Robert I. Webb

Paul Tudor Jones II Professor of Commerce

Office phone: 434-924-7570
e-mail: riw4j@virginia.edu

Education:

Ph.D., Finance, University of Chicago
M.B.A., Finance, University of Chicago
B.B.A., Business Administration, University of Wisconsin at Eau Claire

Areas of Expertise:

Professor Webb specializes in the study of speculative markets. His current research interests include analyzing how differences in market structure—or the way financial markets are organized—affect the behavior of financial market prices. He is also interested in how traders make decisions and how “noise” (noninformational factors) affects financial markets.

Professional Activities:

Professor Webb is the editor of Journal of Futures Markets, a leading academic journal focusing on derivative securities and markets. He is the author of the books Trading Catalysts: How Events Move Markets and Create Trading Opportunities (FT Press, 2007) and Macroeconomic Information and Financial Trading (Blackwell, 1994). He has written articles for academic journals such as Journal of Econometrics; Journal of Business & Economic Statistics; and Journal of Futures Markets, among others. He has also written articles for the financial press, including The Wall Street Journal; Nikkei Weekly; Investor’s Business Daily; and The Nihon Keizai Shimbun. His experience includes trading fixed income securities for the World Bank (consultant); trading financial futures and options for the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (member); designing new financial futures and option contracts for the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (senior financial economist); serving as senior financial economist at both the Executive Office of the President, Office of Management and Budget and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission; and consulting on risk management issues for the Asian Development Bank.

Selected Publications:

“Price Shocks and the Performance of Managed Futures Funds,” Journal of Trading, 2008.

“Market Microstructure Effects on Volatility at the TAIFEX,” Journal of Futures Markets, 2007 (with J. Muthuswamy and R. Segara, ).

Trading Catalysts: How Events Move Markets and Create Trading Opportunities, FT Press, 2007.

“Transitory Real-Time Property Rights and Exchange Intellectual Property,” Journal of Futures Markets, September 2003.

“Continuously Traded Options on Discretely Traded Commodity Futures Contracts,” Journal of Futures Markets, 1997 (with G. Iwata, K. Fujiwara, and H. Sunada). 

“Derivatives Securities Lead Cash,” The Nihon Keizai Shimbun, Dec. 12, 1996 (in Japanese; economic commentary).

“Sumitomo: Beyond Rogue Trading,” Investor's Business Daily, July 18, 1996 (guest editorial). 

“Futures Trading in Less Noisy Markets,” Japan and the World Economy, 1995.

Investment Strategy & State and Local Economic Policy, eds., V. A. Canto, A. B. Laffer, and R. I. Webb, Quorum Books, 1992.