Best 40-Under-40 Professor Ludovic Phalippou

Ludovic Phalippou of Oxford's Said Business School is among the 40 best business school profs under 40

Ludovic Phalippou of Oxford’s Said Business School is among the 40 best business school profs under 40

Ludovic Phalippou

Associate Professor of Finance

Age: 37

Institution:  University of Oxford, Said Business School 

Since: January 2011

Before current institution: University of Amsterdam

Hometown:  Albi, France

Marital status: Single

Children: one daughter

Education:  INSEAD PhD Finance

Courses currently teaching: Asset Management, Private Equity (for MBAs and EMBAs)

Fun fact: I use ‘monkeys’ quite a lot to teach Asset Management (AM). A central concept in AM is that of a benchmark–and it is best understood (I think) as “what a monkey would achieve”; there are also naughty monkeys (who will eat your lunch); there was also a monkey mutual fund in the Netherlands (true story)–it outperformed for a while, attracted lots of attention and money, and then did not and was shut down; there are smart monkeys (those who diversify); and dumb monkeys (who do not), etc. Never think you can beat a monkey is a big takeaway from the course.

Professor you most admire: Dan Ariely (Duke)

Most memorable moment as a professor: An EMBA student asking something like, “What makes you think you can teach me something about private equity?” in the first minute of my first presentation of my elective course to EMBA, which I was teaching for the very first time. I think I had a good answer, because she took the course and said she very much enjoyed it and learned a lot from it–afterwards.

“If I weren’t a B-school professor…” I’d be a politician or an entrepreneur (depending on how much would be in my savings account)

Students say: 

Ludo’s courses provide not only outstanding value to students, but they are also a remarkable experience.

The design of the courses is brilliant, building up momentum in every lecture and revealing new paradigms by criticizing the previous ones, creating a very powerful learning dynamic. He is an expert in both private equity and asset management, providing crystal-clear concepts and explaining every detail of the actual practices. He shares controversial views on both and fosters debate in a very provocative style, managing class discussion impeccably, all of this with a French accent.

He brings top guests to class (and is not afraid to challenge them), includes the latest research in his lectures, makes the students negotiate PE deals with real bankers providing debt … everything you could wish for in a course like that.

His style is exceptional. He is always open to help students and he enjoys his courses a lot. You can see he enjoys lecturing. Add that to his passion for the subjects and his expertise in the field, and the result is extraordinary.

-Rodrigo Tosti Ibáñez, Oxford MBA, Class of 2012

Ludovic is an excellent professor who skillfully combines practitioner’s perspective with financial theory for classes and assignments.  He invites students to question the underlying fundamentals of the private equity industry instead of merely learning its mechanics.  He engages with students in a way that is jovial and yet earnest, often bringing laughter to what was for me a Friday morning class. 

-Aunnie Patton, Oxford MBA, Class of 2012

Class Reviews: 

One of the best classes I took at Oxford.  If you want more understanding of the entire investment market, this class is wonderful.

Ludo provides more of academic view on the investment market.  A great value add is that practitioners from Vanguard, Dimension Fund Advisors, and Blackrock among others came and enlightened us on the realities of the market and the different types of funds and securities.
 
Absolutely brilliant lecturer, great class, great guest speakers, real-world content. Course gives you general knowledge of asset management and doesn’t make you an expert. So someone like me from a non-financial background took it as primer, which worked very well.
 
Ludovic Phalippou is renowned on Said Business School’s campus for making finance fun and understandable–no easy feat. The French national weaves entertaining analogies with monkeys to convey complex financial concepts and brings in guest speakers to brief students on market realities. He’s also known for tackling controversial issues, challenging guest speakers, and encouraging in-class debates. Phalippou’s question-and-answer teaching style forces students to question conventional wisdom and their own preconceived ideas.
 
Outside of the classroom, Ludovic is ranked in the top 100 business school researchers worldwide by SSRN.com for the number of downloads of his articles. His research on private equity funds has been published in leading journals such as the Journal of Finance, the Review of Financial Studies and the Journal of Economic Perspectives.
 

Questions about this article? Email us or leave a comment below.