Christopher Smart is Head of Macroeconomic & Geopolitical Research and leads analyses of economic trends, political developments and financial markets, drawing from the diverse perspectives of Barings' investment teams. Christopher has worked in the investment industry since 1995, managing top-performing international and emerging markets portfolios. He has also served as a senior economic policy official at the U.S. Treasury and White House. From 2013 to 2015, Christopher served as Special Assistant to the President at the National Economic Council and the National Security Council, where he was principal advisor on trade, investment and global economic issues. Christopher also spent four years as Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Treasury. Earlier in his career, he was an advisor to the Russian Finance Ministry following the collapse of the Soviet Union and a journalist in Florida and France. Christopher holds a B.A. in History from Yale University and a Ph.D. in International Relations from Columbia University.