David R. Kotok
Co-Founder and Chief Investment Officer
David Kotok co-founded Cumberland Advisors in 1973 and has been its Chief Investment Officer since inception. David’s articles and financial market commentaries have appeared in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Barron’s, and other publications. He is a contributor to Bloomberg TV and Bloomberg Radio, Yahoo Finance TV, and other media. He holds a B.S. in economics from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, an M.S. in organizational dynamics from the School of Arts and Sciences at the University of Pennsylvania, and an M.A. in philosophy from the University of Pennsylvania.
David has authored or co-authored four books, including the second edition of “From Bear to Bull with ETFs” and “Adventures in Muniland.”
He has also written three monograph pamphlets. The first of these is, “Lessons from Thucydides,” which details information asymmetries and their implications for investors and world affairs. The second is, “Zika,” a work which compiles David’s research, interviews, and personal experience concerning the Zika virus and its potential for serious damage in the way of health and monetary costs. The expense for individuals can be devastating and in the case of governments, ballooning health budgets may affect municipal bond ratings. The third is, "Yield Curve Control - The story of ZIRP and NIRP." The yield curve is usually defined as the range of yields on Treasury securities from three-month Treasury bills to 30-year Treasury bonds and David's narrative and graphics telling of the story of the ZIRP (zero interest rate policy) and NIRP (negative interest rate policy) experience explores what happens when central banks use YCC to control interest rates along some portion of the yield curve.
David has served as Program Chairman and currently serves as a Director of the Global Interdependence Center (GIC), www.interdependence.org, whose mission is to encourage the expansion of global dialogue and free trade in order to improve cooperation and understanding among nation states, with the goal of reducing international conflicts and improving worldwide living standards. David chaired its Central Banking Series and organized a five-continent dialogue held in Cape Town, Hong Kong, Hanoi, Milan, Paris, Philadelphia, Prague, Rome, Santiago, Shanghai, Singapore, Tallinn, and Zambia (Livingstone). He has received the Global Citizen Award from GIC for his efforts. In conjunction with GIC, David organizes fishing retreats, primarily in Maine, that are affectionately known as "Camp Kotok" by friends and many in the financial press. More about those retreats here: https://www.cumber.com/about/camp-kotok
David is a member of the National Business Economic Issues Council (NBEIC), the National Association for Business Economics (NABE), has served on the Research Advisory Board of BCA Research, and currently serves on the advisory board of RiskBridge Advisors. He has also served as a Commissioner of the Delaware River Port Authority (DRPA) and on the Treasury Transition Teams for New Jersey Governors Kean and Whitman. Additionally, he has served as a board member of the New Jersey Economic Development Authority and as Chairman of the New Jersey Casino Reinvestment Development Authority.
