Faculty and Research

André Perold is the George Gund Professor of Finance and Banking at the Harvard Business School. A member of the faculty since 1979, he has served as the Senior Associate Dean: Director of Faculty Recruiting, Chair of the Finance Faculty, Director of Research, and Coursehead of Finance 1. He received his Bachelor's degree from the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg; and his Masters and Ph.D. degrees from Stanford University.

Professor Perold’s research is focused on asset allocation policies of endowments, pension funds, and individuals; the structure and evolution of the investment management industry; and management of risk and implementation costs within investment organizations.  He has authored numerous articles and case studies, and he is co-author of two books, The Global Financial System: A Functional Perspective and Cases in Financial Engineering: Studies of Applied Financial Innovation.

Professor Perold teaches courses in investment management and capital markets in the MBA program, and he also teaches in executive education programs, including the HBS/CFA Institute Investment Management Workshop which he has chaired since 1989. He has received numerous awards for teaching excellence, and he was voted the School's most outstanding professor in a 1994 Business Week student survey.

Professor Perold is a founder and Chair of the Investment Committee of HighVista Strategies, a firm that provides outsourced endowment-style portfolio management for endowments, foundations, and families.   He has served as a director, trustee, and advisory board member of a variety of investment and other organizations.  He is presently a director of The Vanguard Group and Rand Merchant Bank, and he serves on the advisory boards of FIA Timber Partners, The Rock Creek Group, and RRE Ventures.  Professor Perold is also on the editorial board of the Financial Analysts Journal.