On 3 June 2013, CFA Society Toronto had the honour and privilege of hosting two significant events: the latest CFA Institute Research Foundation board of trustees meeting (a first for an “outside” society) and the presentation of the CFA Institute Research Foundation’s James R. Vertin Award. This award, given periodically, recognizes individuals who have produced a body of research notable for its relevance and enduring value to investment professionals. The award was established in 1996 to honour James R. Vertin, CFA, for his outstanding leadership in promoting excellence and relevancy in research and education.

Since 1996, the award has been bestowed on the who’s who of investment research, among them, William Sharpe, Roger Ibbotson, and Robert Shiller. The CFA Institute Research Foundation’s 2013 winners are Richard Grinold and Ronald Khan, CFA,.

Richard Grinold, now retired, spent the last 15 years of his career as the Global Director of Research at Barclay’s Global Investors, and prior to that, he spent 15 years at BARRA as Director of Research and then President. Richard earned his BSc in Physics at Tufts University in 1960 and his PhD in Operational Research from the University of California at Berkley in 1968. He has published more than fifty papers in academic and professional journals, including “The Fundamental Law of Active Management” and “Dynamic Portfolio Analysis.”

Ronald N. Kahn, PhD, CFA, is Global Head of Scientific Equity Research at BlackRock. Ron’s service with the firm dates back to 1998, including his years with Barclays Global Investors, which merged with BlackRock in 2009. At Barclays, his positions included Global Head of Equity Research, Global Head of Advanced Equity Strategies, and Head of Active Equities in the U.S. Prior to joining Barclays, Ron worked as Director of Research at BARRA, where his research covered equity and fixed income markets in the U.S. and globally. Along with Richard Grinold, Ronald authored Active Portfolio Management: Quantitative Theory and Applications. Ronald earned his AB in Physics at Princeton in 1978 and his PhD in Physics at Harvard in 1985.

CFA Society Toronto congratulates Ron and Richard on this achievement.

VERTIN AWARD WINNERS 1996–2013

1996 William Sharpe
1997 Jack Treynor
1998 Martin Leibowitz
2000 Peter Berstein
2001 Roger Ibbotson & Rex Sinquefield
2002 William Fouse, CFA
2003 Barr Rosenberg
2004 Martin Gruber & Edwin Elton
2005 Andrew Lo
2006 Clifford Asness
2007 Campbell Harvey
2008 Keith Ambachtsheer
2009 Robert Shiller
2010 Roger Clarke
2012 Elroy Dimson
2013 Richard Grinold & Ronald Khan, CFA