Background

Brian Silverstein is a clinical assistant professor of finance at the University of South Carolina’s Darla Moore School of Business. He is a CFA charterholder and an Associate of the Society of Actuaries (ASA).

Before entering academia, he spent more than 20 years in financial markets, including work as a market maker at the Chicago Board Options Exchange and as a risk manager for private volatility funds. He previously taught at Kansas State University and earned his Ph.D. in finance from Florida Atlantic University.

Teaching

Silverstein’s teaching connects financial theory with practical investment and risk management decisions. Drawing on his industry experience, he emphasizes the application of quantitative methods, portfolio analysis and derivatives to problems faced by investment professionals.

He leads the Moore School’s Student Managed Investment Fund (SMIF) and the Garnet Fund, where students gain experience in investment analysis, portfolio construction and risk management. Under his guidance, students have designed and implemented options strategies that provide downside protection while maintaining exposure to equity markets. This work gives students direct experience with hedging, investment structuring and the ongoing management of portfolio risk.

Research

Silverstein’s research spans investments, banking, risk management and corporate finance. His work examines currency hedging for international equity investors, options-based investment strategies, bank interest-rate risk, corporate pension risk transfers, and the relationship between managerial incentives and corporate investment efficiency. His research has appeared in Financial Management, Quantitative Finance, the Journal of Financial Research, the Review of Financial Economics and The Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics.

His recent work examines maturity transformation in banking and the use of swaptions to manage interest-rate risk and mitigate potential losses. He also explores dynamic currency hedging and defined outcome investment strategies, including how options overlays can be managed to restore downside protection as market conditions change.

Education

• Ph.D., Finance, Florida Atlantic University, 2021
• M.S., Applied Mathematics, University of Colorado Boulder, 2000
• B.S., Actuarial Science, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, 1994