This article is an autobiography or has been extensively edited by the subject or by someone connected to the subject.(December 2011) |
Richard L. Sandor | |
---|---|
Nationality | American |
Academic career | |
Field | Finance, Environmental Finance |
Alma mater | Brooklyn College (BA) University of Minnesota (PhD) |
Doctoral advisor | Jacob Schmookler |
Influences | Ronald Coase |
Contributions | Founder, Chairman & CEO of American Financial Exchange (AFX), Founder of Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX) |
Awards | Doctor of science, honoris causa , Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) |
Richard L. Sandor is an American businessman, economist, and entrepreneur. He is chairman and CEO of the American Financial Exchange (AFX) established in 2015, which is an electronic exchange for direct interbank/financial institution lending and borrowing. The AFX flagship product, the AMERIBOR benchmark index, reflects the actual borrowing costs of thousands of regional and community banks across the U.S. and is one of the short-term borrowing rates, along with the Secured Overnight Financing Rate, vying to replace U.S. dollar Libor as a benchmark in the U.S. [1]
Sandor is chairman and CEO of Environmental Financial Products LLC, which specializes in inventing, designing and developing new financial markets with a special emphasis on investment advisory services. He is widely recognized as the "father of financial futures" [2] for his pioneering work in developing the first interest rate futures contract in the 1970s, when he served as chief economist and vice president of the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT). [3]
Sandor is also the founder of the Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX) – the world's first exchange to facilitate the reduction and trading of all six greenhouse gases. [4] In 2007, he was named the "father of carbon trading" by Time Magazine for his work in designing, developing and launching CCX and affiliated exchanges. [5] Among Sandor's academic roles, he is currently the Aaron Director Lecturer in Law and Economics at the University of Chicago Law School [6] and an honorary Professor at the University of Hong Kong and the School of Economics at Fudan University. He formerly taught at graduate and undergraduate levels at several universities throughout California, Illinois, New York, China and England.
On February 7, 2013, the University of Chicago Law School announced that Sandor and his wife Ellen R. Sandor are the principal donors to a $10 million endowment in law and economics at the University of Chicago Law School. The Sandors made the gift in honor of Sandor's mentor, Nobel Laureate Ronald Coase, Clifton R. Musser Professor Emeritus of Economics at the Law School. In their honor, the Institute for Law and Economics has been renamed the Coase-Sandor Institute for Law and Economics. [7] [8]
Sandor is known for asserting that the next financial revolution will be in the convergence of the financial markets and the environment. [9] He is often credited for founding the field of environmental Finance. His first book Good Derivatives: A Story of Financial and Environmental Innovation, [10] was published by John Wiley & Sons in April 2012.
Sandor received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Brooklyn College and holds a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Minnesota.
As a professor on sabbatical from the University of California, Berkeley in the 1970s, Sandor became the chief economist and vice president of the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT). [11] At the CBOT, Sandor not only pioneered the first interest rate futures contract, [12] but the most widely traded and imitated interest-rate futures in the world, the Treasury bond futures contract. [13] This revolutionized the field of finance and earned him the title of "father of financial futures." Sandor originally coined the term "derivatives" [14] to describe the futures and options contracts that were traded on the Chicago exchanges. Its definition was subsequently expanded to include not only regulated products on futures transactions, but any customized product traded off the exchange, i.e. bilateral OTC transactions. Sandor was honored by the CBOT and the City of Chicago in 1992 for the creation of financial futures.
Sandor was also a strong proponent of electronic trading at a time when most exchanges favored open-outcry. In fact, he had presented the case and designed the platform for electronic trading as early as 1970 – even before the concept of electronic trading was patented. [15] At Berkeley, he was the project leader of the California Commodity Research Project (CCARP), which looked at the feasibility of establishing a for-profit, all-electronic exchange in at the time when none existed. [16]
At the CBOT, Sandor championed innovative financial instruments such as event-linked derivatives. Sandor served as vice chairman of the CBOT Insurance Committee and was the originator and co-author of the catastrophe and crop insurance futures and options contracts. [17]
From 1991 to 1994, Sandor was chairman of the Chicago Board of Trade Clean Air Committee, [18] which developed the first spot and futures markets for sulfur dioxide (SO2) emission allowances and supervised the annual allowance auctions conducted on behalf of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. [19] He also led the effort to create the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) – the first global index that tracks the financial performance of leading sustainability-driven companies worldwide. [20]
Sandor has held a variety of senior executive positions in financial service companies, such as Drexel Burnham Lambert, Kidder Peabody and Banque Indosuez. [21] Sandor has served on numerous Exchange committees and boards, including the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), IntercontinentalExchange (ICE), London International Financial Futures Exchanges (Liffe) and the International Advisory Board of Marché à Terme International de France (MATIF). [22] Sandor played an advisory role in helping Swiss Options and Financial Futures Exchange (SOFFEX)[ citation needed ] become the world's first electronic exchange. [23] Teaming up with Boston-based Battery Ventures, Sandor also helped to promote Liffe's electronic trading platform [24] and is credited for Liffe's successful contract – the universal stock futures contract. [25] He also assisted the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) on the design of the options contract for crude oil. [26]
Sandor has served several times as an advisor to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) on matters related to financial, energy and environmental futures. [27]
Using Environmental Financial Products as the incubator, Sandor founded the Climate Exchange PLC (CLE) family of companies. They include Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX); the Chicago Climate Futures Exchange [28] (CCFE), a futures branch of the former; and European Climate Exchange (ECX), Europe's leading exchange operating in the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) and the benchmark for world carbon prices. Additional global affiliates included the Tianjin Climate Exchange in China, the Montreal Climate Exchange [29] in Canada and Envex in Australia. The emissions covered under the Chicago Climate Exchange were larger than that of Germany under the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme. It included 50 states and all major sectors of the U.S. economy. [30] Its membership represented 17 percent of the companies in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, and 20 percent of the largest CO2-emitting electrical utilities in the U.S., and 11 percent of Fortune 100 companies. [31]
Sandor and EFP are turning their focus to the feasibility of a market-based mechanism as a tool to address water quality and quantity issues. This follows on extensive studies done by Sandor and his team while still at Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX). Sandor and his group of researchers studied the potential of a water quantity exchange for the state of New Mexico; the viability of a water market in the Great Lakes region; [32] examined the potential benefits of implementing a rules-based exchange for water resources in Alberta, Canada; [33] and helped develop a pilot nutrient trading effort in Pennsylvania. [34]
In August 2002, Sandor was chosen by Time magazine as one of its "Heroes for the Planet" for his work as the founder of the Chicago Climate Exchange. [35] Five years later, he appeared in Time magazine's fifth annual list of "Heroes of the Environment" for his work as "the father of carbon trading." In 1992 Sandor served as an expert advisor to the UN Conference on Trade and Development on tradable entitlements for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. [36]
In June 2010, CLE was acquired by the IntercontinentalExchange (ICE). [37]
In November 2004, Sandor was the recipient of an honorary degree of Doctor of Science (Honoris Causa) by the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) of Zurich, Switzerland [38] for his work on the design and implementation of innovative and flexible market-based mechanisms to address environmental concerns. In 2010, Sandor received the John H. Dales Memorial "Leadership in Environmental Markets Award" from the Environmental Markets Association. [39] [40]
Sandor is the recipient of the McGraw-Hill Energy Award (1999), the Life Time Achievement award from the Global Association of Risk Professionals (2001), [41] and the Milken Institute's award for Distinguished Economic Research (2003). [42] In May 2005, Sandor was named by "Treasury and Risk Management" magazine as one of the "100 Most Influential People in Finance." [43] He is also the recipient of the 2008 Financial Management Association's Outstanding Financial Executive Award, [44] and the Ernst & Young's Entrepreneur of the Year 2009 Award in the "green" category. [45] In 2012, Sandor received the World Federation of Exchanges (WFE) Award for Excellence. He was selected for this award in recognition of his work at the epicenter of environmental and financial markets for more than four decades. [46]
Sandor was a former director of American Electric Power (AEP), [47] one of the largest utilities in the United States and of the Volatility Exchange. [48] Sandor also served on the board of Clean Energy Trust, [49] a Chicago-based not-for-profit, [50] the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute and Lincoln Park Zoo. He is an advisory board member for the Center for Financial Stability, [51] [52] a member of the Advisory Board of the Digital Dollar Project, a member of the Marie Selby Botanical Gardens Board of Trustees and a Senior Fellow at the Milken Institute. [53] Sandor and his wife, Ellen Sandor, are collectors of photography and are involved in numerous civic and charitable activities. They are major benefactors of the Art Institute of Chicago. He also served as a trustee for the International Center of Photography, New York. Ellen is the founder and director of (art)n [54] and an advisory board chair of the Gene Siskel Film Center.
Sandor is a member of the TERI School of Management Advisory Committee in India. Sandor previously taught at the University of California, Berkeley, Stanford University, Columbia University Graduate School of Business and at the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University, where he was the first Martin C. Remer Distinguished Professor of Finance.
Books
Academic publications
Book chapters
Articles
Sandor was a monthly contributor to Environmental Finance magazine [66] of London, for the column How I See It, since 1999.
Conference/convention papers
In finance, a derivative is a contract that derives its value from the performance of an underlying entity. This underlying entity can be an asset, index, currency, or interest rate, and is often simply called the underlying. Derivatives can be used for a number of purposes, including insuring against price movements (hedging), increasing exposure to price movements for speculation, or getting access to otherwise hard-to-trade assets or markets.
Emissions trading is a market-oriented approach to controlling pollution by providing economic incentives for reducing the emissions of pollutants. The concept is also known as cap and trade (CAT) or emissions trading scheme (ETS). One prominent example is carbon emission trading for CO2 and other greenhouse gases which is a tool for climate change mitigation. Other schemes include sulfur dioxide and other pollutants.
Environmental finance is a field within finance that employs market-based environmental policy instruments to improve the ecological impact of investment strategies. The primary objective of environmental finance is to regress the negative impacts of climate change through pricing and trading schemes. The field of environmental finance was established in response to the poor management of economic crises by government bodies globally. Environmental finance aims to reallocate a businesses resources to improve the sustainability of investments whilst also retaining profit margins.
A commodity market is a market that trades in the primary economic sector rather than manufactured products, such as cocoa, fruit and sugar. Hard commodities are mined, such as gold and oil. Futures contracts are the oldest way of investing in commodities. Commodity markets can include physical trading and derivatives trading using spot prices, forwards, futures, and options on futures. Farmers have used a simple form of derivative trading in the commodities market for centuries for price risk management.
In finance, a futures contract is a standardized legal contract to buy or sell something at a predetermined price for delivery at a specified time in the future, between parties not yet known to each other. The asset transacted is usually a commodity or financial instrument. The predetermined price of the contract is known as the forward price or delivery price. The specified time in the future when delivery and payment occur is known as the delivery date. Because it derives its value from the value of the underlying asset, a futures contract is a derivative.
The Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) is a global derivatives marketplace based in Chicago and located at 20 S. Wacker Drive. The CME was founded in 1898 as the Chicago Butter and Egg Board, an agricultural commodities exchange. For most of its history, the exchange was in the then common form of a non-profit organization, owned by members of the exchange. The Merc demutualized in November 2000, went public in December 2002, and merged with the Chicago Board of Trade in July 2007 to become a designated contract market of the CME Group Inc., which operates both markets. The chairman and chief executive officer of CME Group is Terrence A. Duffy, Bryan Durkin is president. On August 18, 2008, shareholders approved a merger with the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) and COMEX. CME, CBOT, NYMEX, and COMEX are now markets owned by CME Group. After the merger, the value of the CME quadrupled in a two-year span, with a market cap of over $25 billion.
The Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), established on April 3, 1848, is one of the world's oldest futures and options exchanges. On July 12, 2007, the CBOT merged with the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) to form CME Group. CBOT and three other exchanges now operate as designated contract markets (DCM) of the CME Group.
Weather derivatives are financial instruments that can be used by organizations or individuals as part of a risk management strategy to reduce risk associated with adverse or unexpected weather conditions. Weather derivatives are index-based instruments that usually use observed weather data at a weather station to create an index on which a payout can be based. This index could be total rainfall over a relevant period—which may be of relevance for a hydro-generation business—or the number where the minimum temperature falls below zero which might be relevant for a farmer protecting against frost damage.
An interest rate future is a futures contract with an interest-bearing instrument as the underlying asset. It is a particular type of interest rate derivative. Examples include Treasury-bill futures, Treasury-bond futures and Eurodollar futures.
The Chicago Climate Exchange(CCX) was a voluntary, legally binding greenhouse gas reduction and trading system for emission sources and offset projects in North America and Brazil.
Sanford "Sandy" Jay Grossman is an American economist and hedge fund manager specializing in quantitative finance. Grossman’s research has spanned the analysis of information in securities markets, corporate structure, property rights, and optimal dynamic risk management. He has published widely in leading economic and business journals, including American Economic Review, Journal of Econometrics, Econometrica, and Journal of Finance. His research in macroeconomics, finance, and risk management has earned numerous awards. Grossman is currently Chairman and CEO of QFS Asset Management, an affiliate of which he founded in 1988. QFS Asset Management shut down its sole remaining hedge fund in January 2014.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to finance:
A commodity broker is a firm or an individual who executes orders to buy or sell commodity contracts on behalf of the clients and charges them a commission. A firm or individual who trades for his own account is called a trader. Commodity contracts include futures, options, and similar financial derivatives. Clients who trade commodity contracts are either hedgers using the derivatives markets to manage risk, or speculators who are willing to assume that risk from hedgers in hopes of a profit.
Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (ICE) is an American multinational financial services company formed in 2000 that operates global financial exchanges and clearing houses and provides mortgage technology, data and listing services. Listed on the Fortune 500, S&P 500, and Russell 1000, the company owns exchanges for financial and commodity markets, and operates 12 regulated exchanges and marketplaces. This includes ICE futures exchanges in the United States, Canada, and Europe; the Liffe futures exchanges in Europe; the New York Stock Exchange; equity options exchanges; and OTC energy, credit, and equity markets.
CME Group Inc. is a financial services company. Headquartered in Chicago, the company operates financial derivatives exchanges including the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, Chicago Board of Trade, New York Mercantile Exchange, and The Commodity Exchange. The company also owns 27% of S&P Dow Jones Indices. It is the world's largest operator of financial derivatives exchanges. Its exchanges are platforms for trading in agricultural products, currencies, energy, interest rates, metals, futures contracts, options, stock indexes, and cryptocurrencies futures.
Weather risk management is a type of risk management done by organizations to address potential financial losses caused by unusual weather.
Allan Weiss is an American financial analyst and economist who is the founder and CEO of Weiss Analytics. He is co-founder and former CEO of Case Shiller Weiss, producer of the Standard & Poor's Case–Shiller index, which was acquired by Fiserv in 2002. Weiss is also co-founder and CEO of Valshield Inc. He serves on the board and advises several real estate investment companies focussing on single family and multi-family properties.
In finance, a perpetual futures contract, also known as a perpetual swap, is an agreement to non-optionally buy or sell an asset at an unspecified point in the future. Perpetual futures are cash-settled, and differ from regular futures in that they lack a pre-specified delivery date, and can thus be held indefinitely without the need to roll over contracts as they approach expiration. Payments are periodically exchanged between holders of the two sides of the contracts, long and short, with the direction and magnitude of the settlement based on the difference between the contract price and that of the underlying asset, as well as, if applicable, the difference in leverage between the two sides.
The environmental policy of the Joe Biden administration includes a series of laws, regulations, and programs introduced by United States President Joe Biden since he took office in January 2021. Many of the actions taken by the Biden administration reversed the policies of his predecessor, Donald Trump. Biden's climate change policy focuses on reducing greenhouse gas emissions, similar to the efforts taken by the Obama administration. Biden promised to end and reverse deforestation and land degradation by 2030. The main climate target of the Biden administration is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by the United States to net zero by 2050. A climate team was created to lead the effort.
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