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David Wessel on the Federal Reserve’s Future

A panel of speakers smiles while in conversation in a sunlit room "The Federal Reserve faces a serious threat to its continued independence." – David Wessel As political pressure on the U.S. central bank mounts, questions around the independence of the Federal Reserve have taken on new urgency. At the 2026 Wharton Future of Finance Forum, a panel titled “The Path Ahead…Read More

Itay Goldstein on AI’s Opportunity and Risk in Finance

A speaker addresses an audience with one hand raised, before a blue pop up banner "Regulators need to move with the frontier, understand how markets evolve, and take actions as needed." – Itay Goldstein Artificial intelligence is rapidly reshaping the finance sector, and posing enormous questions for professionals, regulators, and researchers about how the field will navigate the massive potential and systemic risks that come…Read More

Sylvain Catherine and Lu Liu Win Prestigious Research Prizes

Two people's headshots side by side with text in white font that reads "Sylvain Catherine and Lu Liu Win American Finance Association First Prizes" Two members of Wharton’s finance faculty — Sylvain Catherine and Lu Liu — were named among this year’s winners of the American Finance Association’s First Prizes, awarded for outstanding research published in the Journal of Finance, one of the field’s most prestigious publications. Both papers were previously recognized with Marshall Blume Prizes in Financial Research, awarded annually…Read More

Social Security and Measuring Wealth Inequality

A headshot of a person smiling before a grey background. A caption reads "Discoveries: Sylvain Catherine" Professor Sylvain Catherine and his co-authors Max Miller and Natasha Sarin were named winners of the Dimensional Fund Advisors First Prize from the American Finance Association for their paper, “Social Security and Trends in Wealth Inequality,” published in the Journal of Finance. The award places Professor Catherine among a select…Read More

Max Harris on Stablecoins After the GENIUS Act

A panel at the Wharton Future of Finance Forum addresses the audience between two blue Wharton pop up banners "We are only at the beginning of the stablecoin story." – Max Harris As digital assets become integrated into mainstream finance, stablecoins have moved from the periphery to the center of policy conversations. At the 2026 Wharton Future of Finance Forum, a panel titled “Stablecoins After the GENIUS Act” brought…Read More

2026 Wharton Future of Finance Forum

Two people post in front of a blue pop up banner for a group photo On January 15, 2026, the Harris Family Alternative Investments Program and the Wharton Initiative on Financial Policy and Regulation (WIFPR) hosted the third annual Wharton Future of Finance Forum at Penn Washington. Against the backdrop of the U.S. Capitol, the event convened academics, policymakers, and industry leaders to discuss the…Read More

Correlation Neglect: Challenging the Unpredictability of Monthly Returns

A person smiles toward the viewer with the caption, "Jessica Wachter: Dr. Bruce I. Jacobs Professor in Quantitative Finance. On 'Correlation Neglect in Asset Prices.'" What if investors aren’t processing information as efficiently as we’ve assumed? In a new paper, "Correlation Neglect in Asset Prices," Wharton Professor Jessica Wachter and her co-author Hongye Guo reveal a striking pattern in U.S. stock market returns tied to the quarterly earnings cycle. Their research shows that investors systematically…Read More

Burcu Esmer on Valuation in Private and Public Markets

A person seated in an auditorium setting smiles toward the viewer During the IVSC Valuation Webinar Series, hosted by the International Valuation Standards Council and sponsored by Kroll, Burcu Esmer, academic co-director of the Harris Family Alternative Investments Program, joined global economists and valuation leaders to explore how macroeconomic forces are influencing valuation across sectors. During this conversation, Professor Esmer brought…Read More

Max Harris on the Future of Money

A person in a suit smiles for a headshot As new technologies reshape the global financial landscape, Wharton voices lead the discussion. Max Harris, senior fellow at the Wharton Initiative on Financial Policy and Regulation (WIFPR), recently served as Project Director for the Group of Thirty’s (G30) new report, "The Past and Future of Money: New Technologies and Economic…Read More

Kevin Kaiser on Valuing College Football Programs

A person smiles toward the viewer with the caption, "Discoveries: Kevin Kaiser" In the changing world of college athletics, how can we know the true financial value of a football program? Kevin Kaiser, adjunct full professor of finance at the Wharton School and senior fellow with the Harris Family Alternative Investments Program, recently joined the Athletic to help us understand how these…Read More