Gordon Clark
BIO:
Gordon L Clark FBA, DSc is the Halford Mackinder Professor of Geography at Oxford University, holds a Professorial Fellowship at St Peter’s College, and is also Senior Research Associate of the Labor and Worklife Program at Harvard Law School. His research focuses on pension fund governance including the structure and investment performance of these institutions. Papers on this topic have been published in the Journal of Pension Economics and Finance (2004, 2006, 2007), Risk Management and Insurance Review (2008) and the Journal of Asset Management (2008). Related research is on household financial decision-making about long-term saving and retirement utilising theories and methods from the behavioural and social sciences. Papers on this topic have been published in the Transactions RGS (2007) and Ageing and Society (2008) supported, in part, by the ESRC, Mercer’s and Watson Wyatt. Recent books include the forthcoming edited Managing Financial Risks (Oxford University Press 2009) (with Ashby Monk and Adam Dixon), The Geography of Finance (OUP 2007) (with Dariusz Wójcik), Pension Fund Capitalism (OUP 2000), European Pensions & Global Finance (OUP 2003), the co-edited Pension Security in the 21st Century (OUP 2003) and the Oxford Handbook of Pensions and Retirement Income (OUP 2006).
Interests:
My interest in sustainable financial markets stems from my teaching and research on the market pricing of corporate governance and social and environmental standards—regionally, nationally, and globally. Obviously markets are obsessed with the latest fad and fashion. On the other hand, for those committed to a long-term value proposition (as are many pension funds with respect to corporations’ carbon footprints) there appear to be opportunities for stock selection and portfolio design that transcend the parochial for the long-term benefit of beneficiaries and stakeholders (I think!). In any event, I am a nominee for Oxford University’s Socially Responsible Investment Committee (overseeing the investment of the university’s endowment), a trustee of the Oxford Staff Pension Scheme, and a member of the investment committee of St Peter’s College. Theory and practice must be reconciled.
