The Risk Cockpit

THE STILL CENTER OF THE TURNING WHEEL

By Jamil Baz, PhD

Risk is often treated as something to be measured, modeled, and managed—but what if the deeper challenge lies in human nature itself? In this edited conversation, Jamil Baz, head of client solutions and analytics at PIMCO, examines the psychological and philosophical roots of our desire to control uncertainty. Drawing on behavioral finance, superstition, and thinkers from Friedrich Nietzsche to Marcus Aurelius, Baz explains how overconfidence in our ability to tame risk leads investors to poor decisions—and how advisors can help clients confront randomness with greater humility, discipline, and resilience.