Robert D. Arnott

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Robert D. Arnott
Rob Arnott.jpg
Arnott in 2016
Born (1954-06-29) June 29, 1954 (age 71)
NationalityUnited States
Alma mater University of California, Santa Barbara (BS)
Scientific career
Fields Business, Finance, Investments
Institutions Research Affiliates

Robert D. Arnott (born June 29, 1954 [1] ) is an American investor, researcher, and writer known for his work in quantitative investing and fundamental indexing strategies.

Contents

He is the founder and chairman of the board of Research Affiliates, an asset management firm that develops and licenses asset allocation and investment strategies for partner firms. There were over US$159 billion assets under the management by firms using their strategies as of June 2025. [2] Arnott has authored over 150 academic publications and is often referred to as the "godfather of smart beta" for his influence on index-based portfolio construction. [3]

He edited CFA Institute's Financial Analysts Journal from 2002 to 2006, and has edited three books on equity management and tactical asset allocation. [4] [ better source needed ] Arnott is a co-author of the book The Fundamental Index: A Better Way to Invest, and co-editor of three other books relating to asset allocation and equity market investing. [5]

Arnott has also served as a Visiting Professor of Finance at the UCLA Anderson School of Management, on the editorial board of the Journal of Portfolio Management , the product advisory board of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, and the Chicago Board Options Exchange. [4] [ better source needed ] He previously served as Chairman of First Quadrant, LP, as global equity strategist at Salomon (now Salomon Smith Barney), president of TSA Capital Management (now TSA/Analytic), and as vice president at the Boston Company. [6]

Arnott has received seven [7] Graham and Dodd Scrolls and Awards, awarded annually by the CFA Institute for best articles of the year, and has received four Bernstein-Fabozzi/Jacobs-Levy awards from the Journal of Portfolio Management and Institutional Investor magazine. [8]

Early Life and Education

Arnott was born in 1954 and raised in the United States. As a high school student in 1970, he attended the Summer Science Program. [9] He later studied at the University of California, Santa Barbara, graduating summa cum laude in 1977, with a Bachelor of Science degree in economics, applied mathematics, and computer science. [10]

In college, Arnott contemplated a career in either astrophysics or finance. He opted for finance after deciding his math skills were inadequate for making serious contributions to science, but above average for finance or investing, as he later recalled, "where hardly anyone was using serious math at the time.” [11]

Writing

Arnott has published over 130 academic papers in refereed journals. [6] Topics of these papers have included the following: mutual fund returns, the equity risk premium, tactical asset allocation, and alternative index investing.

Career

Arnott began his career in finance after graduating from the University of California, Santa Barbara. He has held positions at firms including Global Equity Strategist at Salomon Brothers (now a part of Citigroup, president of The Boston Company, and TSA Capital Management (later TSA/Analytic). In 1988, he became the chairman of First Quadrant LP, an investment management firm.

In 2002, he founded Research Affiliates, based in Newport Beach, California. The firm develops investment strategies, partnering with companies such as Charles Schwab, Invesco, and PIMCO to deliver investment products. As of June 30, 2021, more than $171 billion in global assets were managed using investment strategies developed by Research Affiliates. [12] [13]

Since 2004, the firm has also collaborated with the FTSE Group to develop fundamentally based indexes. [14] In November 2009, Research Affiliates was awarded a patent for its index methodology that selects and weights securities using fundamental measures of company size. [15] The firm is also responsible for RAFI Indicies, a subsidiary focused on index develeopment, which expanded into multi-asset strategies in 2024. [16]

Arnott is co-manager of the PIMCO All Asset Fund, a diversified, tactical fund of funds with $16 billion in assets as of March 2022, which can invest in any of PIMCO's many mutual funds. [17] This fund is intended to feature what Arnott calls "Third Pillar" options, meant to diversify beyond traditional stocks and investment-grade bonds, and may include master limited partnerships, high-yield bonds, emerging markets debt, or liquid alternatives with the goal of boosting long-term portfolio performance. [18]

In 2025, he received the ETF.com Lifetime Achievement Award for his contributions to the field of exchange-traded funds and index investing. [19]

References

  1. Mooney, Attracta (March 18, 2016). "'Godfather of smart beta' defends attack". Financial Times.
  2. "About Us - Research Affiliates". 3 January 2022.
  3. Kuriloff, Aaron. "Rob Arnott, 'Godfather of Smart Beta,' Tells Investors: You're Doing It Wrong". The Wall Street Journal. News Corp. Retrieved 16 September 2025.
  4. 1 2 ""Q&A with Rob Arnott" NAREIT - Capital Markets". January–February 2007.{{cite web}}: Missing or empty |url= (help)
  5. "Wiley: The Fundamental Index: A Better Way To Invest".
  6. 1 2 "Robert D. Arnott biography". Research Affiliates.
  7. "All Past Graham and Dodd Award Winners". Taylor & Francis.
  8. "Bernstein-Fabozzi/Jacobs Levy Award".
  9. "The Universal Times". Summer Science Program. February 2010. Archived from the original on July 28, 2011. Retrieved November 29, 2010.
  10. "Rob Arnott | Research Affiliates". researchaffiliates.com. Archived from the original on 2025-01-28. Retrieved 2025-01-28.
  11. "Back to Fundamentals with Rob Arnott".
  12. "RA Model Portfolios How to Invest" (PDF). www.researchaffiliates.com.
  13. "About Research Affiliates".
  14. "How to Corral an Index Fund (with a new rope)", January 21, 2007, The New York Times
  15. Laise, Eleanor (November 18, 2009). "Indexing Patent to Test Fund Firms". The Wall Street Journal.
  16. Kenney, Allan. "Back to Fundamentals with Rob Arnott". Nareit. Nareit. Retrieved 25 September 2025.
  17. PIMCO All Asset Fund: Overview. US News and World Report, accessed 06 May 2022
  18. "Rob Arnott on All Asset January 2016". 9 February 2016.
  19. Benjamin, Jeff. "2025 etf.com Lifetime Achievement Award Nominee: Rob Arnott". ETF.com. ETF.com. Retrieved 25 September 2025.