In his research and engagement with the business and policy communities, Tufano’s work centers on three major topics:
For a full listing of his work, see his curriculum vitae.
Consumer Finance: Over the past decade, Peter Tufano has worked to advance the academic field of consumer finance, with a particular emphasis on applying research insights to better meet the financial service needs of everyday households. This work, blending finance, psychology, sociology, history, and management, has influenced businesses and policy makers, leading to two changes in US federal tax policy, new models for savings products, and new approaches to financial education.
His July 2011 Harvard Business Review article, written with three Harvard colleagues, provides advice to the head of the new US Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and his newest work looks financial fragility of households across the world as well as consumer responses to new credit card disclosures.
To support other researchers in this nascent field, Tufano co-founded the National Bureau of Economic Research’s Household Finance working group. He has brought consumer finance into the classroom, collaborating to create a joint HBS and Harvard Law School offering on the topic. He is an advisor to businesses and policymakers about consumer finance issues, including sitting on the FDIC’s Advisory Committee on Economic Inclusion and more recently accepting a similar role in the UK as an academic advisor to the Behavioral Insights Team that is applying behavioural economics principles to regulation.
Finally, as a social entrepreneur, Tufano founded and chairs a ten year old nonprofit (Doorways to Dreams Fund ) that works with partner organizations to test and promote innovations to serve low income households’ financial needs.
Risk Management and Financial Engineering: Tufano’s second stream of work focuses on risk management and financial engineering. This work has been published in top academic journals, as well as the Harvard Business Review, and a variety of books. His paper on risk management practices in the gold mining industry shared the Smith-Breeden prize for the best paper published in the Journal of Finance. He developed an MBA course on Corporate Financial Engineering, co-authored a casebook on this topic, and engages with businesses around these issues. In particular, he is a Trustee and member of the Executive Committee of the Global Association of Risk Professionals.
Mutual Funds: Tufano's work in mutual funds, especially his cross country research on mutual fund fees and the apparent benefits of broker-sold funds, has led to lively debate among business people and regulators. Tufano served as Independent Distribution Consultant to the SEC and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in regard to market timing issues, and currently serves as an independent director of various mutual funds.