For the second time in six months, David Booth has promoted a new co-pilot for Dimensional Fund Advisors (DFA [profile]). And this time one of the two current co-pilots is flying away from the Austin, Texas-based mutual fund firm.

Booth (71) confirmed yesterday that 13-year DFA veteran Gerard O'Reilly (40) will succeed 17-year DFA veteran Eduardo Repetto (50) as co-CEO of DFA, effective in the last week of September. Repetto also serves as co-CIO alongside O'Reilly, and O'Reilly will become the sole chief investment officer at the firm.

The Financial Times, InvestmentNews, P&I, and RIABiz all reported on DFA's latest co-CEO switch.

Dave Butler (52), DFA's other co-CEO since February and head of global financial advisor services, will remain co-CEO alongside O'Reilly, and DFA founder Booth will continue to serve as executive chairman. Repetto will leave DFA.

Like Repetto, O'Reilly is a kind of rocket scientist by training. A native of Ireland, he has degrees in theoretical physics and high performance computing from Trinity College Dublin, as well as a PhD in aeronautics from CalTech. He joined DFA in 2004 and became co-CIO alongside Repetto in 2014.

Booth praises O'Reilly as "a vital member of [DFA's] investments and senior management teams over the past 13 years." Butler adds that O'Reilly "has played an instrumental role in evolving and broadening [DFA's] capabilities."

As for Repetto, a native of Argentina, he rose to co-CEO at the beginning of 2010, as part of Booth's then-plan to "transition management and ownership." At one point, Repetto was slated to become sole CEO of DFA at the end of 2013, yet Booth ended up staying on as co-CEO until earlier this year when he passed the co-CEO reins to Butler.

"Eduardo has made tremendous contributions to Dimensional's success and our investment process," Booth stated yesterday.

"It has been a remarkable journey at Dimensional," Repetto stated. "I am thankful to the clients and my fellow employees that have enabled Dimensional to become this magnificent global business — a business based on sound investment ideas and expert implementation. I have been lucky to have had the opportunity to exchange ideas and develop friendships with so many amazing people from around the world."

As of June 30, 2017, 36-year-old DFA had $518 billion in AUM and more than 1,100 employees worldwide, in 12 offices spread across eight countries. 

Edited by: Neil Anderson, Managing Editor


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