Leslie was honored to be asked to speak 9/6 at the by invitation only Black-Scholes/Merton 50th Anniversary Conference at my Alma Mater MIT/Sloan. Other speakers included many Leslie has known for more years than any of us might want to acknowledge including: Myron Scholes, Bob Merton, Stewart Myers, Judy Lewent, Bob Litterman, Peter Hancock, Stephen Figlewski, Emanuel Derman, Ben Golub.
CMRA Institutional Investor clients settled their Allianz Structured Alpha litigation
CMRA is proud to have been #2 in GlobalCapital’s 2022 awards in the “Risk Advisory” category
Practical solutions honed by personal trading experience and by the experience of serving hundreds of clients.
Capital Market Risk Advisors, Inc. (CMRA) has been providing Risk Advisory and Litigation Support Services for over 30 years. We are a group of senior professionals, each with decades of direct market experience that includes trading, managing risk, working with regulators and serving on boards. We specialize in derivatives (both otc and exchange-traded) in fixed income, equities, commodities and foreign exchange, in asset- and mortgage-backed products, structured finance and other complex financial products and strategies.
CMRA's senior practitioners have been at the forefront of risk management since the early 80's. Our partners, Leslie Rahl and Peter Niculescu, have managed over $150 billion in derivatives business and held direct responsibility over balance sheets totaling over $1 trillion.
Leslie Rahl is the Founder and CEO of CMRA. She was a pioneer in derivatives in the 80’s, and has advised a large number of companies on a wide variety of risk management, valuation, and risk governance assignments for over 30 years. Ms. Rahl is an experienced Board member and was on the Board of ISDA from 1986-1991.
Dr. Peter Niculescu has been a partner at CMRA for over ten years. He has advised financial institutions and corporations on risk management and law firms on financial disputes. He headed Capital Markets at Fannie Mae and was previously a Managing Director at Goldman Sachs. He has a PhD from Yale in Economics.
Our multidisciplinary team of seasoned industry professionals also includes:
A Harvard Law graduate who leverages over 15 years of hands-on experience trading credit derivatives and structured credit products coupled with perspectives garnered from his legal training to serve our clients,
The former Chief Investment Officer of Travelers Insurance’s $100 billion portfolio who also has direct experience managing convertible security and long/short equity portfolios, and
An equity research analyst and risk manager who oversaw a $3 billion fund of funds before becoming responsible for Merrill Lynch’s $26 billion in hedge fund investments.
A securitized products and derivatives expert, with over 20 years of capital markets experience, who has traded over $5 billion in CDOs, asset-backed securities, credit default swaps, and index products.
CMRA Commentary
Our latest releases on the "CMRA Commentary" blog, where we distribute thought pieces on relevant topics:
The inverted yield curve upended several banks. What will the inevitable snap-down do?
CMRA's Galaxy of Risks (partial listing)
“Unexpected” Financial Shocks — Once in a Lifetime Crises Seem to Occur Every Few Years
Get in touch
➤ LOCATIONs
☎ Contact
info@cmra.com
(239) 280-1954
4851 Tamiami Trail North
Suite 200
Naples, FL 34103
☎ CONTACT
info@cmra.com
(212) 404-6100
Explore our Practice
+ Best Practices in Risk Management, Measurement, Governance and Oversight
- CMRA has been at the forefront of the development of best practices in risk, establishing standards and criteria for the implementation of policies and procedures.
- Effective risk management across an enterprise requires precise quantification of risk using state of the art modeling, qualitative assessments of unquantifiable risks and a governance, oversight and escalation structure.
- Risk organizations increasingly report to a CRO who is integrated into the company’s business strategy, but the most effective risk organizations and Enterprise Risk Management programs (ERM) are customized for the individual financial institution and may and should vary widely from company to company.
- Our approach to risk measurement is both practical and analytically robust. Our experience being hired to remediate financial sector failures informs our proactive risk management approach.
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+ Testifying and Consulting Expert Services for Complex Financial Disputes
- CMRA's seasoned experts leverage decades of direct experience in the capital markets, sterling academic credentials, and experience navigating the challenges of cross examination and direct testimony to offer expert reports and court testimony, on assessments of both liability and damages. Our clients depend on us to offer clear, independent, and well-supported evidence in a range of complex litigation matters.
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+ Experts in Complex Derivatives, Structured Finance, MBS, ABS, and Repo
- Commodity Derivatives
- Interest rates
- FX
- Credit
- Volatility
- Derivatives
- Structured Finance
- Mortgage-Backed Securities (MBS)
- Asset-Backed Securities (ABS)
- Repurchase Agreements (Repo)
+ Independent Advisors for Regulatory Inquiries and Enforcement
- When it comes to negotiations and communications with regulators, our principals have experience on both sides of the table. We collaborate with financial institution clients to assess the facts related to regulatory inquiries, and also help regulators navigate nuanced topics such as trading, market structure, and market practice. While the details of our work on regulatory inquiries are confidential, we have been engaged to advise on the trading and portfolio management of the following asset classes:
- Derivatives (rates, credit, FX, equity, and commodities)
- Asset-backed securities and mortgage-related assets
- Treasuries and corporate bonds
- Structured product
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+ Independent Risk Advisors to Boards of Directors
- CMRA provides many different services to Boards of Directors that include:
- Independent oversight of management’s risk function.
- Construction of Risk Appetite Statements to ensure clarity of communication between the Board and management on risk tolerance.
- Review of an institution’s risk governance, its organization, lines of communication and reports and the optimal role for the Chief Risk Officer customized to the specific organization and culture.
- Review and assistance in construction of Risk Policies.
- Board education and training on risk.
- Best practices in linking risk and compensation.
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+ Operational and Risk Due Diligence
- Our team leverages its years of experience performing due diligence on alternative investment managers and M&A opportunities both to advise clients seeking to deploy capital and to counsel investment funds seeking to benchmark and improve their practices. Our specialized expertise in derivatives, structured product, and other esoteric asset classes allows us to assess a wide range of equity, fixed income, and hybrid strategies.
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Recent Regulatory-Related Releases
Dec 11, 2024 - Liquidity Preparedness for Margin and Collateral Calls
Nov 18, 2024 - Big Banks Still Need To Beef Up Controls, Fed Report Says
Sep 19, 2024 - ISDA Reforms Credit Determination Committee
and Adds Oversight and participation of smaller CDS participants
Aug 7, 2024 - Cboe Global Markets plans to launch options on VIX futures, expected to begin trading on October 14, 2024
July 3, 2024 - ISDA Publishes Framework to Prepare for Close Out of Derivatives Contracts
Prime Finance Ukraine Sanctions/CDS Auction Updates
CMRA in the Media
CMRA's years of market experience have established the firm as an industry voice often sought after by the press and through speaking opportunities. Explore the firm's media presence through our coverage by the press as well as past speeches.
CMRA Insights
Visit our Insights page to explore the regularly updated helpful resources, links, and books we have to offer.
