Patrick J. Cusatis, Ph.D.

Patrick J. Cusatis, Ph.D. is a co-founder and principal of Applied Finance Partners, LLC.  He is an Assistant Professor of Finance at the Pennsylvania State University at Harrisburg.  Dr. Cusatis created and managed derivative portfolios for First Union and Tucker Anthony.  He was formerly a Vice President for Lehman Brothers where he specialized in municipal derivative securities  Dr. Cusatis has consulted to numerous corporations, banks and municipalities concerning derivative securities and other financial issues. 

Dr. Cusatis has published numerous articles in books and journals including the Journal of Financial Economics, the Journal of Applied Corporate Finance, and the Municipal Finance Journal. His research has been highlighted extensively in the financial press, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Barron’s, Fortune, Forbes, and Business Week.  He is co-author of Municipal Derivative Securities: Uses and Valuation (Irwin, 1994) and The Streetsmart Guide to Valuing a Stock (McGraw-Hill, 1999, 2004) and  Hedging Instruments and Risk Management (McGraw-Hill, 2005).  Dr. Cusatis received a B.S. and a Ph.D. in Finance from The Pennsylvania State University.

Martin R. Thomas, Ph.D.

Martin R. Thomas, Ph.D. is a co-founder and principal of Applied Finance Partners, LLC.  He specializes in financial modeling, derivative valuation and statistical modeling.  Dr. Thomas was formerly a Vice President for Advanta Corporation where he was head of portfolio management for Advanta Mortgage.  Prior to his work in portfolio management, he ran Advanta Information Management.  He has held both line and staff positions in industry and has worked with mortgage, credit card, insurance, leasing, and retail companies.
 

Dr. Thomas also serves as an Executive in Residence in the Bennett S. LeBow College of Business at Drexel University, where he teaches graduate finance and statistics courses.  He has published in numerous academic journals where his research focuses on mutual fund performance and valuation.  He is the co-author of Hedging Instruments and Risk Management (McGraw-Hill, 2005).  He has been awarded the Graduate Business Association Distinguished Professor Award, the LeBow College Excellence in Teaching Award, and is a two-time recipient of the Dean’s Prize for Outstanding Teaching.  He earned a Ph.D. in Finance from the Pennsylvania State University.