About Us

Four Pines Publishing creates and distributes educational materials for children and adults. Our various instruments, books, films, kits, paintings, and library of vintage books contribute to our mission of educating people about statistics, science, mathematics and investing. These various projects are authored, produced, designed and directed by many talented professionals under the supervision Mark T. Hebner, founder and President of Four Pines Publishing.

Mark Hebner

Mark Hebner is also the founder and ceo of Index Fund Advisors, Inc., (IFA.com), author of the highly regarded book Index Funds: The 12-Step Recovery Program for Active Investors, is the creator of and is featured in the award winning documentary film Index Funds: The 12-Step Recovery Program for Active Investors and architect of ifa.com, one of the most comprehensive websites focused on investor education. Mark’s current book and previous editions received praise from financial industry experts and academic luminaries, including John Bogle, David Booth, Burton Malkiel, and Nobel Laureates Harry Markowitz and Paul Samuelson. The book has been nominated as one of the three all-time greatest investment books, along with the writings of John Bogle and Warren Buffett. This book details the possible perils associated with stock picking, mutual fund manager picking, market timing, and other wealth depleting behaviors. Hebner’s 12-Step Program teaches the differences between active and passive investing, explains the emotional triggers that impact investment decisions, and offers an enlightening education on evidence-based investing that may forever change the way an investor perceives the stock market.

Mark is a respected speaker, frequent news contributor and authority on investing. His life’s mission is to “change the way the world invests by replacing speculation with education.” Hebner is especially knowledgeable about index funds, portfolio construction and the research indexes designed by Nobel Laureate Eugene Fama and Kenneth French. These indexes provide the building blocks for the prudent evidence-based investment strategies that Hebner implements for his IFA clients.

Mark is a Wealth Advisor (Series 65) and has an MBA from the University of California, Irvine and a Bachelor’s in Nuclear Pharmacy from the University of New Mexico. He was a member of the Young Presidents' Organization for over 20 years and is currently a member of the World Presidents’ Organization and the Chief Executives Organization.

Prior to founding Index Fund Advisors in 1999, Mark was an Angel Investor for several years and prior to that he was President, CEO and co-Founder of Syncor International (previously a public company - SCOR) from 1975 to 1985.

John Dahlin

John Dahlin is the General Manager of Four Pines Publishing, and is also the Director of Tax for IFA Taxes. The two companies share office space in Irvine, CA.

Philip Poissant

Philip helped design the desktop Galton Board. He is the product design principal of Poissant Design Associates Inc., an award winning, consultant industrial design office located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Working in all aspects of the product development cycle, the company has more than 25 years experience in manufactured parts with an emphasis on plastic, injection molded assemblies.

John Brunson

John Brunson is a Marketing Associate at Four Pines Publishing, Inc. John currently studies the philosophy of science at the University of California, Irvine with an emphasis in mathematical logic. John is particularly interested in probability theory, inductive reasoning, and epistemology; as well as their applications to real-life phenomena such as the financial markets. In his free time, John likes to learn new languages and play his accordion.