Word of Arnold Schwarzenegger's connection to the mutual fund industry is starting to spread through the mainstream media. News of his connection was first reported last week as part of a long-profile of the actor-turned-politician. This weekend it was picked up in Barron's.

For those who did not already know, Schwarzenegger is a small stakeholder in Santa Monica-based Dimensional Fund Advisors. The fund -- commonly called DFA -- is known as a value investment specialist and the sponsor of institutionally targeted funds investing in small cap stocks. It is also known for attracting "stars" into its operations.

The brightest of those stars, more luminescent than Eugene Fama, Merton Miller, Roger Ibbotson or Myron Scholes may now be Schwarzenegger. The Terminator purchased just less than 5 percent of the firm in 1996. His stake was made available after Schroder's sold its 25 percent founding stake back to the DFA that year. The bank cut Schwarzenegger, who was one of its clients -- in on the deal.

The Terminator himself was reportedly intrigued by the fund shop's value philosophy after learning of the virtues of cheapness at the knee of Warren Buffett.

"Warren always said if you don't do deep value, you ought to index," David Booth, CEO of DFA told Barron's. "Arnold is a Buffett devotee. It's a lovefest between the two of them, because Arnold is really a value guy. You can get a hint of it from how he started out in real estate."  

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