Oxford SWF Project

Ashby Monk

The research is done. The papers are written. The book is at the Press. And, alas, the funding has finally run out. After three years (one year longer than we had initially planned), the Oxford SWF Project will be coming to an end this month. Big thanks to everybody that made this research project possible! It’s been nothing short of awesome. Seriously.

What next? Well, as far as research goes, I’ll continue on at Oxford as a Senior Research Associate (basically doing the same type of stuff we’ve been doing here). However, I’ll be prioritizing my work at Stanford University for the time being. We’re doing some really interesting stuff on the organizational design and institutional governance of long-term investors, which is where my interests continue to take me. So if you’re looking, that’s probably where I’ll be.

But what about the blog, Ashby? Actually, that’s a good question; I myself wasn’t altogether sure what I’d do with the blog until a few months ago. Truth be told, the original idea for me to write a daily blog wasn’t even mine (all the credit goes to this young phenom for dragging me into this medium). And, initially, I was quite skeptical of the blog’s value (especially when contrasted with the inordinate amount of time it required). But, over time, the blog became an integral part of my writing and thinking process, grounding my work in the real world and forcing me to be (somewhat) creative on a daily basis. And, beyond the personal benefits, a handful of  people actually found it useful, which was a neat bonus.

So, despite my wife’s exasperated questioning (“Seriously? You’re going to keep writing the blog? No, really?”), I’ve decided I’m going to keep writing the blog. And I’m extremely pleased (and honored) that my new home for daily mutterings about sovereigns (and more) will be Institutional Investor. Why Institutional Investor? It was quite important that my new blog’s home be ‘neutral’ and ‘objective’, and Institutional Investor is a publication that’s been around for over five decades and has the highest standards of journalistic and academic integrity. So it’s a good fit for me. (Though it remains to be seen if I’m a good fit for them!)

Anyway, later this month, I’ll cease to post on this website and begin posting the same kind of stuff over on my new blog’s home. More details forthwith, but I just wanted to be as open about this transition as possible. The way I see it, closing the Oxford SWF Project is really just the end of the beginning. I’m now looking forward to the beginning of the middle.