Stephen Horan, Ph.D., CFA, CIPM, CAIA, is managing director of the Americas region at CFA Institute. He leads a team focused on promoting the adoption of CFA Institute credentialing programs, codes and standards, and professional education programs in the United States, Canada, Latin America and the Atlantic Islands.
Stephen strengthens relationships with financial institutions, universities and regulators in the region as well as 92 societies and more than 90,000 members. He previously led the design, development and delivery of CFA Institute designation and certificate programs, including the CFA Program and the CIPM Program, as the managing director of credentialing and serves as executive sponsor for the organization’s internal diversity and inclusion council.
Stephen brings a unique combination of buy-side and sell-side industry experience as well as academic experience to CFA Institute. He previously served as an expert witness in securities litigation, a forensic economist in private practice preparing economic impact studies, a principal of a financial advisory firm, a financial analyst and as a buy-side account manager and sell-side stockbroker.
On the academic side, Stephen served as a professor of finance and is a recognized researcher in wealth management, tax efficient investing and derivatives. He has received numerous research grants and awards, including the 2012 Graham and Dodd Readers’ Choice Award, and his research has been profiled in leading publications. He has authored or co-authored several books, including the highly regarded book Strategic Value Investing (which has been on Warren Buffet’s Recommended Reading five consecutive years) and The New Wealth Management: A Financial Advisers Guide to Managing and Investing Client Assets (for which Roger Ibbotson wrote the forward). His work has been cited in the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Financial Times and the Financial Analysts Journal. He has been a frequently-invited speaker at professional, academic and CFA Institute events.
Before joining CFA Institute, he was an active volunteer both locally and globally with CFA Institute. Horan holds a Ph.D. in finance at the State University of New York/Buffalo and a BBA degree in finance at St. Bonaventure University. He earned the CFA charter in 1993, the CIPM designation in 2011, and the CAIA designation in 2018.