Charles Gave. Photo: Thinkerview, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Charles_Gave_Thinkerview.png
School period
College/University
Gallery of Charles Gave
Institut d'études politiques de Toulouse. Photo: Didier Descouens, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Manufacture_des_Tabacs_(Toulouse).jpg)
Institut d'études politiques de Toulouse. Photo: Didier Descouens, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Manufacture_des_Tabacs_(Toulouse).jpg)
Charles Jean Gave is a French economist, financial executive, entrepreneur, and writer. He founded Cecogest, co-founded Cursitor-Eaton Asset Management, and later founded Gavekal, becoming known for research on tactical asset allocation and for essays defending economic liberalism and monetary sovereignty.
Background
Gave was born on September 14, 1943, in Aleppo, Syria, to Pierre Edouard Gave and Marie Claire Gave. His family background connected him with the French-speaking professional milieu of the Levant during the final years of the French mandate's regional aftermath.
He later established his professional and family life in France, the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, and other international financial centers. His children include Emmanuelle, Louis Vincent, Pauline, and Edouard Gave.
Education
Gave studied at the Institut d'Études Politiques de Toulouse and at the Faculty of Economics in Toulouse, where he obtained qualifications in economics, including a DESS. The Toulouse institutions formed part of France's postwar system of specialized higher education in political science and economics.
He also completed a Master of Science in Management at the State University of New York at Binghamton. The university, founded in 1946 as a public institution in the State University of New York system, developed a strong emphasis on graduate education and research, giving his training an international and management-oriented dimension.
Gave began his financial career at Banque de Suez, where he worked as a financial analyst from 1970 to 1973. Banque de Suez was part of the French banking sector that supported corporate finance, investment activity, and international financial operations during the postwar expansion of European markets.
In 1974 he founded Cecogest in Paris, an independent research firm specializing in tactical asset allocation. Through Cecogest, he provided research and advice to institutional investors and served an international client base for approximately twelve years. The firm placed him within the developing professional field of quantitative and macroeconomic investment research.
In 1981 Gave moved to London and co-founded Cursitor-Eaton Asset Management. He served as chief investment officer and was responsible for investment policy while managing more than 10 billion U.S. dollars under global asset-allocation mandates. Cursitor-Eaton was sold to Alliance Capital in 1995, and Gave remained with Alliance until 1999.
In 2000 he founded Gavekal in Hong Kong with his son Louis-Vincent Gave and Anatole Kaletsky. Gavekal developed as a research and investment-management business focused on global markets and the growing importance of Asia in the world economy. Gave later served as its founder and chairman, while also participating in boards and financial initiatives associated with international investment.
Gave became president of the Institut des Libertés, an independent French think tank established as a fund dedicated to research, education, and discussion concerning liberty. Through the institute he published essays, commentary, and interviews on economic policy, monetary institutions, political economy, and the role of the state.
Achievements
Founded Cecogest in 1974 as an independent research firm specializing in tactical asset allocation and serving institutional investors internationally.
Co-founded Cursitor-Eaton Asset Management and served as chief investment officer while the firm managed more than 10 billion U.S. dollars under global asset-allocation mandates.
Founded Gavekal in Hong Kong, developing an international research and investment-management business with a focus on global markets and Asia.
Established a public profile as an author and commentator on economic liberalism, monetary policy, financial markets, and the role of the state.
(A collection of essays and commentaries on liberalism, po...)
2016
Religion
Gave is a Roman Catholic. Catholicism is the largest tradition within Christianity and is organized around sacramental worship, ecclesiastical continuity, and the teaching authority of the Church.
His book Un libéral nommé Jésus examined the relationship between Christian teachings and economic liberalism, treating the words of Jesus as material for political and economic reflection. The work forms part of his broader public engagement with religion, social order, and individual responsibility.
Views
Gave's published work expresses a classical liberal outlook centered on individual responsibility, economic freedom, entrepreneurship, and limits on state intervention. He has criticized excessive regulation, technocratic administration, and monetary arrangements that, in his view, weaken market discipline and national accountability.
His analysis also emphasizes the importance of demographics, technological innovation, institutional quality, and monetary sovereignty in determining economic outcomes. His essays combine financial analysis with broader arguments about political responsibility, social order, and the relationship between liberty and public policy.
Interests
Reading and writing on economics, finance, political economy, and liberal political thought.
Connections
Gave married Chantal Anne Bège. They have four children: Emmanuelle, Louis Vincent, Pauline, and Edouard Gave. Louis Vincent Gave later became a financial professional and worked with his father in establishing Gavekal.
Father:
Pierre Edouard Gave
Mother:
Marie Claire Gave
Spouse:
Chantal Anne Bège
child:
Emmanuelle Gave
Worked with her father in connection with the Institut des Libertés.
child:
Edouard Gave
child:
Pauline Gave
child:
Louis Vincent Gave
Financial professional and co-founder of Gavekal with Charles Gave and Anatole Kaletsky.
References
Gavekal Research biography of Charles Gave
Documents Gave's education, work at Banque de Suez, founding of Cecogest, co-founding of Cursitor-Eaton Asset Management, founding of Gavekal, and international career.
Institut des Libertés biography
Documents Gave's role as president of the Institut des Libertés and his authorship of essays on economic liberalism and the euro.
SCOR 2011 Annual Report
Provides a professional biography describing Gave's research in tactical asset allocation, Cecogest, Cursitor-Eaton Asset Management, Alliance Capital, and Gavekal.
2011
Institut des Libertés brochure
Documents Gave's professional background and his role in the creation and leadership of the Institut des Libertés.
