Keynote Speaker

Robert J. Shiller
2013 Nobel Laureate in Economic Sciences and Professor of Economics at Yale University

Robert J. Shiller, American economist and Professor of Economics at Yale University, has been awarded the 2013 Nobel Prize Laureate in Economic Sciences for his pioneering contributions to financial market volatility and the dynamics of asset prices. Shiller is consistently ranked among the most influential economists of our time. Robert Shiller is known as the founder of “behavioral finance” research, which focuses on the irrational human behavior in economic situations trying to dissolve the assumption of Homo Economicus as a rationally thinking person. The observed behaviors usually contradict the predictions of classical economic models, which is why "behavioral finance" studies these irrational behaviors. It applies psychology and other social sciences to the world of finance and thus addresses a fundamental weakness of this discipline dominated by mathematics: the neglect of the people. In a special 2011 issue of Bloomberg Markets magazine, Shiller was ranked as one of the “50 Most Influential People with the Power in Global Finance,” and in 2010 he was named by Foreign Policy magazine to its list of top global thinkers.
 

SFI Industry Forum speakers

Dr. Frank Hatheway
Chief Economist, NASDAQ OMX Group, US

Dr. Frank M. Hatheway leads the Economics & Statistical Research Department of NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc. A former university professor, he combines academic rigor with industry experience in addressing issues related to the markets, capital formation, and the overall economy. Frank has also served as an Economic Fellow and Senior Research Scholar with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, worked as a derivatives trader, and earned his Ph.D. in Economics from Princeton University.
 

Prof. Tim Jenkinson
Said Business School, Oxford University, UK

Tim Jenkinson is a Professor of Finance and head of the finance faculty at Saïd Business School, University of Oxford. He is also the Director of the Oxford Private Equity Institute. His areas of expertise include private equity, initial public offerings (IPOs), institutional asset management and the cost of capital. Professor Jenkinson is one of the foremost academic experts on private equity – an industry that is often misunderstood by the general public and financial experts alike because it does not operate in the public domain. His private equity research has shown that, on average, historical private equity returns have outpaced public market returns by 3% to 4% each year, explaining the appeal of this little known industry. His research has demonstrated how the capital structure of leveraged buyouts can impact private equity performance. This research led the UK Treasury Select Committee to call upon him to provide evidence when it held investigations into the private equity industry.
 

Prof. Claudio Loderer
Managing Director, Swiss Finance Institute, CH

Claudio Loderer is managing director of Swiss Finance Institute, professor of Financial Management at the University of Bern, and academic director of the Rochester-Bern Executive Programs. His research interests span corporate finance, corporate aging, corporate governance, compensation policies, entrepreneurship, and international finance. He received his PhD in Industrial Organization from the University of Rochester and has taught at the University of Rochester, at Purdue University, at the University of Chicago, and at the Stern School of Business at NYU. 
 

Prof. Narayan Naik
London Business School, UK

Professor Narayan Naik has played a key role in developing the London Business School Finance Subject Area, as Director of the PhD program, the Investment Management Programs and, more recently, as Director of the Hedge Fund Centre.  His research interests include hedge funds, performance measurement, portfolio selection, risk management and market microstructure. Narayan has published a significant body of work in these areas in top academic and practitioner journals. His recent research paper, co-authored with Professor William Fung, in the Journal of Finance, is the foundation on which the JP Morgan Alternative Beta Reference (JPM ABR) Index is based. He currently serves on the JPM ABR Index Committee.
 

Anne Richards
Chief Investment Officer, Aberdeen Asset Management, UK

Anne is Chief Investment Officer and executive director of Aberdeen Asset Management, a FTSE 100 company.  She began her career as a research fellow at CERN, the European Organisation for Nuclear Research, moving into investments in 1992.  Her career has included research analysis, portfolio management and global asset allocation. A graduate of University of Edinburgh and INSEAD, Anne is a Chartered Engineer and a Fellow of the Chartered Institute for Securities and Investment.  She is a FN100 Women in Finance, a member of the Board of Leaders of 2020 Women on Boards and is the recipient of the 100 Women in Hedge Funds 2014 European Industry Leadership Award. In June 2014 Anne was appointed a Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (CVO) for services as a Member of Council of the Duchy of Lancaster.  Anne also holds various non executive positions.

Dr. Andreas Schlatter
Head of Global Asset Management, UBS, Switzerland

Andreas Schlatter is the Head of UBS Global Asset Management Switzerland and is responsible for doing business with institutional clients such as pension funds, banks and insurance companies.  He is also in charge of business with UBS funds in Switzerland and Luxembourg and is responsible for working with other UBS business groups in Switzerland. He is a member of UBS's Executive Board for Switzerland and of the Global Asset Management Executive Committee. Having gained a doctorate in mathematics, he joined UBS as a client relationship manager in 1996. After having held a variety of management positions, he was put in charge of UBS Global Asset Management Switzerland in 2009. He works in the interests of the Swiss financial center by being the Chairman of Swiss Banking's commission on institutional asset management and a member of the Swiss Federal Commission on Occupational Pensions.

Dr. Francesco Sandrini
Head of Multi Asset Securities Solutions, Pioneer Investments, Germany

Dr. Francesco Sandrini joined Pioneer Investments in 1998 and he is Head of Multi Asset Securities Solutions. His area of expertise includes mutual funds, real asset and commodities, income and risk overlaid strategies. Sandrini combines his industry experience studying benchmarking optimization and asset management. He was awarded his PhD in Finance and Banking from University College Dublin.

Dr. Burkhard Varnholt,
Head Investment Solutions Group (ISG) and Chief Investment Officer (CIO), Julius Baer, Switzerland

 Burkhard P. Varnholt is Head Investment Solutions Group, Chief Investment Officer and Member of the Executive Board of Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd. since March 2014. Prior to joining Bank Julius Baer, he has been Chief Investment Officer, Head Asset Management and Investment Advisory and Member of the Group Executive Board of Bank J. Safra Sarasin Co. Ltd. for 6 years. Before that he has served 10 years as the Global Head of Financial Products & Investment Advisory and was Member of the Group Executive Council at Credit Suisse Group. Burkhard P. Varnholt gained his doctorate at the University of St. Gallen, taught at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the Stern School of Business, New York University. He has published four books and over 100 articles in academic journals. In 2004, Burkhard Varnholt founded a charity called ‘Kids of Africa’, which runs an orphanage for homeless children in Kampala, Uganda (www.kids-of-africa.com). He was awarded the Swiss Re Civilian Services Prize and received an honorary doctorate in International Relations from the Geneva School of Diplomacy and International Relations for his commitment and work in connection with this project.