Presented at the 2018 Annual Conference Experience in Nashville, the Investments & Wealth Institute honored six professionals and one organization with awards for their exceptional contributions to the investment and wealth industry, including:

• Richard Thaler, Ph.D., recipient of the Matthew R. McArthur Industry Pioneer Award for his outstanding contributions to investment consulting. Professor Thaler is the Charles R. Walgreen Distinguished Service Professor of Behavioral Science and Economics at The University of Chicago Booth School of Business and the 2017 recipient of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences.
• John Nersesian, CIMA®, CPWA®, CFP®, recipient of the J. Richard Joyner Wealth Management Impact Award. Nersesian is the head of advisor education at PIMCO. Previously, he served as managing director of wealth management services for Nuveen. An active volunteer and former chairman of the board of the Investments & Wealth Institute, he is a faculty member for both the Certified Investment Management Analyst® (CIMA®) and Certified Private Wealth Advisor® (CPWA®) education programs.
• The Pew Charitable Trusts, recipient of the Regulatory Insight Award for “Basic Legal Protections Vary Widely for Participants in Public Retirement Plans,” published in the .
• Duane Thompson, AIFA®, president, Potomac Strategies LLC, recipient of the Davis Honorable Distinction Award, for “Five Traps for the Unwary: Due Diligence and the DOL Fiduciary Rule,” published in the .
• Aron Gottesman, Ph.D., and Matthew Morey, Ph.D., professors of finance, Lubin School of Business, Pace University, recipients of the Edward D. Baker III Journal Research Award, for their paper “Active Share and Emerging Market Equity Funds” published in the .
• Bob Rice, managing director, Tangent Capital Partners, recipient of the Stephen L. Kessler Writing Award for “The Upside of the Downside of Modern Portfolio Theory” and “Private Equity for Individual Investors: Historical Impediments and New Opportunities,” in the .

Congratulations to this year’s honorees! Learn more about our awards and past recipients here .