John K. Griffin
Verified Expert in Finance
Finance Expert
Washington, DC, United States
Toptal member since December 5, 2022
John is a talented financial professional with vast and unique experience. His 15-year career includes positions of significant responsibility on Wall Street and providing in-house financial expertise at a large government organization. He holds an MBA from the Wharton School, a PhD in financial economics, and a CFA designation. Passion for solving challenging financial issues and a desire to help clients through impactful work led John to join Toptal.
Career Highlights
Education Highlights
Certification Highlights
Case Studies
Software Expertise
Other Expertise
Work Experience
Financial Analyst
United States Government
- Provided in-house financial expertise for a large organization as a highly valued and sought-out resource by key decision-makers.
- Established the organization's position on vital financial questions in large and complex matters, authored memos, and presented in-person arguments that shaped impactful decisions and actions.
- Employed various financial and economic techniques, analyses, and methods in a fast-moving and high-pressure environment.
Industry Economist
U.S. Department of Defense
- Served as lead analyst for many strategic and critical materials, including basic materials and specialized downstream applications.
- Initiated, managed, and supervised research projects. Identified potential defense vulnerabilities related to supply issues in a national emergency or conflict scenario.
- Designed economic models to address new concerns or improve upon legacy methods.
- Created qualitative and quantitative assessments of industries and product segments. Evaluated and projected factors relating to potential supply shortfalls.
- Supervised research teams consisting of contractors and DoD researchers.
- Developed and justified recommendations to Congress to purchase and sell materials for the National Defense Stockpile.
Senior Equity Analyst
Nomura Asset Management
- Led a small team as a senior analyst in North American and European consumer staples equities. Coverage included retail, food, beverage, personal care, household, and tobacco.
- Provided in-house expertise as the go-to resource in my subject area within one of the world's largest financial services companies.
- Collaborated on decisions for global equity portfolios with more than $10 billion in assets.
- Interviewed C-level managers of Fortune 500 companies, implemented sophisticated DCF models, authored reports to internal managers, and led internal meetings to present investment conclusions and supporting arguments.
Equity Analyst
Wedge Capital Management
- Served as an analyst on one of the country's largest institutional small-caps portfolios. During tenure, the fund outperformed relevant benchmarks and competitors in five out of six years.
- Completed purchase and sale recommendations that consistently outperformed coverage universe and provided written and oral presentations to portfolio manager and investment committee.
- Interviewed executive management to determine strategy, focus, and shareholder orientation.
- Generated alpha for clients and recommendations outperformed relevant benchmarks in five out of six years.
Research Associate
Credit Suisse
- Performed statistical research on trade and budget deficits, interest rates, mutual fund flows, and other relevant topics for weekly reports to clients.
- Advised industry analysts and clients on relationships between macroeconomic variables and the U.S. equity markets.
- Assisted the US Economist on one of the largest financial institutions worldwide.
Education
Doctorate in Economics
Fordham University - New York, NY, USA
Master of Business Administration (MBA) in Finance
The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania - Philadelphia, PA, USA
Bachelor's Degree in Economics
Colby College - Waterville, ME, USA
Certifications
Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA)
CFA Institute
Skills
Finance
Value Investing, DCF Valuation, Revenue Modeling, Financial Modeling, Data Analysis, Investment Memoranda, Chartered Financial Analysis, Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A), Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A), Forecasting, Portfolio Analysis, Risk, Interest Rate Risk
Output Software
Microsoft Excel
Other
Finance, Critical Thinking, Investing, Economics, Supply Chain, Financial Analysis, DCF Modeling, Revenue Analysis, Excel Expert, Investment Committee Advisory, Investments, Portfolio Management, Equity Investment, Quantitative Finance, Budget Modeling, Regression Modeling, Statistical Analysis
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