George Magnus

George Magnus is an independent economist and commentator, an associate at the China Centre, Oxford University and an adviser to some asset management companies.

From 2012-2016, Mr. Magnus was an externally contracted senior economic adviser to UBS Investment Bank, where he had previously been employed in this capacity between 2006-2012, and prior to this, as Chief Economist from 1995-2006. During this time, he served for a few years as the Chair of the Investment Committee of the Trustee Board of UBS (UK) pension and life assurance fund.

Before joining UBS, Mr Magnus had been the Chief Economist at S.G. Warburg (1987-1995), Chief International Economist at Chase Securities (1985-1987) and Head of Economics for Europe, the Middle East and Africa at Bank of America (1977-1985). Mr Magnus received an MSc. Econ from the School of Oriental and African Studies, did postgraduate research at the University of Illinois and taught economics at the University of Westminster and at Illinois.

Over many years, Mr. Magnus has researched and written about the global economy. He received plaudits for having predicted a “Minsky Moment” in 2007 as the world’s financial crisis was starting to erupt. In the long shadows of that crisis, and through the Euro crisis, a decade of expansion that has felt disappointing, the eruption of western populism and the evolution of a more authoritarian and assertive China, he has posed trenchant questions and offered thoughtful insights.

He is married, has four children and lives in north London.