Latest news with #TuneOuttheNoise
Mint
4 days ago
- Business
- Mint
What sparks an investing revolution?
What prompts a revolution? When it comes to investing, no change has been as great as that which began with researchers at the University of Chicago in the 1960s. Their financial-theory revolution changed the way that almost everyone invests, and made speculators many trillions of dollars. The transformation is the subject of 'Tune Out the Noise", a documentary by Errol Morris, an Academy Award winner, which held its premiere in New York on March 6th. His film includes interviews with academics and investors, such as Eugene Fama, Myron Scholes and David Booth, who took ideas about market efficiency and diversification from the textbook and put them into practice in the markets. This led to a surge in the use of data and a disciplined focus on costs, in turn providing the foundation for modern passive investing. Mr Morris's film may, in theory, be about brilliant individuals, but its most powerful message is about the role played by chance. History, like markets, is affected by randomness, and luck brought together the right people at the right time. Each had to be present for the financial revolution to emerge. The University of Chicago's role is just about the only part of the story that happened by design. It had become the nexus for financial research owing to its reputation for excellence in economics. The Centre for Research in Security Prices was established there in 1960, and its wealth of data on the price of bonds and stocks over decades enabled the academics to do their work. Randomness is apparent just about everywhere else. Although Mr Fama, who would later win a Nobel prize for his work on asset pricing, completed a doctorate at Chicago in 1964, he almost never made it to the university. After completing an undergraduate education at Tufts University, he had to chase up his application to Chicago, discovering that it had never been received. On phoning the university, he reached the dean of students by chance, who told him about a scholarship for Tufts graduates, before offering it to him on the spot. It was a similar story for Mr Scholes, another future Nobel laureate. In the summer of 1963 he started a job as a computer programmer despite scant expertise. The six other programmers who were hired failed to show up for the job, leaving Mr Scholes alone to assist in the financial research of other academics. He took to the work, abandoning his plan to return to his family's book-publishing company, and was in time offered a place on the university's doctoral programme. Mr Booth, whose name now adorns Chicago's business school, and Rex Sinquefield, his business partner, put the academic ideas into practice by co-founding Dimensional Fund Advisors, a firm that today boasts $777bn in assets under management. In 1969 Mr Booth narrowly avoided being made to fight in the Vietnam war, when a lenient officer postponed his conscription since he planned to study for a PhD. Mr Sinquefield did serve in the armed forces during the war, but poor eyesight kept him from combat. A few twists of fate—an unanswered phone call, a prickly recruiting officer, more diligent computer programmers or better eyesight—would have prevented some of the men from reaching Chicago. Without the confluence of thought, investing might look very different today, making the world much poorer. Such happenstance is found elsewhere, too: other parts of economics and nuclear physics, for instance, relied upon the concentration of talent in America after geniuses, often Jewish, fled from the Nazis. In the 1950s Silicon Valley looked to be an unlikely home for the American tech industry, with corporate research mostly taking place on the east coast. That changed in large part because William Shockley, an inventor of transistor technology, set up his own firm in the San Francisco Bay Area. The company's employees went on to establish giants including Fairchild Semiconductor and Intel. Shockley had picked the area simply because he wanted to be close to his elderly mother. 'Tune Out the Noise" leaves viewers wondering where the next investing revolution will come from. Quantitative trading has speeded up market activity, which is not quite as transformative as the changes that emerged from the 1960s. Some fret that cryptocurrencies are the most significant newish innovation, and that they are the preserve of speculators and criminals. But, in time, more useful ideas could emerge from the industry. There is always a chance. Subscribers to The Economist can sign up to our Opinion newsletter, which brings together the best of our leaders, columns, guest essays and reader correspondence.
Yahoo
13-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Tune Out the Noise: New Film Directed by Errol Morris Debuts on YouTube
Legendary director teams up with global asset manager Dimensional on a documentary chronicling the financial revolution that changed the way the world invests. NEW YORK, March 06, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Academy Award-winning filmmaker Errol Morris (The Fog of War, The Thin Blue Line) turns his lens to an unlikely cast of upstarts who transformed the investment landscape in his new documentary Tune Out the Noise. The film chronicles a group of academics at the University of Chicago in the 1960s whose groundbreaking research challenged Wall Street's status quo and was used by firms like Dimensional to disrupt traditional methods of investing, ultimately reshaping the way the world views markets. Many of the prominent academic and financial leaders featured in Tune Out the Noise were instrumental in developing and applying research that showed how rules-based, broadly diversified portfolios could lower barriers to entry and reduce costs for investors. This new approach, which stood in stark contrast to the stock-picking and performance-chasing tactics that predominated, led to the invention of passive investing and the creation of the first index funds. The result was a revolution in finance that helped usher in a new era for investors. Shot in Morris's iconic style, the documentary unfolds through revealing interviews with Nobel Prize-winning economists who have long-standing ties to Dimensional, including Eugene Fama, Robert Merton, and Myron Scholes, as well as interviews with Professor Ken French, Dimensional Founders David Booth and Rex Sinquefield, indexing pioneer Mac McQuown, former US Senator Bill Bradley, and many others. "The evolution of modern finance is a story of innovation, disruption, and resilience," Morris said. "It's about the power of ideas, the courage to question convention, and the enduring impact of turning knowledge into action." Booth, for whom the University of Chicago's Booth School of Business is named, reflected on the film and its lessons: "Tune Out the Noise captures the energy and excitement of a series of breakthroughs that changed investing forever," he said. "I hope this film helps even more people discover that there's a smarter way to invest and anyone can benefit from it." Produced by Fourth Floor Productions and Moxie Pictures, Tune Out the Noise premieres today in New York City. It's available for US audiences to stream on YouTube here, and there are plans to expand availability to additional regions later this year. Watch the trailer and learn more at About Dimensional Fund AdvisorsDimensional is a leading global investment firm that has been translating academic research into practical investment solutions since 1981. Guided by a strong belief in markets, we help investors pursue higher expected returns through a systematic investment process that integrates research insights with advanced portfolio design, management, and trading while balancing tradeoffs that can impact returns. Dimensional is headquartered in Austin, Texas, and has 15 global offices across North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. As of December 31, 2024, Dimensional manages $777 billion for investors worldwide. For more information, please visit DisclosuresDimensional Fund Advisors LP is an investment advisor registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Investment products: • Not FDIC Insured • Not Bank Guaranteed • May Lose ValueDimensional Fund Advisors does not have any bank affiliates. "Dimensional" refers to the Dimensional separate but affiliated entities generally, rather than to one particular entity. These entities are Dimensional Fund Advisors LP, Dimensional Fund Advisors Ltd., Dimensional Ireland Limited, DFA Australia Limited, Dimensional Fund Advisors Canada ULC, Dimensional Fund Advisors Pte. Ltd., Dimensional Japan Ltd., and Dimensional Hong Kong Limited. Dimensional Hong Kong Limited is licensed by the Securities and Futures Commission to conduct Type 1 (dealing in securities) regulated activities only and does not provide asset management services. View source version on Contacts Media Contact Taylor 1-502-641-7220 Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
07-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Billionaire investor David Booth: Long-term investors aren't panicking
Chaotic Trump policy isn't getting long-term investors down in the dumps yet. "No," Dimensional Fund Advisors founder and chair David Booth said on Yahoo Finance's Catalysts when asked if heightened market volatility this month is causing investors to panic (video above). "What we have are clients that are really long-term investors and frequently call up and say, look, let's chat about you — you don't need to talk to me. I know what you're going to say. And you know, I'm in this for the long haul." Booth — worth an estimated $2.4 billion — is out with a new documentary called "Tune Out the Noise," which pulls back the curtain on how he created Dimensional Fund Advisors through a focus on long-term investing discipline. Listen: Trump tariffs may trigger stagflationary shock It also explores his career in applying the finance theory he learned at the University of Chicago's business school (now named after him) to the world of investment management. Founded in 1981, Dimensional today is a global investment manager with more than $777 billion in assets under management. The firm is seen as helping to create one of the world's first index funds in the 1970s. He launched the first passively managed small company investing strategies in the early 1980s. Booth has signed the Giving Pledge, joining other billionaires such as Microsoft (MSFT) co-founder Bill Gates and Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-B) CEO Warren Buffett in promising to give away the majority of their wealth to charity. Booth's documentary comes as the market is doing everything but tuning out the noise as a barrage of tariff news and softening economic data hit. The S&P 500 Index (^SPX) has fallen back to levels before the US election in November. The Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) and Magnificent 7 are both now in technical correction territory, or off 10% or more from their highs. Momentum stock darlings Nvidia (NVDA) and Tesla (TSLA) are down 26% and 45%, respectively, from their all-time highs. Markets are recalibrating growth expectations for companies in a world of Trump tariffs, which could feature a recession and high levels of inflation, pros say. Watch: How Hasbro CEO is tackling Trump tariffs Booth thinks ignoring the political noise — while tough — is paramount. "One of the interesting things about studying the behavior of the stock market over long periods of time is you can't find much connection between which party is in power, which Congress is leading the way," Booth said. "It's always helpful to remind people how markets work. These are buyers and sellers coming together, and they don't trade unless each side thinks they got a good deal. The way I view it is every day prices are getting set at levels that induce people to come in to invest. If prices were too high, they wouldn't invest." Brian Sozzi is Yahoo Finance's Executive Editor. Follow Sozzi on X @BrianSozzi, Instagram, and LinkedIn. Tips on stories? Email Sign in to access your portfolio
Bloomberg
06-03-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Odd Lots: Eugene Fama and David Booth on the Birth of Modern Finance
The 1970s were a pretty eventful time in markets. There was high inflation, the end of the gold standard, and a stock market crash. There was also a bunch of ideas coming out of the University of Chicago that would go on to be famous and highly influential for investors. Perhaps the most prominent is the Efficient Market Hypothesis, posited by Nobel Laureate Eugene Fama, which says that markets are right and it's useless for investors to try to outguess them. Fama later teamed up with David Booth, the founder of Dimensional Fund Advisors, and has been a longtime collaborator with the firm, which now has $777 billion under management. Today, they're releasing a documentary directed by Errol Morris and called "Tune Out the Noise," which chronicles this important time. We speak to both of these investment legends about the development of their theories, how they put them into practice, subsequent criticism, and what comes next.
Bloomberg
06-03-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Eugene Fama and David Booth on the Birth of Modern Finance
Listen to Odd Lots on Apple Podcasts Listen to Odd Lots on Spotify The 1970s were a pretty eventful time in markets. There was high inflation, the end of the gold standard, and a stock market crash. There was also a bunch of ideas coming out of the University of Chicago that would go on to be famous and highly influential for investors. Perhaps the most prominent is the Efficient Market Hypothesis, posited by Nobel Laureate Eugene Fama, which says that markets are right and it's useless for investors to try to outguess them. Fama later teamed up with David Booth, the founder of Dimensional Fund Advisors, and has been a longtime collaborator with the firm, which now has $777 billion under management. Today, they're releasing a documentary directed by Errol Morris and called " Tune Out the Noise," which chronicles this important time. We speak to both of these investment legends about the development of their theories, how they put them into practice, subsequent criticism, and what comes next.
