Main Content

Tom McCurdy

Tom  McCurdy

Tom McCurdy

Professor of Finance
Bonham Chair in International Finance
Founder and current Academic co-Director, BMO Financial Group Finance Research & Trading Lab

Degrees:

PhD, University of London (LSE)
MA, University of British Columbia
BA (Hons), University of Guelph

Bio

Tom McCurdy is a Professor of Finance at the Rotman School and holds the Bonham Chair in International Finance. His research includes identifying sources of change in the distribution of asset returns, as well as measuring and managing risks associated with those dynamics. He was the co-founder of the RIT Market Simulator and is the co-author of more than 50 simulation-based-learning cases designed to develop and practice financial decision-making skills. Tom has taught courses in the MBA, Master of Finance, Master of Financial Risk Management, Master of Mathematical Finance, PhD, and Commerce Programs. He is also the Founder and Academic Co-Director of the BMO Financial Group Finance Research and Trading Lab.

Academic Positions

  • 1980-1996

    Professor, Queen's University

  • 1999-present

    Founder & Academic Director, BMO Financial Group Finance Research and Trading Lab, Rotman School of Management

  • 1996-present

    Professor of Finance, Rotman School of Management

  • 2002-present

    Bonham Chair in International Finance, Rotman School of Management

Selected Publications - Papers

Research and Teaching Interests

Teaches courses in Risk Modeling and Financial Trading Strategies, Forecasting Risks and Opportunities for Financial Securities, and Probabilistic Modeling for Risk-Informed Decisions. One theme of his research has been developing quantitative methods for forecasting the dynamics of asset return distributions. He has a particular interest in sources of volatility and skewness, as well as measuring and managing the risk that results from the changing shape of return distributions. Recent research publications include textual analyses for linking jumps in stock returns to firm-specific news; probabilistic modeling of regime changes e.g. applied to equity markets during the COVID-19 crisis; forecasting correlations; real-time identification of structural breaks; nonlinear pricing kernels for jump and crash risk; and the pedagogy of simulation-based learning.

Honors and Awards

  • Parliamentary Internship Fellowship, Canadian Political Science Association and House of Commons, Ottawa

  • Research Prize for best paper, Northern Finance Association Meetings

  • Roger Martin Award for Teaching Excellence, Rotman School of Management

Academic / Professional Service

  • Associate Editor, Journal of Financial Econometrics

  • Steering Committee, Mathematical Finance Symposia, Fields Institute

  • Extensive refereeing for thirty different international academic journals and granting agencies,