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Mark G. Brennan, Adjunct Associate Professor of Business Ethics in the Business & Society Program at Stern, talks about his views on investing in Afghanistan: "In order to invest in Afghanistan, one has to be able to stomach the political, legal, infrastructural, and military risks involved. The upside of investing in Afghanistan is that there is currently nothing there, so you're getting in there early, and the one thing I will say in support of this idea is that I'm very big on contrarian bets. So when you look at Afghanistan where nothing is going right and if you can accept all the risks, then maybe the best time to invest in Afghanistan is now."

Here are the questions we asked Brennan:

In 1982, the GDP of Lebanon dropped 36%. What has been the growth for the last 30 years?

At the peak of the housing boom in 2007, which hedge fund managers went short?

Name the country that was invaded by Russia and where the economy collapsed 20 years ago.

What do you think about investing in Afghanistan?

What is the potential of investing in the Afghan education system?

What are your expectations about Afghanistan's economy and returns?

More about Mark G. Brennan:

Professor Brennan is a doctoral candidate in history at the University of Pennsylvania. Under the guidance of Bruce Kuklick and Walter McDougall, he is writing his dissertation on the activities of American Protestant missionaries in Cuba between 1898 and 1950. His research interests include U.S. diplomatic and economic history, twentieth century global politics, and the history of classical economics.

A graduate of the College of the Holy Cross (AB), Cornell University (MBA), New York University (MA), and the University of Pennsylvania (MA), Professor Brennan has lectured and taught at both the College of Arts and Sciences and the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, the Whitman School of Management at Syracuse University, Cornell University’s Johnson Graduate School of Management, and in Cuba, at the University of Havana.

Prior to joining the Stern School, Professor Brennan worked as an equity analyst and portfolio manager covering the financial services industry for several asset management firms and hedge funds. Before his career as an investor Professor Brennan was a CPA at Price Waterhouse working for a variety of banking and financial services clients. He has served on the boards of the Bank and Financial Analyst Association, the Rude Mechanicals Theater Company, and policy think tanks. Professor Brennan is also the American editor of the Quarterly Review, a British literary magazine founded in 1809.

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