both growth and income.

For advisors managing through uncertain rate paths and volatile equity cycles, that message carries weight: fixed income markets have matured beyond the crisis-era dynamics of the 2010s. They’re now once again capable of doing their job—providing ballast, yield, and genuine portfolio diversification.