Who invented the index fund? Most investors would guess it was Vanguard founder John Bogle. Bogle did launch the first publicly available index fund in 1976. After being derided as “Bogle’s folly,” it went on to become today’s Vanguard 500 Index Fund, a name nearly synonymous with indexing.

So it may come as a surprise to learn that Bogle did not actually invent the index fund. That credit goes to three gentlemen who created the first institutional index funds in the early 1970s: Dimensional Fund Advisor board member John “Mac” McQuown, co-founder and Executive Chairman David Booth, and co-founder Rex Sinquefield.

In this brief video, Booth reflects on the evolution of indexing and evidence-based investing, which led to Dimensional’s own value-added approach. “The basic idea of indexing has been an overwhelming success,” says Booth, but “Dimensional built the firm on the idea that we could do better.”

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!

Click here to read the article.

Recently, the entire Hill Investment Group team had the opportunity to support Rex Sinquefield, Co-Founder of Dimensional Fund Advisors and native St. Louisan, at the Inaugural Queen’s Gala in support of the World Chess Hall of Fame, which Rex brought to St. Louis in 2010. In addition to educating the world about the strategy, mental challenge, and fun of chess, Rex’s support of the Hall of Fame has helped hundreds of inner-city youth stay off the streets and stretch their mind by applying it to chess. The Queen’s Gala also sought to recognize women in chess, including Rex’s own teacher, Jennifer Shahade, two-time US Women’s Champion, author, commentator and editor on www.USChess.org. For more than 30 years, investors have benefitted from Rex’s investment work, and Rex continues to try to make the world a better place through his non-profit support.

Speaking of philanthropy, stay tuned for an upcoming story by Rick Hill about how and why people support non-profits and how Hill Investment Group can help clients create a charitable plan that reflects each family’s unique vision and values.