Dr. Erik Davidson, CFA

Dr. Erik Davidson, CFA joined Inspire in 2019 serving as Chief Economic Advisor, working closely with Inspire’s Investment Committee to provide valuable insight on global, macro-economic events and trends from a biblical perspective. His particular expertise in the area of behavioral finance enables Inspire to produce discerning research and data on the intersection of faith, investing and investor behavior.

Prior to joining Inspire, Dr. Davidson was the CIO (Chief Investment Officer) for the Wells Fargo Private Bank leading an investment team of over 400 professionals who managed more than $200 billion in assets. Prior to that, Dr. Davidson was the co-Founder and co-CEO of Separate Account Solutions, Inc., a technology company that provided separately managed account (SMA) tools and operational services to investment firms. Earlier in his career, he led the portfolio management team for Franklin Templeton Private Client Services and was a bond trading manager for Credit Suisse First Boston in both New York City and Tokyo. His lifelong interest in the application of academic theory to investing was formed early in his career when he worked at Dimensional Fund Advisors.

Dr. Davidson received his doctorate degree from DePaul University’s Kellstadt Graduate School of Business with his research being in the area of Behavioral Finance. His doctoral dissertation was “Investment Choice Architecture in the Age of Robo-Advisors”. Further, his joint paper, “Does Investor Sentiment Affect Market Response to Earnings Restatements?”, was accepted for presentation at the 2018 Queen Mary University of London’s Behavioral Finance Working Group Conference.

He has also co-authored multiple books including “Investing in Separate Accounts” and “The E-Finance Report,” as well as, authored numerous investment-related articles, speaks at investment-industry conferences, and is regularly featured in the media including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, CNBC, Fox Business News, Reuters, and Bloomberg.

Dr. Davidson is a member of the Advisory Board for DePaul University’s Driehaus Center for Behavioral Finance, an elder for Carmel Presbyterian Church, a Mensa member, an Eagle Scout, and actively volunteers in the Monterey County community. He currently resides in Carmel, California where he loves to run, surf and stand up paddle board. He is married to his wife Lori, since 1986, and has 4 children and two grandchildren.