Peter Bernstein dies aged 90

US economist and financial historian Peter Bernstein, a well-known promulgator of the efficient market theory, died on June 5.

Bernstein wrote numerous journal articles and nine books, the most famous of which was the best-selling history of risk, Against the gods. He served on the visiting committee to the economics department at Harvard University and lectured widely on risk management, asset allocation, portfolio strategy and market history.

He delivered the keynote address at Risk's Alternative Risk Strategies conference in New York in 2001, where he admitted being distracted from the importance of the applications of mathematical models (such as the Black-Scholes option pricing model) by the mathematical and modelling accomplishments of the creators.

"That [mathematical] work is useless without also looking at the laws of decision-making," he concluded. "Information is only the first step. You also have to understand intentions." Even so, he applauded trends such as the convergence of insurance and capital markets that had created the alternative risk solutions field. "Finance is one of the most innovative fields there is - that's why it attracts so many creative people," he said.

See also: Bernstein admits change of heart at ARS conference