Can Financial Engineering Help Save the Planet?

Join us for an insightful presentation by Bob Litterman, founding partner and Chairman of Climate Policy at Kepos Capital, as he delves into the critical topic of carbon pricing. Carbon pricing has a pivotal role in addressing carbon emissions and climate change, and accurately pricing it is intimately linked to risk management. Additionally, Bob will introduce carbon-linked bonds, exploring how this financial instrument allows governments to signal their carbon pricing intentions and provides motivation for governments to act on their climate commitments.

Biography:

Bob Litterman is the Chairman of the Risk Committee and founding partner of Kepos Capital LP. Prior to joining Kepos Capital in 2010, Bob enjoyed a 23-year career at Goldman, Sachs & Co., where he served in research, risk management, investments and thought leadership roles. He oversaw the Quantitative Investment Strategies Group in the Asset Management division. While at Goldman, Bob also spent six years as one of three external advisors to Singapore’s Government Investment Corporation (GIC). Bob was named a partner of Goldman Sachs in 1994 and became head of the firm-wide risk function; prior to that role, he was co-head of the Fixed Income Research and Model Development Group with Fischer Black. During his tenure at Goldman, Bob researched and published a number of groundbreaking papers in asset allocation and risk management. He is the co-developer of the Black-Litterman Global Asset Allocation Model, a key tool in investment management, and has co-authored books including The Practice of Risk Management and Modern Investment Management: An Equilibrium Approach (Wiley & Co.). Bob earned a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Minnesota and a B.S. in Human Biology from Stanford University. He was inducted into Risk magazine’s Risk Management Hall of Fame and named the 2013 Risk Manager of the Year by the Global Association of Risk Professionals. In 2012, he was the inaugural recipient of the S. Donald Sussman Fellowship at MIT's Sloan School of Management. In 2008, Bob received the Nicholas Molodovsky Award from the CFA Institute Board as well as the International Association of Financial Engineers/SunGard Financial Engineer of the Year Award. Bob has served on a number of boards, including Commonfund, where he was elected Chair in 2014, Options Clearing Corporation (OCC), Resources for the Future (RFF) and the Sloan Foundation. He also chaired the CFTC Climate-Related Market Risk Subcommittee, which published its report, “Managing Climate Risk in the U.S. Financial System,” in September 2020. Bob is currently on the boards of the Niskanen Center; Robert Wood Johnson Foundation; Ceres; World Wildlife Fund; Woodwell Climate Research Center; the Climate Leadership Council (CLC), where he serves as co-chair of the Board; PCAST (President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology); UCAR (University Corporation for Atmospheric Research); Climate-related Financial Risk Advisory Committee (CFRAC) of the Financial Stability Oversight Council and The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Inquiries? Please contact Marisa MacAskill at mmacaskill@stanford.edu.