David M. Blitzer (born November 1, 1948) is the former chairman of
S&P Dow Jones Indices
S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC () is a joint venture between S&P Global, the CME Group, and News Corp that was announced in 2011 and later launched in 2012. It produces, maintains, licenses, and markets stock market indices as benchmarks and as the ...
, where he was head of the index committee that determines which stocks are added to the
S&P 500 Index, the
Dow Jones Industrial Average
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA), Dow Jones, or simply the Dow (), is a stock market index of 30 prominent companies listed on stock exchanges in the United States.
The DJIA is one of the oldest and most commonly followed equity inde ...
, and all other
stock market indices
In finance, a stock index, or stock market index, is an index that measures a stock market, or a subset of the stock market, that helps investors compare current stock price levels with past prices to calculate market performance.
Two of the ...
calculated by the company.
He held overall responsibility for index security selection, as well as index analysis and management until retiring in 2019.
[
]
Early life and education
Blitzer received a B.S. in engineering from Cornell University
Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...
, an M.A. in economics from George Washington University
, mottoeng = "God is Our Trust"
, established =
, type = Private federally chartered research university
, academic_affiliations =
, endowment = $2.8 billion (2022)
, preside ...
, and a Ph.D. in economics from Columbia University
Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
.[
]
Career
Blitzer served as chief economist at The McGraw-Hill Companies and equity analyst at S&P Capital IQ Equity Research and S&P Credit Research. Prior to that, he was a senior economic analyst with National Economic Research Associates, Inc. and did consulting work for various government and private sector agencies, including the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, the National Commission on Materials Policy, and Natural Resources Defense Council.[
In 1989, he joined the index committee and he became its chairman in 1995.][
In 2000, Blitzer was ranked 7th on '']SmartMoney
''SmartMoney'' was ''The Wall Street Journal''s magazine of personal business. The finance magazine launched in 1992 by Hearst Corporation and Dow Jones & Company. Its first editor was Norman Pearlstine. In 2010, Hearst sold its stake to Dow Jone ...
''’s list of the 30 most influential people in the world of investing.[
]
Books
Blitzer has written two books, ''What’s the Economy Trying to Tell You? Everyone’s Guide to Understanding and Profiting from the Economy'' (1997) and ''Outpacing the Pros: Using Indices to Beat Wall Street’s Savviest Money Managers'' (2001).
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blitzer, David M
1948 births
Living people
American economists
Cornell University College of Engineering alumni
Columbian College of Arts and Sciences alumni
Columbia Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni