(MONEY Magazine) – The movie star and the geeky investment shop? The pairing would never fly on-screen, but California's gubernatorial race has turned up all kinds of oddities. In fact, candidate Arnold Schwarzenegger owns a significant--though far from controlling--stake in Dimensional Fund Advisors (DFA), a Santa Monica fund firm known for its devotion to academic research. Credit the Terminator's paternal duties for what's most likely been a nicely profitable bet, as DFA's U.S. assets under management have more than doubled since 1996, when he bought in. Arnold's daughter attended preschool with the daughter of Paul Booth, CEO of DFA, which was trying to raise money to buy the 25% of its shares owned by a London investment firm. The two daddies bonded, and the deal was done. "Our clients may worry that we've gone Hollywood," says Booth. "But I don't tell Arnold how to pump iron, and he doesn't tell me how to pick stocks."

--MAGGIE TOPKIS