Richard S. Bookbinder

Richard S. Bookbinder is Senior Advisor to the Brown Advisory Student-Managed Investment Fund Program at Washington College.

Education 

B.A. in Economics, Upsala College

Campus and Community Service 

• Served on the Washington College Board of Visitors and Governors Investment Committee.
• Served as Chairman of the Washington College President’s Leadership Council.
• 2017 recipient of the Washington College President’s Medal.
• Served as an external advisor to the Wharton Hedge Fund Club at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School.
• Member of the West Orange (NJ) Community Band.

Professional Career

Founded TerraVerde Capital Management and actively managed TerraVerde Capital Partners LP, a green-investing investment fund that focused on sustainability with investments including clean tech, renewable energy, water, and agriculture.

A Founding Principal of Sandler O’Neill & Partners, L.P, a leading investment bank specializing in financial institutions.  Previously was a Limited Partner and Associate Director in fixed-income sales at Bear, Stearns & Co. Inc. 

Previously a member of US SIF, the American Council on Renewable Energy, and CERES, and a past member of the Board of Trustees of the Darrow School, New Lebanon, NY, and a past member of The Intentional Endowments Network and member of the Founders Circle of the Croatan Institute. 

My book, Fund of Funds Investing: a Roadmap to Portfolio Diversification, was published by John Wiley & Sons in 2009.

Research Spotlight

Well thought out investment decision making requires in-depth knowledge of the financial markets along with rigorous quantitative and qualitative thinking. The program’s objectives give students the opportunity and skills to manage a real $1.4 million investment portfolio (Sept 2023 market value) and learn how the financial markets work and react to financial news and current events.

I formed the investment management firm Bookbinder Capital Management LLC and  was actively involved in all aspects of fund management. One of the Funds created, TerraVerde Capital Partners LP, was a multi manager infrastructure fund that focused on sustainability, clean tech, and renewable energy. Because of my interest and awareness of the issues of global warming, climate change, and impact on the financial markets, I have been in a unique position to incorporate sustainability awareness into the Brown Advisory Fund program with our students who will be the next generation of stewards of our planet.   

Teaching

I have been part of the Washington College community for over ten years acting as Senior Advisor to the Brown Advisory Student Fund. Part of my role is to mentor students both academically in the classroom and prepare those who seek opportunities in the financial services industry or other career paths. In addition, I provide advice and counseling to students as they pursue job prospects for internships as well as provide guidance in their decision-making.

Fun stuff

The best part of the College experience is seeing the students react to real-life situations outside of the classroom. The real life experiential learning has included managing an investment portfolio during the Great Financial Crisis followed by global economies shuttering in the spring of 2020 (using Zoom to continue our for classes) and now continuing our strategy in the Fall 2023 in a rapidly rising interest rate scenario.

Other activities during the past several years have included class field trips to Boston to meet senior management at GE, several trips to  Berkshire Hathaway annual meetings in Omaha along with meeting Warren Buffett in a private setting, and annual visits to Baltimore to meet senior Brown Advisory investment professionals. In addition, Zoom calls with many companies as well as investment professionals, alums, and academics from other colleges and universities have become an important part of our investment approach.  The preparation for each trip and Zoom call along with the actual visits and recap upon returning to Campus has been  the fun part of my “job.”

While not on campus, I enjoy travel with my wife Arlene to exotic and interesting places, taking loads of pictures and then processing them, scuba diving, and playing in a community band. And, playing with my two grandsons (their Dad, Jonathan, is a 2010 Washington College grad).