Fama-Miller Center for Research in Finance Founding Members

The McQuowns, longtime friends of the University of Chicago, made the foundational gift in appreciation of professor Gene Fama, a colleague, partner, and friend, and in memory of Nobel laureate Merton Miller, a highly valued teacher and mentor to both Mac and Gene.

McQuown is cofounder of Diversified Credit Investments, a San Francisco-based investment firm. He led the team at Wells Fargo that in 1971 created the first institutional index fund, based on Fama's efficient markets hypothesis and his own belief that computers and quantitative analysis could measure risk and return for virtually the entire equity market. In 1981, McQuown became a founding member of the board of directors at Dimensional Fund Advisors, a company cofounded by Wells Fargo colleague and Chicago Booth alumnus David Booth, who donated the naming gift for the school. Leslie McQuown is a trustee of the Aspen Music Festival and active in organizations that focus on education and ecological sustainability. Together, Mac and Leslie have focused their talents and energies on making a difference in education, in a variety of ways and across multiple disciplines. The McQuowns believe that the new center will "promote the research of what is widely regarded as the world's best finance faculty."

The Fama-Miller Center was deeply saddened to hear of the passing of our founding member, John A. "Mac" McQuown. 

John Liew is a cofounder of AQR Capital Management, an investment management firm employing disciplined multi-asset investment processes to manage a diversified range of offerings from traditional benchmark-oriented long-only strategies to absolute return alternative strategies. At AQR, John heads the global asset allocation team and is a member of the firm's strategic planning and risk committees. Prior to cofounding AQR, John worked at Goldman, Sachs & Co. as a portfolio manager in the asset management division where he developed and managed quantitative investment strategies. Prior to joining Goldman, John worked at Trout Trading Company where he also developed quantitative investment strategies. John is a member of the board of trustees of the University of Chicago.

Serena Liew is an active volunteer at Greenwich Country Day School, where their two children, ages nine and seven, attend school.