Fernando Lopez, PhD’14 recently had an interview with Laura Benoist, Director of the McDonnell Academy where he discussed his experience as a McDonnell Scholar and WashU alum, and shared insight on how current Scholars can prepare to have impact as global leaders.
Scholar Highlight
Fernando Lopez receives 2023 Wrighton Award
Dr. Fernando Lopez is a financial economics consultant in Catapilco, Chile, and serves as the McDonnell Academy Envoy for Chile for collaborative partners in the region.
Read the Mark S. Wrighton Award Winner articleBIO
Fernando holds a B.A. in Economics from the University of Chile (2005) and a Ph.D. in Business (Finance) from Washington University in St. Louis (2014).
Between 2014 and 2022, he served as an assistant professor of Finance at Alberto Hurtado University, Santiago, Chile. Most of his research studied various facets of the Chilean pension system, delving into the determinants of public decision-making, the social legitimacy of the system, and the financial performance and competitive landscape of pension fund managers. His work has been published in peer-reviewed journals such as the Journal of Pension Economics and Finance and the Journal of the Economics of Ageing. Moreover, he has published more than 30 policy briefs and has also been quoted by major Chilean newspapers, radio stations, and television programs about pension reforms.
Fernando currently works as a consultant in financial economics and is an expert in pension markets. He has led studies for the Interamerican Development Bank (IADB) on strategies to boost occupational retirement savings and to incorporate sustainability considerations and climate change risks in the investments of pension funds in Latin America. The Bureau of Pensions from Costa Rica hired him to help them strengthen the supervision of the investments of their pension funds in 2022. He was also invited to discuss pension reforms by the Chilean Congress and presidential commissions of Ecuador and Uruguay.
Since 2015, Fernando serves as the “McDonnell Academy Envoy for Chile”, helping to recruit future Scholars for the McDonnell International Scholars Academy and strengthen the ties of Washington University with local partners in Chile.