Background

Professor Spilker is an Associate Professor of Finance and Shidler Faculty Fellow at the Shidler College of Business, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. 

His research focuses on empirical asset management and institutional investing, with particular emphasis on information diffusion through manager networks, hedge fund and mutual fund behavior, and performance measurement in both public and private capital markets. His work has been published in leading academic journals, including the Journal of Financial Economics, the Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, and the Journal of Banking and Finance, and has been featured in media outlets such as Bloomberg, Institutional Investor, and the Hawaii Retirement Show.

Professor Spilker teaches in both the undergraduate and graduate programs, with courses spanning investments, portfolio management and optimization, financial derivatives, and risk management. He is widely recognized for his commitment to teaching excellence and applied finance education.

Before entering academia, Professor Spilker advised institutional clients on hedge fund portfolio construction at Cambridge Associates and K2 Advisors, conducted equity research at UBS, and managed public equity investments at Terrapin Creek Capital, a family office. Earlier in his career, he held financial roles at Harvard University and General Electric, and served as an F-16 crew chief in the U.S. Air National Guard.

He holds a Ph.D. in Finance from Boston College, an M.B.A. from the University of Maryland, College Park, a graduate diploma in management from Harvard University, and a B.S. in Finance from Virginia Tech. He is also a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) charterholder and currently serves on the board of CFA Society Hawai‘i.