John Minahan

John Minahan is a Senior Lecturer in Finance and Associate Director of the Master of Finance Program at the MIT Sloan School of Management.

He teaches the Finance Research Practicum, an Action Learning course in which Master of Finance and other students work on business-motivated, finance research questions posed by external organizations.

Prior to joining MIT Sloan in 2010, Dr. Minahan had a career in institutional investment consulting. He consulted to pension funds, endowment funds, and investment management firms on asset allocation, risk management, investment philosophy, product development, and the evaluation of investment managers and strategies. His employers included Meketa Investment Group, New England Pension Consultants, and MetLife. He was also a self-employed consultant and stay-at-home parent for five years while his two daughters were in elementary school.

His consulting experiences have kindled a fascination with behavioral aspects of investment decision making, especially the roles of culture and professionalism in shaping investment practices. His current behavioral focus is the role of pension accounting in enabling an illusion in which public and union pension funds look less costly and better funded than they really are, potentially resulting in distorted benefit, contribution, and investment decisions and an increased likelihood of a fiscal crisis for plan sponsors and plan participants.

Minahan has been active in investment professional associations for over two decades, including the CFA Institute, QWAFAFEW, the Boston Economic Club, and the Boston Security Analysts Society (BSAS). At the BSAS, he taught in the Society’s CFA Review Program, served on the Board of Directors including a term as President, and co-founded the Boston Investment Research Challenge. He is currently President of the Boston Economic Club and a member of the Steerage Committee of Boston QWAFAFEW.

He has also served on the boards and finance-related committees of several not-for-profits including the Dorchester Bay Economic Development Corporation, MathPower, and First Parish Church in Dorchester. He currently serves on the investment committee of the Massachusetts Council of Churches.

Minahan holds a BS from Boston College, a PhD from the MIT Sloan School of Management, and is a CFA Charterholder.