International Association of Financial Engineers

The International Association of Financial Engineers (IAFE) is a non-profit professional society dedicated to fostering the field of financial engineering. The IAFE hosts several panel discussions throughout the year to discuss the issues that affect the industry from both academic and professional angles. Since it was established in 1992, the IAFE has expanded its reach to host events in San Francisco, Toronto, Boston, and London.

Fischer Black Memorial Foundation

The educational arm of the IAFE is the Fischer Black Memorial Foundation (FBMF). While the IAFE focuses on the profession of financial engineering, the FBMF aims to expose students to the financial engineering field and help them work towards a career in the industry. Financial engineering is often underrepresented on university campuses and the FBMF tries to bridge the gap between academia and the professional world. The main tool of the FBMF is the very successful “How I Became a Quant” event series that bring professionals to college campuses to tell students about their experiences getting into the field. The FBMF also co-hosts (along with SIAM and New York University) an annual career fair that draws students from all over the country to meet with the premier hiring companies in the industry. This is one of the only career fairs that is specifically for financial engineering and it is hugely popular with both the students and companies.

Events

The IAFE is known for the quality of its events and the prestige of the panelists who present. Often, these events are evening panels with 3 – 4 speakers; both practitioners and academics typically sit on these panels. Much of the information presented at these events is available afterward on the IAFE website.

Every year, the IAFE honors one member of the financial engineering world with its Financial Engineer of the Year award. The winner is selected through an exhaustive nomination and voting process and the list of former winners illustrates the high standards that the nominees must meet. Former FEOY recipients continue to serve the IAFE as Senior Fellows and include such notable names as Myron Scholes, Robert Merton, William Sharpe and Jonathan Ingersoll. A full list can be found on the IAFE website.

The winner of the FEOY is celebrated at an annual Gala dinner hosted by the IAFE and traditionally held at the United Nations building in New York City. This event is attended by many of the most distinguished members of the field and is one of the most important evenings on the IAFE calendar.

The IAFE hosts an annual conference in the late spring, which is an all day event which includes some of the biggest names in the industry. The schedule consists of 2 –3 panels and a keynote speech by the previous year’s Financial Engineer of the Year, all of which circle around one common theme. The conference is one of the most highly attended and anticipated events of the year.

Financial Engineer of the Year (FEOY)

Commencing in 1993, this award has been presented annually to an individual who has made a significant contribution in the development and creative application of financial engineering. Past award recipients include: Robert Merton, the late Fischer Black, Mark Rubinstein, Stephen Ross, Robert Jarrow, John Cox, John Hull, Emanuel Derman, Andrew Lo, Jonathan Ingersoll, Darrell Duffie, Oldrich Vasicek, Phelim Boyle, James Simons, Jack L. Treynor. Myron Scholes received a lifetime achievement award in 2001. An award dinner is held annually to honor the achievements of Financial Engineer of the Year. All listed recipients are IAFE Senior Fellows.

Robert C. Merton 1993

Fischer Black 1994

Mark Rubinstein 1995

Stephen A. Ross 1996

Robert A. Jarrow 1997

John C. Cox 1998

John C. Hull 1999

Emanuel Derman 2000

Andrew W. Lo 2001

Jonathan E. Ingersoll, Jr. 2002

J. Darrell Duffie 2003

Oldrich A. Vasicek 2004

Phelim Boyle 2005

James H. Simons 2006

Jack L. Treynor 2007

Myron S. Scholes Lifetime Achievement

Board of Directors

The IAFE is currently presided over by a 15 member Board of Directors. The members of the Board come from many different backgrounds and include many influential names in the industry. This diverse group controls the biggest decisions of the IAFE and helps ensure that the organization is fulfilling its mission towards the growth of financial engineering. A full list of the Board members can be found on the IAFE website.

Committees

The IAFE comprises six committees. The Credit Risk, Education, Investor Risk, Liquidity Risk, Operational Risk, and Technology Committees each focus on a narrow view of financial engineering. This enables the IAFE to stay up-to-date on advancements from all over the industry as well as organize well developed, specific topics at each of their events, which are typically presented by one of the committees.

External links

* [http://www.iafe.org IAFE homepage]