Dr Fergal O'Connor
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Senior Lecturer
Economics AL2.27 Áras na Laoi Cork University Business School University College Cork
Biography
Dr. Fergal O’Connor is a senior lecturer in Financial Economics whose research specialises in precious metals markets, financial history and the economics of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beer. He currently teaches modules in: Quantitative Finance, Sustainable Finance, Financial Ethics and Research methods to postgraduate students.
Fergal’s research on the Financial Economics of precious metals markets focuses on their long run history. He has developed missing datasets of gold and silver prices to address issues in these markets over the long term. This research in this area has been quoted in Bloomberg, the Wall Street Journal, Reuters and RTE. He also researches issues around the demand for Alcoholic and Non-Alcoholic beer and has been featured in the Examiner newspaper.
He mentors with Dr. Sean Kenny on a Research Ireland Pathways funded project, “External Shocks and Fiscal sustainability”. He also supervises four PhD students covering topics such as: ESG Investment strategies, Global carbon market interlinkages, Long-run uncertainty in the Irish economy, and financial literacy in the Gulf Co-Operation Council countries.
He holds a PhD in Finance from Trinity College Dublin which was funded by the London Bullion Market Association and is a fellow of the Higher Education Academy. He has previously lectured in a number of universities in the UK such as the University of York, York St. John University and the University of Central Lancashire. Fergal leads the workload planning committee in the Business School in UCC, as well as being co-programme director for the MSc. Finance (Banking and Risk Management). He is External Examiner for Finance in the University of Northampton (2021-2026) and was previously external examiner for finance in Durham Business School (2018-2021).
He is a member of the Editorial Advisory Board of the Global Commodities Applied Research Digest (GCARD) in J.P. Morgan Centre for Commodities at the University of Colorado, Denver Business School, and an Associate Editor at two peer-reviewed ABS ranked journals: "International Review of Financial Analysis" and "Research in International Business and Finance".
He has contributed to a liquidity measurement project as an expert academic advisor for the London Bullion Market Association in relation to Basel III committee discussions. He also works with the World Gold Council as an academic advisor validating and developing their Gold Valuation Framework. He delivers executive education on gold pricing issues at industry events such as the 2019 Evolve Summit in New York, and at the annual WGC Central Bank Executive Programme in Gold Reserves Management.
He is a principal investigator with Environmental Research Institute (ERI) in UCC offering expertise on carbon markets dynamics and executive education on Sustainable Finance to organisations such as the Department of Foreign Affairs.