
Listings
Educational Background
- Master of Business Administration, High Honors, Finance and Entrepreneurship, University of Chicago, 2001
- Bachelors of Science, High Honors, Finance, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1990
Positions Held
- Adjunct Faculty, Cboe Options Institute, 2024 to present
- Advisory Committee, University, Campus Honors Program, 2022 to present
- Clinical Assistant Professor, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2022 to present
- Consultant, CME Group, 2022 to present
- Specialized Faculty Advisory Committee, Finance, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, 2021 to present
- Director - Investment Management Acadmey, Finance, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, 2020 to present
- Founder, ESA Impacts, 2020 to present
- Founder & Managing Partner, REX Mundi Consulting, 2020 to present
- Instructor of Finance, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2019-2022
- Senior Portfolio Manager, Wolverine Asset Management, 2014-2020
- CIO/Partner, Satori Investment Partners, 2013-2014
- Managing Director, Head of European Single Manager Platform, UBS O'Connor, 2008-2011
- Executive Director, Co-Head of Derivatives Trading Funds, UBS O'Connor, 2006-2007
- Executive Director, Co-PM of Opportunistic Equity Long/Short Fund, UBS O'Connor, 2005-2006
- Managing Member, Excell Ventures, LLC, 2004 to present
- Managing Director, Co-Head of Global Equities, UBS O'Connor, 2001-2013
- Director, Co-Portfolio Manager for Financials Sector and Head of US Trading for the Fundamental Market Neutral Fund, UBS O'Connor, 2001-2005
- General Manager, Head of FX Options, Sales and Trading, Asia-Pacific, Credit Agricole Indosuez, 1998-2000
- Executive Director, Head of FX Options, Asia-Pacific, Barclay's Capital, 1996-1998
- Executive Vice President, Senior Portfolio Risk Manager, First Chicago Corporation, 1994-1996
- Associate Director, Portfolio Risk Manager, SBC/O'Connor, 1992-1994
- Associate Director, Derivatives Trader, SBC/O'Connor, 1990-1992
Recent Publications
Other Publications
Presentations
- Excell, R. (2024). Digging into Options - a discussion of option overwrite strategies. CFA Society Education Advisory Group webinar series, CFA Society Chicago.
- Excell, R. (2023). ESG in Education. CFA Society Chicago Educational Seminar, CFA Society Chicago.
- Excell, R. (2023). Volatility Views, This Week in Futures Options, Pro Q&A Series. Regular guest, Options Insider Radio Network.
- Excell, R. (2022). DeFi through the lens of traditional finance. DeFi Summit, IDX Insights.
- Excell, R. (2021). Macro Matters. Podcast on macro events driving markets, CFA Society Chicago.
Honors and Awards
- List of Excellent Teachers as Rated by Students, UIUC, 2019-2025, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, 2019 to present
- Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching, Gies Business Alumni Association, 2023-2024
- Campus Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching, Provost at University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, 2023-2024
- Dean's Impact Award, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2022
Current Courses
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Finance Academy (FIN 390) A program aimed at preparing students for Golder Academies open to all second-semester students at Gies. Its goals are to equip students with essential technical skills for career advancement and to enhance their job recruitment understanding. Skills developed will also support academic success in upper-level Finance courses.
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Investment Management Academy (FIN 392) Overview of security analysis with the objective of how to value an investment proposition for inclusion in a portfolio of securities managed by students in the class. Focus will be in areas of fundamental securities analysis with the emphasis on equity valuation. Course will not satisfy Finance major requirements.
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Options and Futures Markets (FIN 412) Introduction of options and futures markets for financial assets; examination of institutional aspects of the markets; theories of pricing; discussion of simple as well as complicated trading strategies (arbitrage, hedging and spread); applications for asset and risk management.
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Applied Derivative Strategies (FIN 416) Building upon the basic options knowledge gained in FIN 412, this course covers volatility trading looking not only at the CBOE VIX product and OTC variance swaps, but also the application of volatility trading across all asset classes with listed products. The most topical options and derivatives structures such as risk parity, risk premia capture, alternative risk premia and volatility targeting are explored at the conclusion of the course.
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Real Client Managed Portfolios (FIN 419) Applies academic topics on financial markets, security analysis/valuation and portfolio management to hands-on investment management. Students will form and review objectives, constraints, and investment policy as it relates to the client's money under management. They will purchase securities, monitor performance of the portfolio, and make recommendations for any adjustments to the holdings. They will be fully educated and responsible to the fiduciary and ethical standards of professional money management as guided by the CFA Institute.
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Cases in Financial Derivatives (FIN 428) This advanced elective course on financial derivatives explores the economic, legal, and regulatory concepts underlying these markets. It uses case studies to examine market weaknesses, design flaws, and regulatory breakdowns, many of which have resulted in major disasters.
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MSF Academy Investment Mgmt (FIN 580) Lectures and discussions relating to new areas of interest. See class schedule for topics and prerequisites.
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MSF Academy II (FIN 586) MSF Academy II builds upon the skills learned in MSF Academy I by focusing within a specific area of the finance industry.
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Applied Portfolio Management (FIN 589) Applies academic topics on financial markets, security analysis/valuation and portfolio management to hands-on investment management. Students will form and review objectives, constraints, and investment policy as it relates to the client's money under management. They will purchase securities, monitor performance of the portfolio, and make recommendations for any adjustments to the holdings. They will be fully educated and responsible for the fiduciary and ethical standards of professional money management as guided by the CFA Institute.
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Financial Mngmt Capstone (MBA 590) This course covers various topics from each iMBA Specialization. Group projects and individual assignments will be required. Students are required to take 2 Specialization Capstones for their iMBA degree.