Abby Joseph Cohen

Abby Joseph Cohen
Born	(1952-02-29) February 29, 1952 Queens, New York, U.S.
Occupation(s)	Economist, financial analyst, professor
Years active	1973–2022
Known for	Chief Investment Strategist at Goldman Sachs, economic forecasting

Abby Joseph Cohen (born February 29, 1952) is a prominent American economist and financial analyst active on Wall Street. She holds a professorship in business at Columbia Business School. In 1999, Fortune Magazine recognized her as one of the most influential women in the corporate world. American Banker Magazine ranked her as the second most powerful woman in the finance sector, while Ladies Home Journal included her among the top 30 most powerful women in the United States. Cohen has been a regular presence on Barron's list of the 100 most influential women in finance since its inception.

Her professional tenure at Goldman Sachs spanned thirty years, where she served as Chief Investment Strategist until March 2008 and subsequently led the Global Markets Institute until her retirement in 2022. Her career achievements have been documented in a Harvard Business School case study, featured on the cover of BusinessWeek, and profiled in The New Yorker.

Family and education

Born into a Jewish family in Queens, New York, Cohen is the daughter of Raymond and Shirley (née Silverstein) Joseph. She completed her secondary education at Martin Van Buren High School in Queens. Cohen earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics and computer science from Cornell University in 1973, followed by a Master of Science in economics from George Washington University in 1976. She has been awarded three honorary doctorates, including one in engineering, and obtained her Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) credential in 1980.

She is married to David M. Cohen, and together they have two daughters.

Career

Cohen’s professional journey began in 1973 as an economist at the Federal Reserve Board in Washington, D.C., where she worked until 1977. She later held roles as an economist and director of quantitative research at T. Rowe Price Associates. Between 1983 and 1988, she was vice president responsible for investment strategy at Drexel Burnham Lambert.

Following Drexel’s downfall amid the Michael Milken scandal, Cohen briefly joined Barclays de Zoete Wedd before moving to Goldman Sachs in 1990 as vice president and co-chair of its Investment Policy Committee. She advanced to managing director in 1996 and became a partner by 1998.

Successes and failures

Cohen earned widespread acclaim for forecasting the 1990s bull market, receiving Institutional Investor’s top strategist honors in both 1998 and 1999. CNBC coined the term "The Abby Effect" during the March 2000 market downturn after she recommended reducing holdings in internet stocks. Nevertheless, she was criticized for maintaining an optimistic outlook in August 2000, shortly before the recession linked to the 9/11 attacks unfolded.

Similar to many Wall Street experts, she underestimated the magnitude of the 2008 financial crisis. In late 2007, her team at Goldman Sachs projected that the S&P 500 would reach 1,675 during 2008—the highest estimate among Wall Street analysts—but adjusted this forecast downward by January 2008. The index ultimately declined to 741 by November of that year. In March 2008, David Kostin replaced her as Goldman Sachs’ chief forecaster for U.S. equities.

Civic works

Abby Joseph Cohen has held trustee positions at several institutions including Cornell University, Weill Cornell Medicine, and the Brookings Institution. From 2009 through 2015, she chaired the Board of Trustees for the Jewish Theological Seminary of America. Additionally, she served as chair of the Chartered Financial Analysts Institute board and was vice chair of the Economic Club of New York. Cohen participated on the Smithsonian Institution’s national board and currently provides economic policy guidance to New York State’s legislature and Division of Financial Services. During President Obama’s administration, she contributed to the President's Task Force on Innovation and Global Economic Competitiveness.

Alongside her husband, Cohen has supported numerous cultural organizations such as the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, American Museum of Natural History, Museum of Modern Art, and Metropolitan Opera.