Institut für Versicherungswirtschaft | Universität St.Gallen

Prof. Dr. Alexander Braun

Research Team Innovation in Risk and Insurance

Alexander Braun is Associate Professor of Insurance and Capital Markets at the University of St.Gallen (HSG) and Director at the Institute of Insurance Economics (I.VW-HSG). Before joining HSG, he worked in the capital markets division of Lehman Brothers in London. Dr. Braun studied at leading universities in Germany, Australia, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States. He holds the degree “Diplom-Kaufmann” from the University of Mannheim (Germany) and a Ph.D. in Finance from HSG. In 2016, he additionally obtained the venia legendi in Business Administration. The research and teaching activities of Dr. Braun have been awarded, amongst others, by the American Risk and Insurance Association, the Asia-Pacific Risk and Insurance Association, and the Casualty Actuarial Society. Overall, he looks back on more than 10 years of combined scholarly and practical experience in risk management, insurance, and the financial markets.

Research Focus

The team bundles key topics that will shape the future of insurance. Our approach is holistic, combining both theoretical and empirical methodologies to deliver the most adequate solution for each research question that we address. We explicitly consider concepts beyond the classical insurance industry to tackle modern risk management challenges with a major societal impact. Therefore, we work at the interface between capital markets, insurance markets and technology. Currently, our research/teaching activities encompass the following areas:

InsurTech and innovative business models in insurance
The impact of new technologies on risk management and insurance
Alternative risk transfer (ART) and insurance-linked securities (ILS)
Management of extreme risks and special risks
Climate change and global protection gaps
Household risk management and modern investment solutions

Education

2000: Abitur at Immanuel-Kant-Gymnasium, Tuttlingen, Germany
2001-2003: Undergrad. Studies, University of Mannheim, Germany
2004: Study Abroad Program, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia
2003-2007: Studies in Business Administration (Dipl.-Kfm.), University of Mannheim, Germany (Majors: Banking & Finance, International Management, Marketing; Thesis: Regulatory Capital Arbitrage Under Basel II, supervision by Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Bühler)
2010: ICPSR Summer Program in Quantitative Research Methods, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA (Advanced Regression, Time Series Analysis)
2009-2011: Ph.D. in Finance, University of St.Gallen (Thesis: Essays on Insurance-Linked Capital Market Instruments, Solvency Measurement, and Insurance Pricing, supervision by Prof. Dr. Hato Schmeiser and Prof. Dr. Manuel Ammann)
2012: Summer School in Social Science Data Analysis, University of Essex, Colchester, UK (Panel Data Analysis, Logit and Probit Models)
2013: Summer School in Empirical Research Methods (SSERM), University of St.Gallen (Bayesian Estimation and Inference)
2011-2016: Habilitation at the University of St.Gallen (Thesis: Essays on Insurance-Linked Securities, Financial Regulation and Consumer Preferences)
2016: Venia Legendi in Business Administration (with special emphasis on Risk Management)

Work Experience

2001: Accounting, Karl Storz GmbH & Co. KG, Tuttlingen
2003: Management Accounting, BASF AG, Ludwigshafen
2005: Strategic Marketing, SAP Deutschland AG & Co. KG, Walldorf
2006: Global Markets, Deutsche Bank AG, Frankfurt am Main
2007-2008: Senior Analyst Capital Markets, Lehman Brothers, London, UK
2009-2011: Research Associate, Institute of Insurance Economics, St.Gallen
2011-2013: Project Leader, Institute of Insurance Economics, St.Gallen
2013-2017: Assistant Professor of Risk Management, University of St.Gallen
Since 12/2015: Member of the Executive Board, Institute of Insurance Economics, St.Gallen
Since 08/2017: Adjunct Professor of Risk Management, University of St.Gallen

Awards

Aesculap Excellence Award, IKG TUT, 2000
Certificate of Outstanding Achievement, Monash University, 2004
Ph.D. Predicate with the Highest Distinction, HSG, 2011
Hans Kessler Best Paper Award, I.VW-HSG, 2011
Postdoctoral Research Grant, GFF-HSG, 2012
Hans Kessler Best Paper Award, I.VW-HSG, 2012
Harold D. Skipper Best Paper Award, APRIA, 2013
Les B. Strickler Innovation in Instruction Award, ARIA, 2014
Postdoctoral Research Grant, GFF-HSG, 2014
Journal of Insurance Issues Best Paper Award, JII/CSIR, 2014
Finalist SCOR–EGRIE Young Economist Best Paper Award 2016
Casualty Actuarial Society (CAS) Best Paper Award, ARIA, 2017
Shin Research Excellence Award, 2019
Best Paper Award, InsurTech & Blockchain Forum, 2019

Research and Consulting Areas

InsurTech
Insurance-Linked Securities
Innovation in Risk and Insurance
Asset Pricing
Asset Management
Financial Regulation
Insurance Economics

Teaching Actitivites

Bachelor’s and Master’s Theses
Risk Management (MBF, MAccFin)
Insurance-Linked Securities (MBF, Executive Education)
Reinsurance (Executive Education)
InsurTech (Executive Education)
Innovative Business Models in Insurance (Executive Education)
Blockchain Technology in Risk & Insurance (Executive Education)
Asset Management (Executive Education)
Introduction to Finance (Executive Education)
Saving & Investing for Retirement (Executive Education)
Current Topics in Nonlife Insurance (Executive Education)
Current Topics in Life Insurance (Executive Education)
Changing Customer Behavior (Executive Education)

Research Grants

2018-2021: Understanding Valuation and Risk Premiums in the Markets for Insurance-Linked Securities; Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) Research Project
2015-2016: Handbook of Political Risk Insurance; Applied Research Project Supported by the Funk Foundation, Hamburg (with M. Fischer)
2015-2016: Insurance-Linked Securities, Risk-Adjusted Performance Measurement, and Behavioral Insurance; Postdoctoral Grant by the HSG Research Fund
2012-2014: Implicit Constraints, Incentives, and Systemic Risk Imposed by New Standards for Insurance Regulation; Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) Research Project (with M. Eling and H. Schmeiser); Cooperation with N. Gatzert
2012-2013: Catastrophe Bonds, Solvency Regulation, and the Asset Management of Insurance Companies; Postdoctoral Grant by the HSG Research Fund
2010-2012: Regulation in the Financial Services Industry After the Crisis; Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) Research Project (with P. Rymaszewski and H. Schmeiser); Cooperation with M. Eling

Dr. Braun regularly contributes to worldwide academic conferences in his field and has been an invited moderator, panelist, and keynote speaker at various professional industry events. In addition, he served as a referee for over 25 different academic journals, mainly in the disciplines risk management & insurance, actuarial science and banking & finance. Due to the proven expertise in his core research and consulting areas he had several media appearances, comprising German and Swiss newspaper articles as well as Swiss national radio and television broadcasts.

Complete List of Talks, Moderations & Presentations

Referee Activities

American Risk & Insurance Association (ARIA)
Asia-Pacific Journal of Risk and Insurance (APJRI)
ASTIN Bulletin – The Journal of the International Actuarial Association
European Journal of Finance (EJF)
European Journal of Operational Research (EJOR)
Geneva Papers on Risk and Insurance – Issues and Practice (GPP)
German Insurance Science Association (DVfVW)
Insurance: Mathematics and Economics (IME)
International Journal of Finance and Economics (IJFE)
International Journal of Financial Studies (IJFS)
International Journal of Health Policy and Management (IJHPM)
International Journal of Services and Operations Management (IJSOM)
International Review of Economics and Finance (IREF)
Journal of Banking and Finance (JBF)
Journal of Business Economics (JBEC)
Journal of Computational Science (JOCS)
Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization (JEBO)
Journal of Insurance Regulation (JIR)
Journal of Marketing Management (JMM)
Journal of Mathematical Finance (JMF)
Journal of Money, Credit and Banking (JMCB)
Journal of Risk and Financial Management (JRFM)
Journal of Risk and Insurance (JRI)
Journal of Risk Finance (JRF)
Journal of Sustainable Finance and Investment (JSFI)
Management Science (MS)
North American Actuarial Journal (NAAJ)
Risk Management and Insurance Review (RMIR)
Risks – Open Access Risk Management Journal by MDPI
Scandinavian Actuarial Journal (SACT)
Schmalenbachs Zeitschrift für betriebswirtschaftliche Forschung (zfbf)
Swiss Society for Financial Market Research (SGF)

Market-Consistent Valuation of Natural Catastrophe Risk, Journal of Banking and Finance, Vol. 134 (2022), 106350. (with S. Beer)
VHB 3.0: A | WU: A | ABCD: A* | SJR (2020): Q1

Consumption-Based Asset Pricing in Insurance Markets: Yet Another Puzzle?, Journal of Risk and Insurance, Vol. 86 (2019), No. 3, 629-661. (with D. Luca and H. Schmeiser)
Top 20 Most Read Paper in the Journal of Risk and Insurance 2017/2018
VHB 3.0: A | WU: A | ABCD: A | SJR (2020): Q1

Asset Pricing and Extreme Event Risk: Common Factors in ILS Fund Returns, Journal of Banking and Finance, Vol. 102 (2019), 59-78. (with S. Ben Ammar and M. Eling)
Runner Up SCOR-EGRIE Young Economist Best Paper Award 2016
VHB 3.0: A | WU: A | ABCD: A* | SJR (2020): Q1

Portfolio Optimization Under Solvency II: Implicit Constraints Imposed by the Market Risk Standard Formula, Journal of Risk and Insurance, Vol. 84 (2017), No. 1, 177-207. (with F. Schreiber and H. Schmeiser)
VHB 3.0: A | WU: A | ABCD: A | SJR (2020): Q1

Pricing in the Primary Market for Cat Bonds: New Empirical Evidence, Journal of Risk and Insurance, Vol. 83 (2016), No. 4, 811-847.
Harold Skipper Award 2013 | CAS ARIA Best Paper Award 2017
VHB 3.0: A | WU: A | ABCD: A | SJR (2020): Q1

On Consumer Preferences and the Willingness to Pay for Term Life Insurance, European Journal of Operational Research, Vol. 253 (2016), No. 3, 761-776. (with F. Schreiber and H. Schmeiser)
VHB 3.0: A | WU: A | ABCD: A* | SJR (2020): Q1

Stock vs. Mutual Insurers: Who Should and Who Does Charge More?, European Journal of Operational Research, Vol. 242 (2015), No. 3, 875-889. (with P. Rymaszewski and H. Schmeiser)
VHB 3.0: A | WU: A | ABCD: A* | SJR (2020): Q1

The Impact of Private Equity on a Life Insurer’s Capital Charges under Solvency II and the SST, Journal of Risk and Insurance, Vol. 81 (2014), No. 1, 113-158. (with H. Schmeiser and C. Siegel)
VHB 3.0: A | WU: A | ABCD: A | SJR (2020): Q1

Performance and Risks of Open-End Life Settlement Funds, Journal of Risk and Insurance, Vol. 79 (2012), No. 1, 193-229. (with N. Gatzert and H. Schmeiser)
Dr. Hans Kessler Best Paper Award 2012
VHB 3.0: A | WU: A | ABCD: A | SJR (2020): Q1

See all Publications on Alexandria