Common Purpose

After 36 years at Dimensional, what do you take pride in what we've been able to do? I think it's a, that we're motivated by empirical work, and b, that we're honest about it. We realize that empirical work does not provide certain answers, it provides answers that are subject to a lot of uncertainty, and we're not just honest about that, we emphasize it. It's not what's best for the firm, it's what's best for your clients. If there's ever any question, that's what you have to do. When we conduct research, obviously, there's a lot of number crunching, there's looking at a lot of data, but in the end, there's always a client, there's always the face behind those numbers. And we always have to remember that when we're looking at a result, it's not just about the idea, or trying to get my idea incorporated into a portfolio. And the ideas that get put into the portfolios are the ones that we have a strong conviction are going to make the clients' investment experience better. See, I think somehow these ideas about investing eventually work their way into creating a culture at Dimensional that's very exciting, and the idea that even if you're not an investment person, when you go home at night, somehow you get the idea that we do what we say we're gonna do. When you find a set of ideas that you can truly believe in, it becomes a joy to go out into the world and talk about them. We can really make a difference for investors all around the world. It's really about changing the way people think about investing, and that's what drives me every day. When you can look at markets, and see on those ideas of what really matters, you can see markets differently. And when you see markets differently, you can live your life differently, because the stress and the anxiety that comes with looking at the market day to day, that goes away. In every way, we're basically asking every person around the firm to look at their function, look at their role, and think about ways to own it, have responsibility for it, and get better at it, so that the collective outcome is much, much better for the end client, and lines up well with the mission and purpose. David Booth and Mac McQuown and Gene Fama and Ken French have all really contributed to, in terms of the culture. These are guys that have been working at this for 30 and 40 and 50 years. And in my view, they're working as hard on the subject as they ever have. So it's a daily repetition, it's a habit, of always looking for the best solution, always looking out for the client. The recognition that you can do well by doing good is something that I've picked up from those four in particular, and it's something that I hope to continue to spread to the rest of the new hires, new employees that we have at the firm as we grow around the globe. I think we have an environment where you can take pride in what you do. The philosophy we have enables people to stick with it. In returns, we've been able to achieve have enabled people to live better. And we really do serve a higher purpose.