Finance professor invests in students

Derivatives: world’s biggest financial market

Perrakis’s early years in the U.S. also marked an important transition — from engineering to economics and finance.

“My love of math led me to engineering but I also liked history,” says Perrakis. “The natural way to combine the two was through economics, which was more of a social science back then.”

The decision proved to be a good one. Perrakis began his career at the University of Ottawa in 1970. Within 10 years, he was among the most published academics in his discipline in Canada.

The scholar’s contributions to his field didn’t wane. He began teaching at Concordia in 2000 and was elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada in 2007. He was appointed member of the Provost’s Circle of Distinction at Concordia in 2009 and RBC Professor of Financial Derivatives in 2010.

Perrakis’ areas of expertise include the derivatives market. Once described by Warren Buffet as “weapons of mass destruction,” the derivatives market has attracted controversy — often for individuals who use the market to exploit unsuspecting investors.

The professor’s research has challenged models widely applied to the market that ignore important realities. He believes that bright graduate students will be the ones to develop new approaches that will produce more accurate results. 

“Dr. Perrakis taught me how to think like an economist,” says Ali Boloorforoosh, PhD 14, a former student of Perrakis and now chief analyst of Market Risk Quantification at National Bank of Canada. “I admire his intellectual integrity.”

Outside the classroom

Perrakis, who continues to teach, balances a busy schedule. He is writing his second book on the Greek Civil War, a conflict he lived through as a child. He is frequently seen as a go-to source for anyone looking for insight on the Greek financial crisis.

Like others who attended Berkeley in the 1960s, Perrakis recalls turbulent times. What stands out above all, though, was meeting his wife, Phyllis. They had two sons and now have four grandchildren, who occupy much of their attention.

Perrakis admits he could have made his gift to his alma mater. He chose to make a planned gift to Concordia because he feels thankful to those at the JMSB who made the decision to hire him late in his career. 

“They trusted me,” he says. “My planned gift is a way of expressing my gratitude to the university. These last 15 years at Concordia have been some of the happiest and most productive of my career.”