UC San Diego alumnus Robert Koenigsberger ’87 and his wife, Dilek, endowed $5 million to advance academic research and education in financial markets and investing. In recognition of this generosity, the center has been renamed the Kenneth Kroner ’88, Jennifer Kroner, Robert Koenigsberger ’87, and Dilek Koenigsberger Center for Financial Research, to be commonly known as the Kroner and Koenigsberger Center for Financial Research.
At its core, the center aims to improve the financial security of millions of retirees worldwide. By connecting leading academics with asset owners — such as pension funds, foundations, and sovereign wealth funds — the center conducts research that guides how these institutions protect long-term retirement savings and other assets. Housed at the Rady School of Management in collaboration with the School of Social Sciences, the center is co-directed by Michael Melvin and Graham Elliott.
The new endowment ensures the center’s long-term sustainability and expands its capacity to produce evidence-based research. Advisory councils composed of chief investment officers, academics and industry practitioners enable the center to identify and tackle under-researched topics of high importance. For instance, a center-supported study recently found that active engagement by large investors can lead to measurable improvements in corporate environmental performance, a finding that member pension funds have already used to guide investment strategies.
Robert Koenigsberger, who has chaired the center’s Industry Advisory Council since its inception, believes in the power of bridging the gap between research and real-world application. “Our goal with this gift is to create an enduring ecosystem that brings together asset owners, academics and industry practitioners to explore challenges, share insights and drive solutions and better outcomes for pensioners and asset owners,” said Koenigsberger.
A double major in history and political science with a minor in economics at UC San Diego, Koenigsberger earned an MA from the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from the Wharton School before founding Gramercy, a global investment management firm. His commitment to the university also includes establishing the Robert S. Koenigsberger Chancellor’s Fellowship for graduate students interested in international affairs.
Chancellor Pradeep K. Khosla praised the gift, stating, “We are grateful to Robert and Dilek Koenigsberger for their visionary support, which will strengthen our ability to advance research to improve financial systems and safeguard the long-term security of retirees around the globe.”
