Alexander Braun

Alexander Braun is Associate Professor of Insurance and Capital Markets at the University of St.Gallen, where he directs the Institute of Insurance Economics. He holds a Ph.D. in Finance from St.Gallen and previously worked in Lehman Brothers' capital markets division. His research specializes in insurance-linked securities, InsurTech innovation, and risk transfer mechanisms, with awards from the Casualty Actuarial Society and International Actuarial Association.

Research focuses on three interconnected areas: 1) Design and pricing of catastrophe bonds and cyber ILS, employing factor models for risk-adjusted returns; 2) Digital insurance transformation, including blockchain applications and on-demand insurance models; 3) Climate risk finance, examining extreme weather impacts on equity markets and corporate finance. Methodologies combine empirical analysis, stochastic modeling, and mechanism design.

Publications demonstrate consistent innovation in risk transfer mechanisms, notably developing novel pricing frameworks for natural catastrophe bonds and cyber ILS. Recent work extends to DAO governance design, climate risk integration in asset pricing, and optimal regulatory interventions for extreme events. Industry collaborations include projects on trade finance insurance and blockchain implementation.

Dr. Braun leads SNSF-funded projects on insurance-linked securities valuation and teaches graduate courses in risk management, InsurTech, and blockchain applications. He serves on editorial boards of Journal of Risk and Insurance and Geneva Risk Papers, with significant media contributions to Swiss and German outlets on insurance innovation topics.