At its core, managing wealth is about finding the best solutions for your clients. As he mentions in today’s discussion with him, this sentiment has guided David Booth’s storied career. As the Co-Founder and Executive Chairman of Dimensional Fund Advisors, David’s career is so illustrious that he’s been called the father of evidence-based investment products. We open our conversation by exploring David’s career, beginning with his job as a shoe salesman in Kansas to developing the first index fund. We ask David if he had been able to foresee the power that “geeks” would have over the asset management business. His answers highlight how immature the industry was when he founded Dimensional Fund Advisors and how they had to first convince people before selling them on small cap funds. Reflecting on his early successes and challenges, David opens up about how his clients reacted when small caps underperformed. A key theme this episode, David emphasizes the importance of making decisions that are grounded in academic research. We then dive into several topics ranging from David’s views on value portfolios to the stroke of luck that led Dimensional to open their products to financial advisors. After chatting about why Dimensional is now entering the ETF space, David shares his take on direct indexing and why he still favors simplicity over complexity. Near the end of the episode, we discuss how David built his company culture, how luck factored into his life, and how he defines success. An incredible conversation that touches on pivotal moments in the history of financial services, tune for more insights into the life and work of David Booth. David G. Booth — https://www.forbes.com/profile/david-booth/ Dimensional Fund Advisors — https://ca.dimensional.com/ Rational Reminder on iTunes — https://itunes.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-rational-reminder-podcast/id1426530582. Benjamin Felix on YouTube — https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDXTQ8nWmx_EhZ2v-kp7QxA Dr. James Naismith's Original 13 Rules of Basketball — https://www.usab.com/history/dr-james-naismiths-original-13-rules-of-basketball.aspx