Thursday, December 2, 2021 | 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM
During the Global Financial Crisis in 2008, our financial infrastructure failed. Governments bailed out the very institutions that let the economy down. This episode spurred a serious rethink of our financial system. Does it make any sense that it takes two days to settle a stock transaction? Why do retailers, operating on razor thin margins, have to pay 3% for every customer credit card swipe? Why does it take two days to transfer money from a bank account to a brokerage—or any other company? Why are savings rates miniscule or negative? Why is it so difficult for entrepreneurs to get financing at traditional banks?
In DeFi and the Future of Finance, Campbell R. Harvey and co-authors Ashwin Ramachandran and Joey Santoro, introduce the new world of Decentralized Finance. The book argues that the current financial landscape is ripe for disruption and we are seeing, in real time, the reinvention of finance.
The authors provide a clear assessment of the problems with the current financial system and how DeFi solves many of these problems. The essence of DeFi is that we interact with peers—there is no brick and mortar and all of the associated costs. Savings and lending are reinvented. Trading takes place with algorithms far removed from traditional brokerages. The book conducts a deep dive on some of the most innovative protocols such as Uniswap and Compound. Many of the companies featured in the book you might not have heard of—however, you will in the future. As with any new technology, there are a myriad of risks and the authors carefully catalogue these risks and assess which ones can be successfully mitigated.
About the Speaker
Campbell R. Harvey is Professor of Finance at the Fuqua School of Business, Duke University and a Research Associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He served as President of the American Finance Association in 2016. Professor Harvey obtained his doctorate at the University of Chicago in business finance. He has served on the faculties of the Stockholm School of Economics, the Helsinki School of Economics, and the Booth School of Business at the University of Chicago. He has also been a visiting scholar at the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. He was awarded an honorary doctorate from Svenska Handelshögskolan in Helsinki. He is a Fellow of the American Finance Association.
Harvey received the 2016 and 2015 Best Paper Awards from The Journal of Portfolio Management for his research on distinguishing luck from skill, as well as eight Graham and Dodd Awards/Scrolls for excellence in financial writing from the CFA Institute. He has published over 150 scholarly articles on topics spanning investment finance, emerging markets, corporate finance, behavioral finance, financial econometrics and computer science. He also serves Partner and Senior Advisor at Research Affiliates, LLC who oversees over $180 billion in client funds as well as Investment Strategy Advisor to the Man Group plc, the world’s largest, publicly listed global hedge fund provider.
This program is FREE, but advance registration is required. Registered guests will receive the Zoom link prior to the program.
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