First Annual Volatility Institute Conference at NYU Shanghai

The Volatility Institute at NYU Shanghai (VINS) held its First Annual Conference, on the theme of “Liberalizations in Emerging Markets.” The meeting, held at the university’s Pudong campus, was organized in cooperation with the Economics School at Fudan University and the Pudong Institute of Finance, to provide an annual venue for financial practitioners and researchers to exchange ideas and discuss current financial challenges.

Emerging markets, especially China, have recently accelerated liberalization processes in numerous financial sectors. During lectures and panels, speakers looked at this overarching topic through the lens of asset pricing, corporate finance, market microstructure, behavioral finance, capital markets, macro-financial linkages and international finance.

The November 20 conference opened with welcoming remarks by Andrew Hamilton, President-Designate of NYU and Jeffery Lehman, Vice Chancellor of NYU Shanghai. The conference’s keynote speech was delivered by Nobel Laureate Prof. Robert Engle, the Michael Armellino Professor of Finance and Director of the Volatility Institute at NYU Stern School of Business, on the expected volatility and risk in the Chinese and global financial markets in 2016. During lunchtime remarks, Professor Wang Jianye, Director of the Volatility Institute at NYU Shanghai, discussed capital flows and outward investment in the Chinese financial market in the context of the recent financial crisis.

During the afternoon panel session, Professor Xin Zhou, Executive Director of the Volatility Institute at NYU Shanghai, moderated a panel discussion on the Chinese derivatives market in the wake of the recent stock market crash, with five finance practitioners: Wentao Fan, managing director of the Clearing Department at the Shanghai Futures Exchange; Zhong Liu, vice president of China Securities Index Co., Ltd., Shanghai Stock Exchange; Qi Wang, head of options team, China Financial Futures Exchange; Jing Wu, manager of commodities, FX, liquidity management products market risk at Deutsche Bank; and, Hong Yan, Director of the China Hedge Fund Research Center.

About the Volatility Institute at NYU Shanghai

NYU Shanghai opened the Volatility Institute at NYU Shanghai in November 2014. Located at the NYU Shanghai Pudong Academic Building in the heart of Liujiazui, Shanghai’s financial center, it aims to create opportunities for research focused on both the Chinese and global financial markets.  It also seeks to facilitate collaboration and community building among marker participants and academic researchers by offering timely financial information and analysis.  The Volatility Institute at NYU Shanghai operates in close partnership with and as an extension of the Volatility Institute at NYU Stern School of Business, under the direction of Nobel Laureate and volatility expert Robert Engle and with generous support from the Pudong Institute of Finance and NYU Shanghai.