Wermers Becomes First Paul J. Cinquegrana Chair in Finance

The University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business has named Russ Wermers as the Paul J. Cinquegrana ’63 Endowed Chair in Finance. Named for the late Paul J. Cinquegrana ’63, the newly created endowed professorship was established by a gift bequeathed to Maryland Smith by his late wife, Betty Cinquegrana.

Wermers, chair of the finance department and director of the Center for Financial Policy, was named as the inaugural holder of the position at a ceremony in Van Munching Hall on Oct. 15.

“While we are sorry that they could not be with us to share in this special day, I am so grateful to Paul and Betty Cinquegrana for their thoughtfulness and their generous gift to support the remarkable thought leadership we have here at Maryland Smith,” said Prabhudev Konana, dean of the Robert H. Smith School of Business. “This will have a transformational impact on our scholarship and our ability to recognize top scholars. I am excited to recognize Russ Wermers with this endowed chair – among the highest academic distinctions for faculty – for his outstanding achievements in the area of finance. His more than two decades of research and groundbreaking work in finance at Smith have had a profound impact.”

Wermers earned his PhD from the University of California, Los Angeles, and joined the Smith School in 2000. His research studies the efficiency of securities markets and the role of institutional investors in setting stock prices. His work has developed new approaches to measuring and attributing the performance of mutual funds, pension funds and hedge funds. His research also devises the best strategies for investing in those funds. His scientific textbook, “Performance Evaluation and Attribution of Security Portfolios,” was published by Elsevier Press in 2012 (and, he has been requested to write a 2nd edition). Wermers ranked among the top 2% most-cited scholars worldwide in a study earlier this year.

Paul Cinquegrana earned his bachelor of science in finance in 1963 from the University of Maryland, where he was the recipient of The Wall Street Journal Student Achievement Award. After serving as a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy Supply Corps, he became a municipal bond broker, stock broker and investment banker.

The Cinquegranas are longtime supporters of Maryland Smith. Previous gifts supported the undergraduate Finance Fellow program, established the Paul J. Cinquegrana ’63 Finance Scholarship, supported the Rudolph P. and Linda H. Lamone Endowed Chair for Entrepreneurial Leadership, supported scholarship for MBA students and the Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship Development Fund.

In 2008 as recognition of their generosity, a classroom in the north wing of Van Munching Hall was named the Paul J. Cinquegrana ’63 Financial Trading Lab and Classroom.