David Kotok co-founded Cumberland Advisors in 1973 and during his career served as its Chief Investment Officer, CEO, and Board Chairman. David’s articles and financial market commentaries have appeared in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Barron’s, and other publications. He is a contributor or source to Bloomberg, Yahoo, CNN, Reuters, USA Today, and other media. He holds a B.S. in economics from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, an M.S. in organizational dynamics from the School of Arts and Sciences at the University of Pennsylvania, and an M.A. in philosophy from the University of Pennsylvania.
David has authored or co-authored five books, including The Fed and the Flu: Parsing Pandemic Economic Shocks (February 2025, www.thefedandtheflu.com), From Bear to Bull with ETFs (now in its second edition), and Adventures in Muniland. His latest book, The Fed and the Flu, examines how pandemic economic shocks have played out across history and how the Federal Reserve responded to the COVID-19 pandemic shock.
He has also written three monograph pamphlets. The first of these is “Lessons from Thucydides,” which details information asymmetries and their implications for investors and world affairs. The second is “Zika,” a work that compiles David’s research, interviews, and personal experience concerning the Zika virus and its potential for serious damage in the way of health and monetary costs. The expense for individuals can be devastating; and in the case of governments, ballooning health budgets may affect municipal bond ratings. The third is “Yield Curve Control – The story of ZIRP and NIRP.” The yield curve is usually defined as the range of yields on Treasury securities from three-month Treasury bills to 30-year Treasury bonds. David’s narrative and graphics tell the story of ZIRP (zero interest rate policy) and NIRP (negative interest rate policy) and explore what happens when central banks use YCC to control interest rates along some portion of the yield curve.
David has served as Program Chairman and as a Director of the Global Interdependence Center (GIC), www.interdependence.org/, whose mission is to encourage the expansion of global dialogue and free trade in order to improve cooperation and understanding among nation states, with the goal of reducing international conflicts and improving worldwide living standards. David chaired its Central Banking Series and organized a five-continent dialogue held in Cape Town, Hong Kong, Hanoi, Milan, Paris, Philadelphia, Prague, Rome, Santiago, Shanghai, Singapore, Tallinn, and Zambia (Livingstone). He has received the Global Citizen Award from GIC for his efforts. In conjunction with GIC, David organizes fishing retreats, primarily in Maine, that are affectionately known as “Camp Kotok” by friends and many in the financial press. More about those retreats can be found at www.cumber.com/about/camp-kotok and at David’s personal website, www.davidkotok.com/.
David has also been an avid supporter of and advocate for the work of Florida’s Climate Adaptation Center since its creation. In recognition of his efforts, the CAC honored him as a 2025 Climate Champion.
The information posted on this website (including any related blog, podcasts, videos, and social media) reflects the personal opinions, viewpoints, and analyses of David Kotok, and should not be regarded as the views of Cumberland Advisors Inc., its Officers, Directors or employees or as a description of advisory services. David R. Kotok is currently an independent contractor and not an employee of Cumberland Advisors, Inc. He may independently receive payments from various entities for consulting, advisory and board functions, speaking fees, book royalties, advertisements in affiliated podcasts, blogs, and emails. Inclusion of such advertisements does not constitute or imply endorsement, sponsorship, or recommendation thereof, or any affiliation therewith, by the Content Creator, by David R. Kotok, or by Cumberland Advisors, Inc., or any of its employees.
Nothing on this website constitutes investment advice, performance data or any recommendation that any particular security, portfolio of securities, transaction or investment strategy is suitable for any specific person. It also should not be construed as an offer soliciting the purchase or sale of any security mentioned. Nor should it be construed as an offer to provide investment advisory services by David Kotok. The information provided on this website (including any information that may be accessed through this website) is not directed at any investor or category of investors and is provided solely as general information.
This content, which may contain security-related opinions and/or information, is provided for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon in any manner as investment advice, or an endorsement of any practices, products or services. There can be no guarantees or assurances that the views expressed here will be applicable for any particular facts or circumstances and should not be relied upon in any manner. You should consult your own advisers as to legal, business, tax, and other related matters concerning any investment. Investments in securities involve the risk of loss. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.
Any charts provided here are for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon when making any investment decision. Any indices referenced for comparison are unmanaged and cannot be invested into directly. As always please remember investing involves risk and possible loss. Any projections, estimates, forecasts, targets, prospects and/or opinions expressed in these materials are subject to change without notice and may differ or be contrary to opinions expressed by others. Information in charts has been obtained from third-party sources deemed to be reliable. While taken from sources believed to be reliable, David Kotok makes no representations about the accuracy of the information or its appropriateness for a given situation. All content speaks only as of the date indicated.
