Last month, I wrote that David Booth’s new book, Stay Calm, would launch on September 1, and with a lot of travel planned, I thought I’d dig into the book before our November 10, 2026, webinar (see “Upcoming Events” below), with David.

As a long-time fan of Dimensional, our primary strategic investment partner, and someone who’s followed the firm and its founders since 1997, I thought I knew a lot about David Booth, Co-Founder and Chairman of Dimensional. I was wrong.

In addition to learning many more details about the confluence of timing, luck, and people coming together at the University of Chicago in the late 60’s and early 70’s, which led to the founding of the first, truly data and evidence-based investment firm in America, I learned about the person behind the numbers and what excites him beyond the science of investing.

In particular, David’s passion for philanthropy has grown along with his net worth, and he feels strongly about giving back. You can read the book yourself to learn the details of the specific dollar amounts, which are significant. However, the “why” is what’s interesting to me. His gift to the University of Chicago was a gift to provide thanks to the place that allowed him to learn so much and meet the people who would lay the foundation for, and join him in his future success. And David wanted to ensure that the opportunity remains for future students as well.

David is also a major art collector. But as he stated himself, “I don’t buy art as an investment. I buy it because I like it.” He goes on to say, “I like happy art, which means that when I walk by it, I smile. And I really love when other people see a piece of art and smile too.” That’s not what I expected to hear from someone who believes so strongly in “data & evidence” and rational thinking. That said, David goes on to explain how he asks himself many of the same questions he would use to evaluate an investment strategy, including “Is it likely to endure over time?” That sounds a lot like taking the long view.

The bigger lesson. David is a sharer. Upon his death, David intends to donate his 50+ acre estate and dozens of outdoor sculptures to the public. When David paid more than $2.5 million for the original “Rules of Basketball” (yes, the real, 13 hand-written rules as penned by Dr. James Naismith), he donated them to the University of Kansas, his undergraduate alma mater. The list goes on.

To learn the entire story, request a complimentary copy of Stay Calm by emailing Annie Hall at annie@hillinvestmentgroup.com. Keep reading to learn about our upcoming webinar!

We’re excited to welcome Annie Hall as Marketing Manager at Hill Investment Group and Longview Research Partners after a year of working with our team. Annie’s role spans marketing, growth, and business development across both organizations, including content and editorial planning, client communications, digital marketing, events, and business development coordination.

Annie brings more than a decade of experience across sales, design, technology, and entrepreneurship. During 12 years in Chicago, she spent a decade at luxury design company HOLLY HUNT before moving into technology sales at climate tech company Worldly. She later launched her own business, working independently with leaders and growing companies. That range of experience shapes how she approaches communication, relationships, and bringing ideas to life.

For Annie, joining Hill full time is also a return to familiar ground. I’ve known her since she interned with us in 2009, before graduating from the University of Missouri with a degree in Biology and a minor in Architectural Studies. As co-founder Matt Hall’s younger sister, she also had a front-row seat to Hill’s early days.

Now back in St. Louis, Annie lives with her partner, Nate, and their two rescue dogs. A lifelong tennis player and outdoor enthusiast, she is passionate about animal rescue and is currently training for her first marathon this year in Chicago! See Annie’s full bio here.

One of the great things about being a financial planner is that we work with clients in all stages of life. We get the benefit of their collective wisdom on money, careers, marriage, parenting, and just about everything in between.

Before maternity leave for our second baby, one common refrain from clients with more than one child was, “Two kids are harder than one.” Three months in, I can safely confirm this is true!

But I’ve also been surprised by how much easier some things feel the second time around. Things that felt so hard with my first are now just part of the routine. And the new things that initially felt impossible with two? You do them a few times, and those become normal, too.

The biggest difference is perspective.

I still worry. I still obsess over which baby product will solve the problem of the day. And I still have plenty of moments when I have no idea what I’m doing. But this time around, I’m better at recognizing what deserves my attention—and what probably doesn’t. Experience has a way of doing that.

The same is true with investing. Markets give us an endless supply of data, headlines, predictions, and reasons to wonder whether this time is different. Taking the Long View doesn’t mean ignoring what’s happening around us. It means having the perspective to recognize what matters and the discipline not to react to what doesn’t.

Maternity leave has given me another kind of perspective, too. Like all of us at Hill, my family is also a client of the firm. Over the past few months, I haven’t had much time to think about markets or financial headlines. And honestly, that’s been just fine. We know where our plan is going. We trust our team and the process. Our financial life doesn’t require our constant attention, which has allowed us to give our attention to something that deserves all of it.

Having a second child has also prompted bigger conversations with my husband: How have our values as a family changed? What do we want our kids to learn about money? What do we want to prioritize as a family? What do we want our money to make possible, now and decades from now?

Those questions matter far more to us than what the market did this week.

Having a second child hasn’t made life less complicated. If anything, it’s made it more so. But it has given me a little more perspective about what deserves my attention—and what doesn’t. And I’m learning that’s a pretty valuable perspective to have in parenting, investing, and just about everything in between.