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.
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 film premiered in the US in March and has since racked up 17 million views on YouTube.
“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 is now available on YouTube for audiences in Canada, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands and the UK here.
About Dimensional Fund Advisors
Dimensional 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 at 31 December 2024, Dimensional manages $777 billion for investors worldwide. For more information, please visit dimensional.com.
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