CFDM Co-Directors

Dr. Joe Gladstone is an Assistant Professor of Marketing. His research focuses on understanding the psychological factors that drive people's financial decisions, with the goal of improving society's relationship with money. By analyzing real-world spending data and matching it with psychological profiles, Dr. Gladstone uncovers valuable insights into consumer behavior.

Recognized by Forbes magazine on their 30 Under 30 list in Finance, Dr. Gladstone's research has been published in prestigious academic journals such as the Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Psychology, Psychological Science, and Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. He is also a frequent guest on BBC World News and other media outlets, where he shares his expertise on consumer behavior.

Dr. Gladstone completed his PhD studying financial decision-making at the University of Cambridge, where he also completed an MPhil degree. He also earned an MSc in psychology from the University of Oxford. He teaches courses on consumer behavior, emphasizing behavioral economics, choice architecture ("nudges"), psychographics, and data analysis.

Dr. Asaf Bernstein is an Associate Professor of Finance and a Faculty Research Fellow in the National Bureau of Economic Research. For the 2021-2022 academic year, he is serving as a Senior Advisor for Climate Issues for the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Dr. Bernstein's research interests lie at the intersection of policy and finance, with a focus on "Mostly Harmless Macroprudential Policy" (financial policies supported by plausibly well-identified reduced-form empirics).

Dr. Bernstein's research has examined the effects of financial regulations and institutions, including the Federal Reserve, rating agencies, centralized clearing, and mortgage assistance programs. His work has been published in top-tier journals such as the Journal of Political Economy, Quarterly Journal of Economics, Journal of Finance, Journal of Financial Economics, Review of Financial Studies, and American Economic Journal: Economic Policy. He has received numerous awards, including the 2019 AQR Insight Distinguished Paper Award and the 2016 AQR Top Finance Graduate Award by Copenhagen Business School.

Prior to joining the University of Colorado, Dr. Bernstein completed his PhD in Financial Economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He holds a B.S. in Economics and Mathematics from Harvey Mudd College and has experience as a quantitative trader at an investment bank in New York.