What sparks an investing revolution?

Ideas that emerged from the University of Chicago in the 1960s changed the world. But as a new film shows, they almost didn’t

What prompts a revolution? When it comes to investing, no change has been as great as that which began with researchers at the University of Chicago in the 1960s. Their financial-theory revolution changed the way that almost everyone invests, and made speculators many trillions of dollars.

This article appeared in the Finance & economics section of the print edition under the headline “Ruled by randomness”

From the March 15th 2025 edition

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