Matson Money
Academic Advisory Board

Legacy Member - 2018-2023

Harry Markowitz received the Nobel Prize for Economics in 1990 for his contributions to financial economics. Markowitz developed the foundations of Modern Portfolio Theory in the 1950s, which demonstrates how an investment portfolio can be engineered to maximize return for any given level of risk. This work included the Markowitz Efficient Frontier which allows individual investors to understand how a portfolio’s expected returns vary with the amount of risk taken for a given combination of asset classes.

In 1989, Dr. Markowitz was awarded the John Von Neumann Theory Prize in Operations Research Theory from the Operations Research Society of America and Institute for Operations Research and Management Sciences (‘INFORMS’) for contributions in portfolio theory, sparse matrix methods, and simulation language programming.

Markowitz has taught economics at Baruch College at the City University of New York, from 1982 until 1993, where he is now Distinguished Professor Emeritus. He now engages as an Adjunct Professor at the Rady School of Management at the University of California, San Diego; as well as Principle of Harry Markowitz Company.

Since its inception, the Matson Method of portfolio construction has been based on strong academic investing principles, enabling us to provide advisors and investors alike an investing methodology that aligns to their long-term financial goals and sensitive to their risk tolerance. Undoubtedly, essential to these principles is Markowitz’s Modern Portfolio Theory, which we assert will continue to still work for generations to come to have peace of mind around their money.

We are pleased to have Mr. Markowitz as a member of our Academic Advisory Board.

Dr. Laffer’s economic acumen brings a distinct advantage to Matson Money, our coaches, and clients with insights on the implication of economic policy on savers and investors. Frequently referred to as “The Father of Supply-Side Economics,” Dr. Laffer helps navigate the complexities of the economy, interest rates, and tax efficiency as it applies to portfolio construction.

Terrance Odean is a leader in the field of behavioral finance, boasting extensive research in the area of investor behavior, investor biases and habits. His research reveals how behavior can destroy investor performance and the ability to create wealth. Dr. Odean’s expertise is essential to the creation of coaching systems and tools for prudent long–term investing.

Savina Rizova currently serves as Dimensional Fund Advisor’s Co-Chief Investment Officer and Global Head of Research. In her role at Dimensional, she applies her background in finance to a wide variety of research projects to help improve every step of the investment process, from research on drivers of returns to portfolio design, portfolio management, and trading. In addition, Savina leads the efforts of the Research group to provide thought leadership to clients and prospects on important investment-related topics. During her undergraduate studies at Dartmouth College, she served as a research assistant to Professor Kenneth French.

As an expert in the field of statistics, Dr. Ott lends his expertise to Matson Money and investors by actively analyzing and providing third-party validation for the economic and financial research upon which our portfolios are constructed. His scrutiny indicates the probability of outcomes concerning the implementation of specific investing strategies. His analysis of the existence and confirmation of “The Barbell Effect” has a significant impact on the design of Matson Money portfolios.

David Eagleman is a neuroscientist at Stanford University, an internationally bestselling author, and a Guggenheim Fellow. He is the writer and presenter of The Brain, an Emmy-nominated television series on PBS and BBC. Dr. Eagleman’s areas of research include sensory substitution, time perception, vision, and synesthesia; he also studies the intersection of neuroscience with the legal system, and in that capacity he directs the Center for Science and Law. Eagleman is the author of many books, including Livewired, The Runaway Species, The Brain, Incognito, and Wednesday is Indigo Blue. He is also the author of a widely adopted textbook on cognitive neuroscience, Brain and Behavior, as well as a bestselling book of literary fiction, Sum, which has been translated into 32 languages, turned into two operas, and named a Best Book of the Year by Barnes and Noble. Dr. Eagleman writes for the Atlantic, New York Times, Discover Magazine, Slate, Wired, and New Scientist, and appears regularly on National Public Radio and BBC to discuss both science and literature. He has been a TED speaker, a guest on the Colbert Report, and profiled in the New Yorker magazine. He has spun several companies out of his lab, including Neosensory, a company which uses haptics for sensory substitution and addition.