Oktay Kurbanov

Partner

Oktay Kurbanov, the Head of Research at CLIFI, leverages his 25 years of experience in research-driven investment management. By applying his expertise in derivatives, research, and analytics, he contributes to the firm’s mission of delivering innovative financial products in the climate space and environmental finance. As part of CLIFI’s collaboration with IHS Markit, Oktay played a significant role in the development of the IHS Markit methodology for the IHS Global Carbon Index. 

Kurbanov started his career at Goldman Sachs Asset Management as an analyst. In 1998, he was one of the original 14 people at AQR Capital Management when the firm launched its $1B flagship Absolute Return Fund, later becoming Principal in 2005. During his tenure at AQR, Kurbanov focused on developing and enhancing research, portfolio optimization and trade generation infrastructure, with emphasis on derivatives and asset allocation strategies. As AQR expanded to become a major global investment manager, with peak asset under management exceeding $225B, Kurbanov established and led the Portfolio Implementation function. This team was responsible for managing a variety of investment products, ranging from long-only equity mandates with derivatives-based alpha overlays to complex and leveraged multi-strategy vehicles. Under his leadership, the team held ultimate responsibility for approving all trading, cash flow, rebalancing, and other implementation decisions affecting the portfolios. 

In addition to his work at CLIFI, Kurbanov serves as a member of the Advisory Board for the Center for Sustainable Business at NYU. The center focuses on collaborating with companies to embed sustainability into their core business strategies. Kurbanov earned an M.B.A. in Finance and Statistics from NYU’s Stern School of Business and a B.S. in Physics and Mathematics from the University of Michigan.