CFEM News

A team of five Cornell MFE students and one NYU graduate student proposed a winning solution in competition with 77 other teams. Their topic was sponsored by AllianceBernstein, and they were tasked with answering the question, "Can We Use LLMs and Alternative Data to Outperform the S&P500?" The students had three weeks to submit a five-page paper detailing their approach in applying Large Language Models to the analysis of market regimes. The data sources came from Eagle Alpha, Quant Connect, Data Bento, and more. Expounding upon their winning research, Shun Wang (MFE '24) noted, "This... Read more

Students at Cornell's Financial Engineering program have many opportunities to engage in quantitative finance research and to expand their knowledge through collaborations with industry practitioners and academic experts. This emphasis on a hands-on approach emphasizes practical applications of theory and enables students to explore advanced topics that bridge complex models with real-world solutions. A case in point is the research of current student Daham Kim '24, who, in collaboration with CFEM Visiting Faculty and longtime collaborator Irene Aldridge, has received recognition from the... Read more

For the past 27 years, Andrew Chin '93 MBA '94 has worked at AllianceBernstein in a variety of executive positions. His most recent role prior to the announcement was AB's Head of Investment Solutions and Sciences. At Cornell University, his alma mater, he has taught Financial Engineering students since 2014. Professor Chin has worked with our students as a teacher, mentor, and project advisor. For more details, you can read the firm's official announcement. Read more

Cornell Financial Engineering Manhattan (CFEM) student Tashae Bowes recently received the Prime Minister’s National Youth Award for Excellence from Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness. Bowes is one of 21 Jamaicans under the age of 30 to be chosen for the honor this year. Bowes was awarded in the category of “Academics” and was nervous at the ceremony. “All of the nominees who made it to the short list were invited,” Bowes said. “But we did not know who the awardees would be until that moment when they announced our names.” The awards ceremony took place on April 20, 2024 on the lawns at... Read more

Lopez de Prado's article, "Where are the Factors in Factor Investing?" was published in The Journal of Portfolio Management and identifies a significant logical inconsistency within the factor investing literature. It was recognized for its critical examination of the econometric approaches used in factor investing studies. He argues that while factor models are intended to have a causal interpretation, researchers virtually never justify their model specification choices in causal terms, hence the question “where are the factors in factor investing?” This oversight leads to misspecified... Read more

Ayumi Sakamoto, CFEM Associate Director of Career Development, reflected on the new faces at Bootcamp. "We are thrilled to welcome our new first-year students, as well as catch up with our returning second-year students! Our collaborative and supportive culture is stronger than ever!" CFEM Director Victoria Averbukh echoed the enthusiasm for a promising start to the semester. "We welcomed our students in Ithaca and at Cornell Financial Engineering Manhattan with new courses, new Career Bootcamps, and new networking opportunities. The year started with practical career development workshops and... Read more

Today's world of new technologies, the abundance of data, and alacrity to deliver quicker, cheaper and at scale is fueling digitalization (and increasing/changing expectations of Financial Services providers). At UBS, we are focused on harnessing the power of AI to enhance our client services and streamline our workflows — with safety and regulations on center stage — bringing together data science and analytics experts from across the bank to harmonize and unify our group efforts. Find out more about opportunities at UBS. UBS Investment Bank provides corporate, institutional and wealth... Read more

Over 50 guests discussed their latest milestones with drinks and hors d’oeuvres. A few current students also joined the party as their peers freely shared professional and life advice. CFEM Associate Director Ayumi Sakamoto, who joined us in 2021, was a new face to many of our alumni who met her in-person for the first time. CFEM Director Victoria Averbukh briefly addressed the crowd to express gratitude for their continued support. Our alumni remain committed to the program and are a big part of why we have maintained excellence over the years. This was another reunion for the books! We are... Read more

“While I had no doubts this would be a successful forum, I could never imagine the level of positive response. Comments from attendees surpassed any expectation that our panelists or our sponsor envisioned,” Victoria Averbukh, Director of CFEM, said. The conference brought together senior academics, Wall Street practitioners, finance entrepreneurs, and some non-finance people to discuss the future of quant finance. There were 15 wide-ranging panel discussions and a keynote address delivered by retired US Navy Admiral Scott Sanders on “The Geopolitical Risk of Tomorrow.” The sheer number and... Read more

With the support of our sponsor, Rebellion Research, this event is shaping up to be a one-of-a-kind meeting of a broad range of experts in quant finance. From senior academics to seasoned Wall Streeters and Fintech founders, we are bringing together amazing talent to exchange ideas and share opinions. See the full agenda as it is being finalized. Do not miss this unique event! Join us on September 16th on the Cornell Tech campus in New York City. Click here to reserve your spot (capacity is limited). Read more