Rob Arnott 

 Chairman ＆ Chief Executive Officer

Research Affiliates Chairman ＆ Chief Executive Officer 620 Newport Center Dr, Ste 900 Newport Beach CA USA
​Over his 30-year career, Robert Arnott has endeavored to bridge the worlds of academic theorists and financial markets. His success in doing so has resulted in a reputation as one of the world’s most provocative practitioners and respected financial analysts.
 
Rob has pioneered several unconventional portfolio strategies that are now widely applied, including tactical asset allocation, global tactical asset allocation, tax-advantaged equity management, and the Fundamental Index® approach to indexation.
 
In 2002, he established Research Affiliates as a research-intensive asset management firm that focuses on innovative products. The firm explores novel approaches to active asset allocation, optimal portfolio construction, more efficient forms of indexation and other quantitative strategies. Research Affiliates delivers investment solutions globally in partnership with leading financial institutions.
  
Rob has been a frequent contributor to leading financial journals and books. He has published more than 100 articles in journals such as the Journal of Portfolio Management, the Harvard Business Review, and the Financial Analysts Journal, where he also served as editor in chief from 2002 through 2006. In recognition of his achievements as a financial writer, Rob has received five Graham and Dodd Scrolls, awarded annually by CFA Institute for best articles of the year. He also has received two Bernstein-Fabozzi/Jacobs-Levy awards from the Journal of Portfolio Management.
 
An intrepid entrepreneur, Rob managed two asset management firms before founding Research Affiliates. As chairman of First Quadrant, LP, he built up the former internal money manager for Crum & Forster into a highly regarded quantitative asset management firm. He also was global equity strategist at Salomon Brothers (now part of Citigroup), the founding president and CEO of TSA Capital Management (now part of Analytic Investors, LLC), and a vice president at The Boston Company.
 
Rob Arnott graduated summa cum laude from the University of California, Santa Barbara in 1977 in economics, applied mathematics, and computer science. He is co-author of The Fundamental Index: A Better Way to Invest (Wiley 2008).

insights

  • The Death of the Dollar?

    Currents
    December 2012 | Rob Arnott

    To no one’s surprise, the Fed announced that it will replace the expiring “Operation Twist”—in which it was selling $45 billion of short maturity treasuries and buying a like amount of long maturity treasuries every month—with continued purchases of long bonds. The Fed announced in September that it will buy $40 billion per month in mortgage-backed ...
    Asset Allocation

  • The Winner's Curse

    Journal of Indexes
    December 2012 | Rob Arnott, Lillian Wu

    Much ink has been spilled on the perils of allowing some companies to become "too big to fail." This sentiment assumes that governments, hence taxpayers, must foot the bill when these top dogs become seriously ill, while reinforcing a view that the top dogs, whose failure might do sytemic damage, should be heavily regulated to mitigate the ...
    Equity

  • The Glidepath Illusion

    Fundamentals
    September 2012 | Rob Arnott

    Young adults should buy stocks; mature adults should favor bonds. Or so we’re taught. But the Glidepath—the mechanism within popular target-date funds that shifts asset allocation to bonds from equities as participants age—does not lead to optimal returns.
    Defined Contribution

  • Rebalancing and the Value Effect

    Journal of Portfolio Management
    Q3 2012 | Denis Chaves, Rob Arnott

    Value stocks typically enjoy higher dividends than growth stocks. Growth stocks, on the other hand, typically enjoy faster dividend growth. What most investors miss is that a portfolio of value stocks generates faster growth in dividends than a portfolio of growth stocks.
    Equity, Fundamental Index, RAFI, Smart Beta

  • Institutionalizing Courage

    Fundamentals
    May 2012 | Rob Arnott

    Most people tend to measure wealth in terms of the dollar value of a portfolio. We believe it is better to measure wealth in terms of the real spending the portfolio can sustain over the entire life of the obligations served by the portfolio. We call this approach “sustainable spending.” But focusing on sustainable spending requires real courage.
    GTAA, RAFI, Equity, Fundamental Index, Smart Beta