Tray Spilker

Spilker Photo
  • Associate Professor of Finance

Room

BusAd E-601k

Phone

(808) 956-8738

Academic Background

  • Ph.D. in Finance, Boston College
  • M.B.A. (Finance), University of Maryland
  • Graduate Diploma in Management (Finance), Harvard University
  • B.S. Business Administration, (Finance), Virginia Tech

Professional Background

Professor Spilker's research explores the social networks of institutional investors on portfolio choice, methods for measuring alternative investment portfolios, and the dynamics of passive investments in active mutual fund families. His research has been published in leading academic journals like the Journal of Financial Economics, Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, and the Journal of Banking and Finance, and covered in media outlets such as Bloomberg and Institutional Investor Magazine. Professor Spilker teaches in the masters and undergraduate programs covering the areas of investments, portfolio management and optimization, and financial derivatives and risk management, and has received several teaching awards. Prior to entering academia, he constructed portfolios of hedge fund managers for institutional clients at Cambridge Associates (an investment consulting firm) and K2 Advisors (a hedge fund of funds), conducted sell-side equity research at UBS, and managed equity at Terrapin Creek Capital (a family office). Prior to his capital markets career, Professor Spilker served as a financial administration officer at Harvard University and a financial analyst at General Electric. Prior to his corporate finance career, Professor Spilker served as an F-16 crew chief (mechanic) in the US Air National Guard. Professor Spilker holds a PhD from Boston College, an MBA from the University of Maryland, College Park, a graduate diploma in management from Harvard University, a bachelors in finance from Virginia Tech, and holds the Chartered Financial Analyst® designation.

Research Interests

  • Asset Management
  • Institutional Investing
  • Investment Performance
  • Price Informativeness
  • Social Networks

Selected Publications

Publications

Working Papers

  • Private Equity Performance: A Time-Series Approach,” with A. Fragkiskos, O. Krasotkina, and R. Wermers. R&R Journal of Banking and Finance.
  • Alpha by Affiliation,” with N. Patel and J. Reuter.
  • “​​​Alpha Left in the Middle of the Table: Evidence from Volatility Sorts,” with M. Arabaci. 
  • "Asset Volatility and Wealth Transfers: Evidence from Stock Repurchase Announcements," with M. Arabaci, J. Kim, and G. Rhee

Permanent Working Papers

SSRN Author Page: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/cf_dev/AbsByAuth.cfm?per_id=959552

Awards & Honors

  • Professor of the Semester, Undergraduate business core course, Fall 2019
  • Professor of the Semester, Undergraduate in major course, Fall 2019
  • Professor of the Semester, Master of Science in Finance, Spring 2022
  • Professor of the Semester, Undergraduate business core course, Fall 2022
  • Professor of the Semester, Master of Science in Finance, Spring 2023

Board Service

  • CFA Hawaii Society

Certifications

  • Chartered Financial Analyst®, CFA Institute 
  • Private Pilot (Single Engine Airplane Land), FAA