David Booth, founder and Executive Chairman of Dimensional Fund Advisors—and namesake of the Chicago Booth School of Business—credits his 30+ years of success in the world of finance to his experience in business school.  Dimensional’s investment decisions are broadly based on the practical application of financial theory and academic research Booth learned while studying at the University of Chicago, and then tested while pioneering the practice of index fund investing at Wells Fargo. Now, Dimensional manages around $518 billion in assets and continues to grow. Booth’s transformational gift of $300 million to his MBA alma mater, a remarkably display of gratitude, remains the single most generous donation any business school has ever received. 

In Austin on Thursday, October 26th we hosted David Booth for a conversation, where he shared thoughts about long-term impact of graduate education for his (and your) career, and provided unique insight into how he helped build one of the largest financial companies in the world.

About the Speaker

David Booth, a founder of Dimensional Fund Advisors in 1981, is the firm’s Executive Chairman. Currently, David serves on the Investment Company Institute’s Board of Governors and is an active member of ICI’s Executive Committee. In 2016, he received the Investment Management Lifetime Achievement Award from Institutional Investor magazine, and Forbes ranked David as No. 39 on the magazine’s list of the 40 “Money Masters: The Most Powerful People in the Financial World.” In 2012, he was awarded the Outstanding Financial Executive Award by the Financial Management Association International for his background and accomplishments in applying financial theory and research to the practical world of asset management, particularly for his pioneering work in indexing and small capitalization investing. MutualFundWire ranks him seventh in its list of the 100 Most Influential People in mutual funds, and in 2010, InvestmentNews named David as one of “The Power 20” in the financial services industry.

David has written numerous articles, including “Diversification Returns and Asset Management” with Eugene F. Fama, which won a Graham and Dodd Award of Excellence from the Financial Analysts Journal in 1992. 

The University of Chicago Booth School of Business was named in honor of David, where he also serves as a lifetime member of the school’s business advisory council. David is a member of the board of trustees of the University of Chicago, the University of Kansas Endowment Association, and Museum of Modern Art in New York. He is also on the board of overseers for the Becker Friedman Institute. 

David received his MBA from the University of Chicago in 1971. He also holds an MS and a BA from the University of Kansas.

About Dimensional Fund Advisors

Dimensional is a global investment manager dedicated to implementing the great ideas in finance.

Founded in 1981, they have a long history of applying academic research to practical investing. Today, they offer a full range of equity and fixed income strategies designed to target higher expected returns. They regard the assets managed as more than just shares in a portfolio. The money represents the savings, sacrifice, and dreams that investors have entrusted to them. They take this responsibility seriously.