The most influential academics in the institutional investing world.
To continue our love affair with lists, we're introducing our latest iteration: The Professors. This past year
was a busy one for aiCIO with regards to profiles of the best and brightest. We've examined the rising
stars of the asset–owning world with our 40-Under-40. We've highlighted the 25 most influential
investment consultants with The Knowledge Brokers. We've celebrated the Power 100–our biggest and
most time-consuming project to date, listing the most powerful asset owners on earth.
And now, The Professors, our first list of 2013, introduces the top 10 academics influencing this industry.
These academics have significantly aided pensions, endowments, foundations, and sovereign wealth
funds, as well as institutional investors who are fulfilling their obligations to stakeholders.
Academics, it has been said, often think of money as a subject below their standing. Not true for the
academics on this list, because their overriding focus has been on the steady stewardship of money.
Academics, is has been said, have been sidelined in modern culture in favor of the bloviating personalities
that dominate television and radio. Not so with this group. They aren't loud, they aren't dogmatic, and
most have never been on television—but the influence they hold with institutional capital exceeds that of
any Jim Cramer or Rick Santelli wannabe.
Academics, it has been said, look at things from 30,000 feet. Not all, however, dive out of the airplane and
study the subject all the way to the ground (landing safely with parachute, of course). That is what this
group does. They get their hands dirty. They get in the trenches. Whatever your analogy, this group
(detailed below in alphabetical order) does it. Why? Well, you'll have to ask them—as we often did when
interviewing them for this list.
The only thing we didn't ask them? Which group of institutional investor-related players we should list next.