David R. Kotok

(800) 257-7013, Ext. 320

David R. Kotok

Co-Founder & Strategic Advisor

David Kotok co-founded Cumberland Advisors in 1973 and during his career served as its Chief Investment Officer, CEO, and Board Chairman. 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 or source to Bloomberg, Yahoo, CNN, Reuters, USA Today, 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 five books, including The Fed and the Flu: Parsing Pandemic Economic Shocks (February 2025, https://www.thefedandtheflu.com/), From Bear to Bull with ETFs (now in its second edition), and Adventures in Muniland. His latest book, The Fed and the Flu, examines how pandemic economic shocks have played out across history and how the Federal Reserve responded to the COVID-19 pandemic shock.

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 that 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. David’s narrative and graphics tell the story of ZIRP (zero interest rate policy) and NIRP (negative interest rate policy) and explore 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 as a Director of the Global Interdependence Center (GIC), http://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 can be found at https://www.cumber.com/about/camp-kotok and at David’s personal website, https://www.davidkotok.com/.

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