David Booth and Rex Sinquefield brought academic research to life in 1981 as true believers in investing based on facts over hunches. This recent article outlines the journey of transforming three decades of academic research and more than 60 years of data into the birthplace of evidence-based investing. Congratulations to David Booth for being recognized by Institutional Investor with a lifetime achievement award!

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Jack Bogle is a hero in our world. He launched the Vanguard 500 Index fund forty years ago in 1976. The initial reception was unimpressive, raising only $11 million, which was far short of the $150 million target. Critics called the index fund “un-American” and boring when compared to the active funds that were heavily advertised.

The S&P 500 Index fund gathered assets slowly in the beginning, but now is the second largest mutual fund in the world, with assets of over $255 billion. The total assets in all index and exchanged-traded funds is now $5 trillion. Investors have seen the evidence and are voting with their dollars. Happy Birthday Index Funds!

To read the full article please click here.

Our own Matt Hall was honored to be invited as a panelist at the annual Financial Planning Association Conference. His session, Citizens of the World: Developing Confidence in Global Investment for Better Portfolio Management, was moderated by financial journalist Charles Sherry. Robert Van Beek, who is converting Odds On to Dutch, and Sarah Newcomb, author of Loaded, were Matt’s co-panelists.