When complexity and consequence demand definitive expertise
Capital Market Risk Advisors (CMRA) is a boutique expert witness and risk advisory firm whose principals were pioneers in derivatives and major participants in complex financial markets. Founded by Leslie Rahl — derivatives pioneer, ISDA founding board member, and former Risk Committee Chair at Fannie Mae and CIBC — and led alongside Partner Peter Niculescu, former EVP and CIO of Fannie Mae’s $950+ billion portfolio and Goldman Sachs Managing Director, CMRA brings firsthand practitioner experience to every engagement.
CMRA has been involved in virtually every major derivatives and structured finance crisis since the mid-1980s, including Orange County, Bankers Trust, Sumitomo Copper, LTCM, Lehman, subprime, Volmageddon, COVID, Allianz Structured Alpha, Texas Storm Uri and beyond. Our experience also includes consulting and expert work involving total return swaps on hedge fund portfolios and due diligence-related matters. Our partners have provided expert and consulting services in over 100 disputes and testified in courts across 4 jurisdictions.
Our practice spans expert witness, risk advisory and regulatory investigation matters. The same hands-on market expertise that helps clients assess and mitigate risk also informs our work when complex issues lead to disputes, investigations or enforcement matters.
We specialize in derivatives (OTC and exchange-traded), structured finance, RMBS, CDOs/CLOs, hedge fund strategies, volatility products, commodities, energy and complex valuations. We are equally fluent in the language of quants, the language of the court, and the language of the boardroom.
CMRA’s Three Lines of Business
Experience That Matters
Selected Expert Witness Cases
CMRA has provided expert analysis, reports and testimony in more than 100 complex financial disputes involving derivatives, structured finance, valuation, risk management and market practice.
Explore representative matters that demonstrate CMRA’s experience across some of the most complex disputes in global financial markets.
View Selected Expert Witness Cases →CMRA’s Principals
Financial Market Insights
CMRA provides independent perspectives on derivatives, risk and developments across global financial markets.
Explore our latest commentary and analysis on the issues shaping markets and risk management.
Explore Market Insights →Asset Classes & Clients
Clients
CMRA advises financial institutions, asset managers, institutional investors, law firms, regulators and other market participants facing complex financial and risk-related challenges.
Explore the clients and institutions we serve across global financial markets.
View Our Clients →Explore Our Practice
CMRA brings deep capital markets experience to complex questions involving risk, financial products, litigation, regulatory matters and institutional decision-making.
Explore CMRA’s capabilities across risk management, expert witness services, complex financial products, regulatory matters and due diligence.
Explore Our Practice →Regulatory-Related Releases
CMRA monitors regulatory developments affecting derivatives, risk management, market practice and financial institutions.
Explore recent regulatory developments and selected releases relevant to global financial markets.
View Regulatory-Related Releases →Galaxy of Risks
The Galaxy of Risks™, illustrates that while market and credit risk are universally acknowledged, risks such as jump risk, assumption risk, correlation risk, out-of-sample risk and iceberg risk have been at the heart of many crises and of outsized losses.
Unexpected financial shocks recur every few years. The charts and
timeline below illustrate how these risks have emerged across market
cycles, while linking selected crises to related CMRA case studies
and press coverage.
“Once in a Life-Time” Financial Shocks and Related CMRA Case Studies
“Once in a Lifetime” Financial Shocks and Related CMRA Case Studies
Unexpected financial shocks appear to recur every few years. The timeline below makes the events in CMRA’s “Once in a Lifetime” chart searchable, while linking selected crises to related CMRA case studies and press coverage.
1987
Stock Market Crash
- Stock Market Crash
1988–1993
Credit, Currency, and Equity Market Stress
- High-Yield Tumbles
- European Currency Crisis
- Nikkei Crash
1994–1995
Rate Shock, Money Funds, and Peso Crisis
- Money Funds Break the Buck
- US Interest Rate Hike
- Mexican Peso Crisis
1997–1999
Emerging Market and Hedge Fund Dislocations
- Russian Crisis
- LTCM
- Brazil Crisis
- Asian Crisis
- Columbus Day Mortgage Massacre
2000–2005
Tech Meltdown, Terrorist Attacks, and Credit Correlation
- 2000 Tech Meltdown
- 2001 Tech Meltdown
- 9/11 Terrorist Attacks
- Bubble Bursts
- GM CDS Correlation
2007
Subprime and Quant Meltdown
- Subprime
- Quant Meltdown
2008
Global Financial Crisis and Liquidity Shock
- Liquidity Crisis
- Bear Stearns
- Lehman
- AIG
- TARP
- CP Funding Facility
- Bailout Squared of AIG
- Goldman and Morgan Stanley become banks
- GSEs
- Bailout Squared of Citi
- Auto Bailout
2009–2010
Post-Crisis Regulation, Sovereign Stress, and Flash Crash
- FAS 166/167
- Goldman Sachs
- Basel 3
- Financial Reform Legislation
- Greece
- Flash Crash
2011–2013
Sovereign Debt, Euro Crisis, and Trading Losses
- US Debt Downgrade
- Euro Crisis
- London Whale
2018
Short-Volatility Shock
- Volmageddon
2020
COVID Volatility Shock
- Covid
2022
Geopolitical Shock, Commodities, and Sovereign Debt
- Russian Invasion Ukraine
- LME Nickel
- Russian Debt Default
2024–2025
Recent Market Shocks
- Liberation Day
- Yen Carry Trade
Get in touch
☎ Contact
leslie@cmra.com
(239) 280-1954
☎ CONTACT
peter@cmra.com
(212) 404-6100