What Is the Mission and Vision of IIT Stuart CSF?
The mission of the IIT Stuart Center for Strategic Finance is to promote the societal interest in more effective financial markets by:
- Stimulating new thinking and discussion on issues related to algorithmic trading and investment and it's impact on market efficiency, transparency, and reliability.
- Providing a global forum for inter-disciplinary research related to modern financial markets, including perspectives from innovation, systems science/engineering, computer science, mathematics, strategic management, decision science, data science, psychology, law, and ethics, in addition to traditional finance.
- Attracting and preparing top students from around the world for careers in financial markets and academia.
The vision of the IIT Stuart Center for Strategic Finance is to be a globally recognized thought leader on strategy in financial markets.
What Is Strategic Finance?
No one enters the financial markets without a strategy. Yet, the role of strategy in financial markets has not been studied in a structured fashion. Like any business, financial firms develop strategies in their pursuit of profits in consideration of risk. Portfolio managers, hedge fund managers, market makers, high frequency traders, and retail investors all think strategically about market opportunities within the reach of their competencies.
Additionally, these agent develop execution strategies to minimize trading costs and risk management strategies to reduce exposures. Further, to enable these activities, they also develop technology strategies, research and development strategies, compliance strategies, and organizational management strategies.
Today, financial markets can be thought of as ecosystems of (predominantly, algorithmic) strategies. If we are to understand markets, we must study how strategy works in financial markets. This perspective should be of interest to:
- Researchers interested in understanding how modern financial markets work.
- Market participants seeking to gain competitive advantage and increase shareholder wealth.
- Regulators seeking to develop effective oversight of modern financial markets.
- Students seeking employment opportunities in the financial industry.
At IIT Stuart, strategic finance is the study of strategy in financial markets.