William F. Sharpe | |
|---|---|
 Sharpe in 2007 | |
| Born | June 16, 1934 Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Alma mater | University of California, Los Angeles (BA, MA, PhD) |
| Known for | Capital asset pricing model Sharpe ratio |
| Awards | Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences (1990) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Economics |
| Institutions | William F. Sharpe Associates Stanford University University of California, Irvine University of Washington 1961–68 RAND Corporation |
| Doctoral advisor | Armen Alchian Harry Markowitz (unofficial) |
| Doctoral students | Howard Sosin |
William Forsyth Sharpe (born June 16, 1934) is an American economist. He is the STANCO 25 Professor of Finance, Emeritus at Stanford University's Graduate School of Business, and the winner of the 1990 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences.
Sharpe was one of the originators of the capital asset pricing model (CAPM). He created the Sharpe ratio for risk-adjusted investment performance analysis, and he contributed to the development of the binomial method for the valuation of options, the gradient method for asset allocation optimization, and returns-based style analysis for evaluating the style and performance of investment funds.