Elroy Dimson honoured by private asset managers group

Cambridge Judge Business School is very pleased that Professor Elroy Dimson, Chairman of the Centre for Endowment Asset Management at the Business School, was given a Lifetime Achievement Award by PAM Insight, a leading provider of news, analysis and data for the global wealth management industry.

The award was presented to Elroy, who is also Director of Research (Finance) at Cambridge Judge, on 13 March at the 27th PAM Awards, a black-tie dinner at the Royal Lancaster Hotel in London attended by more than 400 guests.

PAM Insight, organiser of the PAM Awards, cited the work of Elroy and 2 academic colleagues from London Business School, Professor Paul Marsh and Dr Mike Staunton, for their work over the past quarter-century in providing comprehensive historical market data that now spans 125 years.

Global database helps product better investment management outcomes

“Until relatively recently, the asset management sector lacked a high-quality global database of asset prices, to help facilitate increased understanding in the way in which financial markets function as well as providing a basis for better investment management outcomes,” PAM Insight said.

The latest version of the trio’s work, ‘Global Investment Returns Yearbook 2025’, was published in February by investment bank UBS. It covers 35 country markets, including data for 23 countries dating back to 1900.

For general readers, Elroy and his 2 colleagues also produced a book, ‘Triumph of the Optimists: 101 Years of Global Investment Returns’, which was published in 2002 by Princeton University Press.

The Lifetime Achievement Award announcement also cited Elroy’s work as a co-designer of the FTSE 100 index of top UK listed companies and as a consultant to major organisations such as the strategy council for Norway’s sovereign wealth fund. In addition, he has “researched and published extensively in the field of endowment management and financial market history as well as teaching many students, some of whom are well-known in the wealth management sector”.

A profound impact on academics and practitioners alike

“Testimonials gathered from students, colleagues and industry practitioners across the globe echo his status as a colossus in his field, as well as the profound impact he has had on the professional lives of both academics and industry practitioners alike,” said James Anderson, Founder and Editor-in-Chief of PAM Insight, in presenting the Lifetime Achievement Award to Elroy at the dinner.

“Central to what he has achieved for the profession, is his love for the academic finance community, and his deep interest in its members as people. He has an uncanny ability to look beyond easily measurable criteria to see the potential in individuals that many others do not see. A role model to others, he has always been supportive of female academics, helping them to integrate into the profession and encouraging them to seek out opportunities.

“He has done all of this with great humility, humanity and humour, spreading the wisdom on equity premium across centuries. He has been and still is an institution-builder, an inspiring scholar, a strategic thinker and, of course, a good friend to many.”