Mark T. Williams Explained

Mark T. Williams
Birth Date:19 August 1963

Mark Thomas Williams (born August 19, 1963) is an academic, financial author and risk management expert. He is a faculty member in the Finance Department at Boston University Questrom School of Business where he teaches courses in banking, capital markets and FinTech. In 2018, he was awarded the James E. Freeman Lecturer in Management Chair.

Career

After graduating from University of Delaware,[1] he became a bank trust officer for Wilmington Trust Company and moved to TD Banknorth in 1987. In 1997 he joined Citizens Power LLC, a Boston-based energy trading company and became a senior vice president, Head of Global Risk Management.[2] Since 2002, he has been on the faculty of Boston University as a Master Lecturer.[3]

Williams is a member of the Standard & Poor’s Academic Council, a senior advisor at the Brattle Group[4] and is on the advisory board of Appleton Partners, a Boston-based private wealth management firm.[5] He is also the co-founder of FitMoney, a nonprofit focused on elevating financial literacy in U.S. public schools for kindergarten through 12th grade K-12.[6] In 2018, he was elected to the Board of Trustees for Lesley University located in Cambridge, Massachusetts.[7] In 2020, prior to President Biden's election, he served on his economic policy subcommittee. In 2023, he also served as President of the Boston Economic Club.[8]

Williams is a guest contributor for the Financial Times,[9] [10] [11] [12] Fortune Magazine,[13] Reuters,[14] Forbes.com,[15] and Business Insider.[16] He has also written articles for Bloomberg,[17] the Boston Globe,[18] [19] [20] [21] [22] [23] [24] Foreign Policy magazine[25] and The New York Times.[26] [27] [28]

Current research interests

In 2019, Williams completed a performance study on Major League Baseball Umpire's pitch-call accuracy over 11 seasons (2008-2018) concluding that over 20% of certain pitches were called incorrectly. For the 2018 season, home plate umpires made 34,294 incorrect pitch calls.[29] Error rates remained similar for the 2019 season.[30] In October 2019, he launched Umpscores, an umpire performance evaluation app.[31] This research and findings have helped fuel movement towards “Robo Umps” in MLB and the use of technology assisted umpiring behind Homeplate.[32]

In 2015, he co-authored a report with Harry Markopolos, the Bernie Madoff whistleblower about the potential fraud and growing financial risks associated with the MBTA pension.[33]

Bitcoin testimony

On January 29, 2014, he provided risk testimony before the New York State Department of Financial Services hearing on virtual currencies.[34] In the NYSDFS testimony, he stated "as a virtual commodity, Bitcoin remains extremely risky and needs to be closely watched. To transform Bitcoin into a virtual currency would require regulation, centralization, creation of a legal framework and strong regulatory oversight." According to him, these steps would alone not guarantee Bitcoin's chronically high volatility to drop low enough to allow it to become a trusted transactional currency. He raised concerns about Bitcoin, including lack of consumer protection, it being a high-risk virtual commodity, having an artificially inflated price, extreme hoarding, hyped demand, high potential for market manipulation, and fraud.[35] [36]

On April 2, 2014, Williams provided congressional testimony before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Small Business discussing the 10 major risks associated with Bitcoin.[37] He was a speaker at the World Bank Law, Justice and Development (LJD) Week October 2014[38] where he discussed virtual currencies and the regulatory and legal challenges of new peer-to-peer technologies in financial services.[39]

Bitcoin price volatility

During Congressional Testimony,[40] Williams stated bitcoin was 7 times more risky than gold, 8 times more risky than the S&P 500, and 15 times more risky than the U.S. dollar.[41]

In December 2013, after Bitcoin peaked at $1,200, Williams forecasted that it was in a bubble and would trade for less than 10 dollars, an over 90% drop by mid-2014.[42] In 2014, Bitcoin prices dropped by over 70% to $344 but never reach $10.[43] [44] In January 2018, Williams further cautioned investors about the cryptocurrency hyper asset bubble, stating it is fraught with uncertainty and high risk. Prices can also be manipulated, and exchanges that trade them tend to have little to no regulation and consumer protections.[45]

Awards

Publications

Notes and References

  1. Web site: UD alum writes book on Lehman, financial crisis and important lessons learned. Thomas, Neil. UDaily. June 10, 2010.
  2. Web site: A key reference book in any well-rounded risk library. Amazon .
  3. Web site: Mark Williams Questrom School of Business . www.bu.edu . 25 September 2019.
  4. Web site: Mark T. Williams.
  5. Web site: Form N-1A. SEC. April 30, 2013.
  6. Web site: FitMoney — We are business executives, teachers, and parents with a passion for financial literacy . FitMoney . 25 September 2019.
  7. Web site: Lesley welcomes two new members to Board of Trustees. April 26, 2019.
  8. Web site: Boston Economic Club. December 15, 2023.
  9. https://www.ft.com/content/70ff36ee-d131-4a4d-a6f7-ea3e4fd04473 "The US banking safety net has proved its value"
  10. http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/012c4c2a-0871-11e1-9fe8-00144feabdc0.html "MF Global Gives Fed a Lesson in How to Pick its Friends"
  11. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/63f30036-da20-11df-bdd7-00144feabdc0,s01=1.html "Few Silver Linings When Gold Bubble Bursts"
  12. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/6783f80a-bb39-11df-b3f4-00144feab49a,Authorised=false.html?_i_location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ft.com%2Fcms%2Fs%2F0%2F6783f80a-bb39-11df-b3f4-00144feab49a.html&_i_referer= "Ignore the hyperbole: America is not bust"
  13. https://fortune.com/2023/06/21/us-crypto-banking-under-frontal-assault-what-it-will-take-for-the-regulatory-freeze-to-thaw-former-fed-examiner-finance-politics-mark-williams/ "U.S. crypto banking is under frontal assault. Here’s what it will take for the regulatory freeze to thaw, according to a former Fed examiner"
  14. https://web.archive.org/web/20090109074645/http://blogs.reuters.com/great-debate/2009/01/06/why-did-the-sec-fail-to-spot-the-madoff-case/ "Why did the SEC fail to spot the Madoff case?"
  15. https://www.forbes.com/2009/02/26/bank-america-fiduciary-opinions_merrill_lynch.html "A Breach Of Fiduciary Duty At Bank Of America?"
  16. Web site: How to finally address the US's out-of-control student-loan crisis, according to a finance professor. .
  17. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-04-16/derivatives-trading-comes-clean-in-the-open-mark-t-williams.html "Derivatives Trading Comes Clean in the Open: Mark T. Williams"
  18. https://www.bostonglobe.com/2023/06/19/opinion/mbta-retirement-fund-finances/ "The US banking safety net has proved its value"
  19. News: Williams. Mark T.. A five-point plan to save the MBTA's pension fund. Boston Globe. June 30, 2016.
  20. News: Williams. Mark T.. A priority list for fixing the MBTA. Boston Globe. February 2, 2015.
  21. https://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2010/07/08/the_weak_link_in_bank_reform/ "The weak link in bank reform"
  22. https://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2009/07/02/don8217t_throw_the_keys_to_the_fed/ "Don’t throw the keys to the Fed"
  23. News: Bitcoin spikes to a new record — again. Will it ever come down? - The Boston Globe. BostonGlobe.com. 2017-12-12.
  24. Web site: MBTA pension crisis should be a priority - the Boston Globe. .
  25. https://foreignpolicy.com/articles/2010/11/10/fool_s_gold "Fool's Gold"
  26. News: William. Mark T.. Bitcoin Is Not Yet Ready for the Real World. New York Times. January 24, 2014.
  27. Web site: Beware Of Bitcoin. 2013-12-05. cognoscenti. 2017-01-04.
  28. Web site: Investing in Cryptocurrency: Do or Don't? BU Today Boston University. www.bu.edu. January 30, 2018 . 2018-02-09.
  29. Web site: MLB Umpires Missed 34,294 Ball-Strike Calls in 2018. Bring on Robo-umps?. BU Today. June 16, 2019.
  30. Web site: Sawchik . Travis . Were The Best Umpires Behind The Plate During The Playoffs? . FiveThirtyEight . 21 November 2019 . 1 November 2019.
  31. Web site: BU Spark! Hits a Home Run BU Spark! . www.bu.edu . 20 November 2019.
  32. Web site: Robo Umps. December 30, 2019.
  33. Web site: Madoff whistle-blower sounds alarm on T pension fund. Boston Globe. June 27, 2015.
  34. Web site: Williams . Mark T. . FINANCE PROFESSOR: Bitcoin Could Evolve Into An Existential Threat Worthy Of A Science Fiction Movie . Business Insider . 25 October 2019.
  35. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZW7R7FPIJY Testimony of Mark T. Williams
  36. Web site: Investing in Cryptocurrency: Do or Don't? BU Today Boston University. www.bu.edu. January 30, 2018 . 2018-10-06.
  37. http://smallbusiness.house.gov/uploadedfiles/4-2-2014_williams_final_testimony.pdf Testimony of Mark T. Williams
  38. Web site: Risks of Bitcoin at the World Bank Conference 2014. December 15, 2023.
  39. Web site: Law, Justice and Development Week 2014 . World Bank . 1 October 2019 .
  40. Web site: Congressional Testimony. December 15, 2023.
  41. Web site: Volatility Risk .
  42. Web site: FINANCE PROFESSOR: Bitcoin Will Crash to $10 by Mid-2014. .
  43. Web site: Bitcoincharts | Charts.
  44. Web site: Washington Post . washingtonpost . 25 October 2019.
  45. Web site: Investing in Cryptocurrency: Do or Don't?. January 30, 2018 .
  46. Book: Longwood Covered Courts and the Rise of American Tennis . www.amazon.com . 20 November 2019. January 2013 .
  47. Web site: Desk . Delaware News . Sussex Central High School to host Hall of Fame induction ceremony Nov. 15 . Sussex Living . 20 November 2019 . en.
  48. News: Healy. Beth. Learning from Wall Street's failures. Boston.com. June 27, 2010.
  49. Book: Longwood Covered Courts: And the Rise of American Tennis. Lawson. R. Alan. Williams. Mark T.. 2013. Longwood Covered Courts.

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