American Finance Association

The American Finance Association is an academic organization whose focus is the study and promotion of knowledge of financial economics. It was formed in 1939. Its main publication, the "Journal of Finance", was first published in 1946. __TOC__

Mission

The purpose of the association is to:
*Act as a mutual association of persons with an interest in finance
*Improve the public understanding of financial problems
*Provide for the exchange of financial ideas through the distribution of the "Journal of Finance" and other media
*Encourage the study of finance in colleges and universities
*Conduct other activities appropriate for a non-profit, professional society in the field of finance

Administration

The administration of the association is overseen by both officers and a board of advisors. All of these positions are held by faculty at various American universities. The board of directors rotates over time and assists in key decisions and policies. The acting president is David Pyle of Harvard University.

Membership

The association currently has approximately 8,000 members who pay dues of $40 per year. The membership must be renewed every calendar year, and is obtained only through written application.

A number of members are also distinguished in the Society of Fellows of the Association. These are members who have made significant contributions to the field of finance. This includes all living past presidents and all future presidents.

Annual meeting

An annual meeting of the association is held every year in January, in conjunction the American Economic Association and the North American Winter Meetings of the Econometric Society as a part of the ASSA. The president speaks on a selected topic and there are presentations of various financial papers. The AFA and the Western Finance Association Meetings are considered to be the two top general finance conferences in the world.

Recent AFA Annual Meeting sites:

2003 Washington, DC

2004 San Diego, CA

2005 Philadelphia, PA

2006 Boston, MA

2007 Chicago, IL.

Past, Present, and Future Presidents

2010 John H. Cochrane

2009 J. Darrell Duffie

2008 Jeremy C. Stein

2007 Kenneth R. French

2006 Richard C. Green

2005 John Y. Campbell

2004 René M. Stulz

2003 Douglas W. Diamond

2002 Maureen O'Hara

2001 George M. Constantinides

2000 Franklin Allen

1999 Hans R. Stoll

1998 Edwin J. Elton

1997 Hayne E. Leland

1996 Eduardo S. Schwartz

1995 Martin J. Gruber

1994 Sanford J. Grossman

1993 Mark Rubinstein

1992 Michael C. Jensen

1991 Robert H. Litzenberger

1990 Myron S. Scholes

1989 Michael J. Brennan

1988 Stephen A. Ross

1987 Richard Roll

1986 Robert C. Merton

1985 Fischer Black

1984 James C. Van Horne

1983 Stewart C. Myers

1982 Harry M. Markowitz

1981 Franco Modigliani

1980 William F. Sharpe

1979 Edward J. Kane

1978 Burton G. Malkiel

1977 Alexander A. Robichek

1976 Merton H. Miller

1975 Myron J. Gordon

1974 John Lintner

1973 Sherman J. Maisel

1972 Irwin Friend

1971 Joseph A. Pechman

1970 Lawrence S. Ritter

1969 Walter E. Hoadleycite web|url=http://www.jstor.org/view/00221082/di991921/99p0510t/9?frame=noframe&userID=[e-mail]/01cc99331100501c6e92f&dpi=3&config=jstor|accessdate=2007-09-11|title=The American Finance Association: 1939-1969|author=Kavesh, Robert A.|publisher=www.jstor.org|work=Journal of Finance]

1968 Harry C. Sauvain

1967 Robert V. Roosa

1966 J. Fred Weston

1965 George Garvy

1964 Roger F. Murray

1963 George T. Conklin, Jr.

1962 Bion B. Howard

1961 Arthur M. Weimer

1960 Paul M. Van Arsdell

1959 James J. O'Leary

1958 Lester V. Chandler

1957 Marshall D. Ketchum

1956 Miller Upton

1955 Norris O. Johnson

1954 Garfield V. Cox

1953 Roland I. Robinson

1952 Edward E. Edwards

1951 Raymond J. Saulnier

1950 Howard R. Bowen

1949 Neil H. Jacoby

1948 Benjamin H. Beckhart

1947 Lewis A. Froman

1946 Harry G. Guthman

1945 No President

1944 No President

1943 John D. Clark

1942 Charles L. Prather

1941 Chelcie C. Bosland

1940 Kenneth Field

Fellows of the American Finance Association

In January 2000, the Board of Directors of the American Finance Association instituted a Society of Fellows of the Association. The purpose of the society is to recognize those members who have made a distinguished contribution to the field of finance.Since Fellows are selected by the membership for their contributions to the field of finance, and since this is the principal criterion for election as president, all living past presidents and all future presidents of the association are designated as Fellows. The list below contains all living past presidents and the Fellows selected since that date.Each year, the Nominating Committee, chaired by the current president, solicits names from the membership and nominates a slate of no more than five candidates from which current Fellows elect a maximum of two new Fellows. Polling of the current Fellows is carried out by the immediate past-president prior to the next annual meeting.As non past president of the American Finance Association, elected Fellows of the American Finance Association are following:

2008 John C. Cox

2007 Lars Peter Hansen

2006 Robert J. Shiller

2005 Robert F. Engle

2004 Robert E. Lucas, Jr.

2003 Kenneth J. Arrow

2002 Paul A. Samuelson

2001 Eugene F. Fama

Prizes and Awards

Fischer Black Prize

Biennially, the association awards the Fischer Black Prize at its annual meeting. The award, named in honor of economist Fischer Black, recognizes an outstanding young academic whose original research has made a significant contribution to the field of finance.

Smith Breeden Prizes

Annually, the association awards the Smith Breeden Prizes for the top three papers in the "Journal of Finance" in any area other than corporate finance at its annual meeting.

Brattle Prizes

Annually, the Brattle Prizes are awarded annually for outstanding papers on corporate finance at its annual meeting.

Morgan Stanley-AFA Award for Excellence in Finance

AFA has established a new bi-annual finance award to be granted based on an individual’s career achievements in outstanding thought leadership in the field of financial economics. Formally it is the Morgan Stanley-American Finance Association Award for Excellence in Finance. The Award will be granted by AFA beginning in 2008 and continuing for 5 bi-annual periods. There shall only be one recipient of the Award in any bi-annual period.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) and the American Finance Association (AFA) are pleased to announce that Eugene F. Fama, the Robert R. McCormick Distinguished Service Professor at the University of Chicago, Graduate School of Business, has been chosen as the first recipient of the Morgan Stanley-AFA Award for Excellence in Finance. Professor Fama is widely regarded as the father of the efficient market theory and is world-renowned for his original theoretical and empirical work on portfolio theory, asset pricing, and capital structure. The Award comes with a $200,000 cash grant to an eligible institution to be used in support of research in the financial field of the recipient’s choosing. Professor Fama selected the University of Chicago, Graduate School of Business, to receive the gift.

Notes

External links

* [http://www.afajof.org American Finance Association]
** [http://www.afajof.org/association/morganstanley.asp Morgan Stanley AFA Award]