Swiss Finance Institute Phd Program in Finance : SFI Phd Program in Finance

Swiss Finance Institute PhD Program in Finance : SFI PhD Program in Finance :

Swiss Finance Institute PhD Program in Finance

The Swiss Finance Institute PhD in Finance The program’s curriculum is structured in is one of the largest and most competitive two phases: programs in the world • The first features specific PhD level courses The program promotes the pursuit of academic covering advanced financial theory and financial excellence by providing an intellectual environment research techniques. and a curriculum comparable with the top PhD • The second is devoted to the writing of a doctoral programs in the world. The PhD program operates at thesis. Swiss Finance Institute doctoral students the three Swiss Finance Institute campuses: Léman also participate in international academic (Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, the activities and attend advanced courses. University of Geneva, and the University of Lausanne), Lugano (Università della Svizzera italiana), and Zurich (the University of Zurich).

The program has three distinct features: • A full offering of PhD level courses in finance. • An international faculty dedicated to research at the highest level and covering all aspects of finance. • A large international student body. www.sfi.ch/phd

"The SFI PhD program provided me with an excellent basis to start my academic career. The course work gave me a thorough overview of the field of finance and equipped me with the necessary tools to start my own research. During the research phase, my supervisors gave me the support I needed and the interaction, with the SFI community of professors and students from the various centers, truly enriched my experience."

Elisabeth Pröhl, SFI PhD Graduate ’18, Assistant Professor of Economics, University of Amsterdam

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PhD Curriculum

PhD Curriculum These courses can often be integrated into the course The curriculum of Swiss Finance Institute’s PhD program with the PhD coordinator’s approval. program in Finance comprises two phases: a first year of intensive coursework followed by, on average, three Second Phase: Dissertation Writing years of advanced study and research. The program Upon admission to the second phase of the program, covers a wide range of subjects including economics, Swiss Finance Institute PhD candidates select a financial economics, corporate finance, mathematical thesis topic and choose their thesis supervisor. finance, and econometrics. Typically, students participate in research projects carried out at an academic partner institution and First Phase: Core Courses work within their chosen project as a research or The program begins with a series of core PhD teaching assistant. These research projects’ networks courses. This intensive coursework aims to provide all also guarantee intensive contact with PhD students candidates with a broad and complete education from other Swiss universities and provide an covering the basic building blocks and conceptual excellent and stimulating research environment. tools of finance, and to help orient students toward a specific field of research and a thesis supervisor. During this second phase all candidates are required to attend the SFI Research Days at the Gerzensee Each of the three campuses has established a Study Center, the faculty’s research seminar in program of core courses that reflects the strengths of finance, and the internal “brown-bag” lunch seminar. its faculty. These courses provide a sound working In addition, the research projects’ networks offer a basis that enables students to successfully complete wide variety of specialized courses. The goal of these the PhD program, generally three years after specialized courses is to enable students to acquire completing the first phase. the skills that are most relevant to their thesis work. The selection of the appropriate specialized courses Each core course is followed by an examination. The for each candidate is made jointly by the candidate faculty member in charge attributes each student a and the dissertation supervisor. final grade for each course based on project assessm ents, in-class participation, and interim The completion of the PhD in Finance program coursework submitted. Admission to the second requires two successful evaluations: the first phase phase is determined on the basis of the grades evaluation and a final defense of the PhD obtained from the core courses and on the successful dissertation. Università della Svizzera italiana, the completion of a research paper, for Léman and Zurich, University of Geneva, the University of Lausanne, and or a comprehensive examination for Lugano. The the University of Zurich award a “Doctorate in research paper should be the first draft of a Economics with Specialization in Finance”, and the publishable research paper and should contain Ecole Polythechnique Fédérale de Lausanne a original theoretical or empirical work developed “Doctorate in Science with Specialization in independently by the student. Finance”.

An extensive range of Master’s-level courses is available to Swiss Finance Institute PhD candidates wishing to complement their education during the first phase of their studies.

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Current Students

Over 100 students study at the institute’s various campuses. The student body is international in nature and its members come from many and varied backgrounds.

Kornelia Fabisik (Slovak Republic) Regina Hammerschmid (Austria) Bachelor of Science in Business Diploma Studies of International Economic Administration with minor in Statistics, and Business Sciences with a major in Ludwig Maximilians University Munich, Finance, University of Innsbruck, Austria. Germany. Master of Science in Business Master of Finance, EDHEC Business Administration with major in Finance, School Nice, France. Currently an SFI PhD Ludwig Maximilians University Munich, student at the University of Zurich. Germany. Currently an SFI PhD student at Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne.

Fulvia Fringuellotti (Italy) Sebastian Vogel (Germany) Bachelors in Economics, Financial Bachelor in Economics and Management, Markets and Intermediaries, LUISS Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Guido Carli University, Italy. Masters in Germany. Bachelors in Mathematics, The Economics and Finance, LUISS Guido University of Hagen, Germany. MSc in Finance Carli University, Italy. Currently an SFI with specialization in Investment Management, PhD student at the University of Zurich. The Stockholm School of Economics, Sweden. Currently an SFI PhD student at Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne.

Virginia Gianinazzi (Switzerland) Sander Willems (Belgium) Bachelor of Economics, University of St. Bachelor of Science in Mathematics, Ghent Gallen, Switzerland. Master of Economics, University, Belgium. Master of Science in Barcelona Graduate School of Economics, Mathematics, Ghent University, Belgium. Spain. Currently an SFI PhD Student at Advanced Master in Quantitative Finance, the Università della Svizzera italiana. Solvay Brussels School of Economics and Management (ULB), Belgium. Currently an SFI PhD student at Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne.

Jakub Hajda (Poland) Ye Zhang (China) Bachelor of Quantitative Methods in Bachelors in Economics, Central University Economics, Warsaw School of Economics, of Finance and Economics Beijing, China. Poland. Master of Quantitative Finance Masters in Finance, Renmin University of and Actuarial Science, Tilburg University, China, China. Currently an SFI PhD student Netherlands.Currently an SFI PhD student at the University of Geneva. at the University of Lausanne.

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Faculty Members

Swiss Finance Institute–Faculty Members (September 2018) With nearly 60 members, Swiss Finance Institute has one of the largest faculties in finance covering a wide selection of topics.

Swiss Finance Institute Chairs Swiss Finance Institute Faculty Members

Philippe Bacchetta Hansjoerg Albrecher Pierre Collin-Dufresne Giovanni Barone-Adesi François Degeorge Stefano Battiston Rüdiger Fahlenbrach Tony Berrada Damir Filipović Ines Chaieb Francesco Franzoni Patrick Cheridito Laurent Frésard Suzanne de Treville Amit Goyal Theodosios Dimopoulos Harald Hau Paul Embrechts Julien Hugonnier Walter Farkas Philipp Krüger Patrick Gagliardini Felix Kübler Manfred Gilli Semyon Malamud Michel Habib Loriano Mancini Thorsten Hens Antonio Mele Martin Hoesli Erwan Morellec Eric Jondeau Kjell G. Nyborg Pablo Koch Medina Steven Ongena Cosimo Munari Jean-Charles Rochet Artem Neklyudov Oliver Scaillet Boris Nikolov Paul Schneider Eric Nowak Norman Schürhoff Per Östberg Halil Mete Soner Marc Paolella Fabio Trojani Diane Pierret Alexander F. Wagner Alberto Plazzi Kerstin Preuschoff Michael Rockinger Martin Schweizer Didier Sornette Pascal St-Amour Roberto Steri Joseph Teichmann Joël Wagner

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Graduates

To date, over 160 candidates have graduated from the institutes. These graduates are now active in both academia and the industry. Further details of our alumni can be found on our website.

Maria Cecilia Bustamante (Argentina) Gianpaolo Parise (Italy) B.S. and M.S. in Economics, Universidad Bachelor of Finance, Universita’ di Torcuato di Tella, Argentina. Master in Padova, Italy. Master of Economics, Economics, Finance and Management, Bocconi University, Italy. Visiting PhD Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Spain. PhD in student, Harvard University, USA. PhD Finance, the University of Lausanne and in Finance, Università della Svizzera Swiss Finance Institute, Switzerland. italiana and Swiss Finance Institute, Currently Assistant Professor in Finance, Switzerland. Currently Economist, Bank for University of Maryland, USA. International Settlements, Switzerland.

Thomas Geelen (Netherlands) Elisabeth Pröhl (Germany) Bachelor of Econometrics and Diploma in Business Mathematics with Operations Research, Tilburg University, majors in Probability Theory, Financial Netherlands. Master of Quantitative Mathematics and Finance, Chemnitz Finance and Actuarial Science, Tilburg University of Technology, Germany. Master University, Netherlands. PhD in Finance, of Science in Mathematical and Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Computational Finance, University of Lausanne and Swiss Finance Institute, Oxford, United Kingdom. PhD in Finance, Switzerland. Currently Assistant the University of Geneva and Swiss Professor of Finance, Copenhagen Finance Institute, Switzerland. Currently Business School, Denmark. Assistant Professor of Economics, University of Amsterdam, Netherlands.

Elise Gourier (France) Nikola Vasiljevic (Serbia) Engineering degree in Applied Master of Science in Physics with Mathematics and Computer Science, specialization in Theoretical Physics, ENSIMAG Grenoble, France. Master of University of Belgrade, Serbia. Master of Quantitative Finance, ETH and the Science in Economics with specialization University of Zurich, Switzerland. PhD in in Quantitative Finance, University of Finance, the University of Zurich and Belgrade, Serbia. PhD in Finance, the Swiss Finance Institute, Switzerland. University of Zurich and Swiss Finance Currently Lecturer at Queen Mary Institute, Switzerland. Currently University of London, United Kingdom. Quantitative Analyst, International Wealth Management, Credit Suisse, Switzerland

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SFI PhD Graduates Around the Globe

Placements since 2006 Swiss Finance Institute PhD program graduates obtain placements in some of the world’s most renowned finance research institutes as well as in leading finance companies in Switzerland and abroad. The SFI PhD network today links more than 130 graduates across academia and industry around the world. Academia

16 1

18 23 1 22 20 1 21 2 26 25 3 2 5 28 6 13 2 33 8 30 15 10 31 3 2 1 11 35 12 36

America 38 1. Simon Fraser University 2. UCLA 3. HEC Montreal 4. McGill University 5. University of Toronto 6. Boston University Europe/Africa 28. Collegio Carlo Alberto Asia 7. Rochester University 16. NHH Norwegian School of Economics 29. ESADE Business School 34. Shandong University 8. Johns Hopkins University 17. BI Norwegian School of Management 30. ISCTE Business School 35. Shanghai University of 9. Carnegie Mellon University 18. Copenhagen Business School 31. Akdeniz University Finance & Economics 10. University of Maryland 19. University Magdeburg 32. African School of Economics 36. Shanghai Jiao Tong University 11. Duke University 20. University 0f Amsterdam 33. Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore 37. Hong Kong University 12. Rice University 21. Utrecht University School of Economics of Science & Technology

13. Boston College 22. London School of Economics Oceania 14. Emory University 23. Queen Mary University of London 38. University of New South Wales 15. New York University 24. Goethe University Frankfurt

25. HEC Paris

26. Université Paris-Dauphine

27. Bocconi University

Industry Allianz • Bank for International Settlements • Banque Cantonale Vaudoise • Banque Centrale du Luxembourg • Cornèr Banca • Credit Suisse • Deloitte • Deutsche Bank • The European Commission • The Federal Reserve • Goldman Sachs • Keiger • Lombard Odier & Cie • Morgan Stanley • Norwegian Ministry of Finance • PricewaterhouseCoopers • Pro Credit Bank • Qatar Investment Authority • Swiss Life • The Swiss National Bank • Swissquote • Swiss Re • The Swiss State Secretariat for International Finance Matters • UBS • The US Securities and Exchange Commission • Zürcher Kantonalbank

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Practical Information & Admissions

Financial Information equivalent by the Admission Committee. The Students are required to register as a PhD student at Admission Committee will carefully review every the university to which they have been admitted. application. To apply please use the online application They are also required to pay university PhD tuition platform. If you wish to apply to different campuses fees wherever applicable (see the partner university simultaneously, you must submit a full application websites for more information). All students in the package to each campus separately. Swiss Finance Institute PhD program are offered either fellowships or teaching or research The application fee is of USD 80 to apply to one assistantships by partner universities. campus, USD 100 to apply to two campuses, and USD 120 to apply to three campuses. There is currently no Working Conditions application fee waiver. There is no refund for Swiss Finance Institute PhD students are provided applications who are not selected. Applications are with offices from the first year of the program on. reviewed by the Admission Committee, which is They also benefit from a wide range of first-class composed of professors from Swiss Finance Institute. university facilities–libraries, computers, sports facili- Admissions will be decided upon on a competitive ties, etc.–provided by the academic partner basis. Applicants are informed of the outcome of their institutions. The working language of the Swiss application within four weeks following the deadline Finance Institute PhD program is English. for the receipt of applications.

Applicant Profile There are two rounds of candidate selection with Applicants should have a strong interest in research application deadlines on January 15 and activities and the desire to pursue an academic March 31. Courses start in September. career or to continue their career undertaking research in finance within the public or private sector. The number of yearly admissions will typically not Ideally an applicant’s academic record will prove a exceed 20 students over the three campuses so as to solid background in economics, finance, or keep the program small and guarantee personal mathematics, although additional prerequisite interaction between students and faculty. If you are courses at the beginning of the PhD program might admitted to the program, you will have to fill in special compensate for weaknesses in any of these areas. forms for the registration procedure at the university level. Application Procedure The program is internationally oriented and aims to attract the best students from Switzerland and abroad. Applicants need to have a Master of Science degree in finance or economics or a degree deemed to be

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Academic Partner Institutions

The SFI PhD Program in Finance is a centrally The campus offers services and facilities to transform coordinated program operating across multiple scientific excellence into economic competitiveness, campuses. It builds on and strengthens the jobs, and quality of life–a breeding ground for new existing programs offered by Swiss Finance companies, coaching services, study programs in Institute’s academic partner institutions: in Léman entrepreneurship, and innovation programs that at Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, the foster relations between the institute’s laboratories University of Geneva, and the University of and a whole range of companies. Lausanne, in Lugano at Università della Svizzera www.epfl.ch italiana, and in Zurich at the University of Zurich and ETH Zurich. University of Geneva The Academy of Geneva became the University of Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne Geneva in 1873 with the creation of a medical school. (EPFL) The university is currently composed of nine faculties: Located in Lausanne, Switzerland, on the shores of Science, Medicine, Humanities, Economics and Lake Geneva and at the feet of the Alps and Mont Management, Social Sciences, Psychology and Blanc, EPFL is Europe’s most cosmopolitan technical Education, Law, Protestant Theology, and Translation university with students, professors, and staff from and Interpreting. It is the third largest university in over 120 nations. Daily interaction betwen students, Switzerland with around 16,400, and some 2,840 researchers, and entrepreneurs on campus regularly members of staff (professors, lecturers, and gives rise to new scientific, technological, and assistants) dedicated to the transmission and architectural projects. advancement of scientific knowledge through teaching and to fundamental and applied research. Open to Switzerland and the world, EPFL is centered The university offers more than 258 programs for on its three missions: teaching, research, and working people, and has been able to preserve the technology transfer. EPFL works together with an ancient European tradition of an academic extensive network of partners–including universities community located in the heart of a city. The and institutes of technology, developing and University of Geneva enjoys worldwide recognition for emerging countries, secondary schools and colleges, its fundamental and applied research. It has been industry and the economy, the political milieu, and listed as one of the top twelve research universities in the general public–to bring about real, positive Europe, and has been a member of the League of change in society. European Research Intensive Universities since 2002. The university’s participation in many Swiss and EPFL offers 13 complete study programs at the international research programs bears witness to the Bachelor’s and 23 at the Master’s levels. These are high esteem in which its researchers are held. complemented by exchange programs with the world’s www.unige.ch finest institutions and by industrial internships that enable students to better understand the realities of University of Lausanne the corporate world. With over 350 laboratories and Founded in 1537, the University of Lausanne (UNIL) research groups on campus, EPFL is one of Europe’s welcomes more than 13,000 students from most innovative and productive scientific institutions. Switzerland and abroad. The UNIL campus extends over a magnificent piece of woodland facing Lake Geneva, with the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de

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Academic Partner Institutions

Lausanne (EPFL) located just next door. Throughout the four faculties, most of which is taught in English, its seven faculties, UNIL focuses on man and the complies with the European university system and living world in their natural and social environments. provides a full range of study programs from Bachelor As a key player in the Swiss academic landscape, to PhD level. USI actively pursues its research goals UNIL collaborates with Swiss Finance Institute (SFI) in many innovative fields and participates in and many other institutions in Switzerland and numerous research networks with other Swiss abroad. The teaching provided at the University of universities and with a wide range of universities Lausanne is based on research of the highest order, abroad. Thanks to its intimate scale, a true symbiosis notably in finance, economics, medicine, ecology, and between diverse disciplines, significant direct contact political and social sciences. between students and academics, generous space, and high-quality technical facilities, USI offers ideal HEC, the business school at the University of conditions for study and research. Lausanne, is one of the leading research-oriented and www.usi.ch fully accredited business institutes in Europe. With over 60 full-time faculty members and a long list of University of Zurich doctoral alumni, the expertise of the faculty, coupled With its 26,000 students, the University of Zurich (UZH) with excellent computing and library resources, is Switzerland’s largest university. Founded in 1833, provides opportunities for specialization matched by UZH was Europe’s first university to be established by a few other institutes in Europe. Ranked among democratic political system–today, UZH is one of the Europe’s top business schools, HEC’s objective is to foremost universities in the German-speaking world. provide education and conduct research at the Made up of seven faculties covering some 100 different forefront of the humanities and social sciences. The subject areas, the university offers a wide variety of PhD program plays an important role in that mission Bachelor’s, Master’s, and PhD programs. In addition, and, therefore, constitutes a strategic part of the UZH’s continuing education programs also offer school. excellent learning opportunities. www.unil.ch As a member of the League of European Research Università della Svizzera italiana Universities, UZH is one of Europe’s most prestigious (University of Lugano) research institutions. Numerous distinctions highlight The Università della Svizzera italiana (USI) is a the university’s international renown in the fields of dynamic young university based in one of the three medicine, immunology, genetics, neuroscience, and main Swiss financial centers, on the shores of Lake structural biology as well as in economics. To date, Lugano. Founded in 1996, it is one of 12 universities Nobel Prizes have been awarded to 12 UZH scholars. in the Swiss higher education system coordinated by swiss universities. Thanks to its geographical, The academic excellence of UZH benefits both the political, and cultural qualities USI has grown into a public and the private sectors, not only in the Canton of multilingual academic institution of great internation- Zurich but throughout Switzerland. Knowledge is al breadth. It comprises four faculties: Architecture, shared with the wider public in a variety of ways: in Communication Sciences, Economics, and addition to granting the general public access to its Informatics. Of the student body of around 3,000, 65 twelve museums and many of its libraries, the percent are international students hailing from more university shares findings from its cutting-edge than 100 different countries. The curriculum of each of research with the public through accessible and

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Academic Partner Institutions

engaging lecture series and panel discussions. the fields of engineering, architecture, mathematics, www.uzh.ch natural sciences, system-oriented sciences, and management and social sciences. ETH Zurich ETH Zurich (ETHZ) is one of the two Swiss federal A total of 21 Nobel Laureates have studied, taught, or institutes of technology and one of the world’s conducted research at ETHZ, which underlines the leading universities for the study of technology and excellent reputation of the university. ETHZ offers 67 the natural sciences. ETHZ is renowned for the courses with Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in excellent quality of education it offers, its Engineering Sciences, Natural Sciences and groundbreaking fundamental research, and for Mathematics, Architecture and Civil Engineering, implementing its results directly into practice. Management and Social Sciences, and System-Oriented Natural Sciences. ETHZ today is Founded in 1855, ETHZ offers researchers an home to more than 18,500 students, including 4,000 inspiring working environment and students a doctoral students. comprehensive educational experience. On two main campuses and at several other secondary locations, Through its pioneering research, ETHZ fosters ETHZ brings toghether approximately 29,000 interdisciplinary collaborations and inspires individuals from more than 110 countries. Around 500 international partnerships. The university also professors currently teach and conduct research in provides services at the national level and aspires to

Léman Campus Lugano Campus: Zurich Campus: (Geneva/Lausanne): Università della Svizzera italiana University of Zurich EPFL, University of Geneva, and University of Lausanne

Swiss Finance Institute PhD Swiss Finance Institute PhD Swiss Finance Institute PhD Program Program Program University of Lausanne Università della Svizzera italiana University of Zurich Extranef Building Institute of Finance Plattenstrasse 14 Dorigny Via Giuseppe Buffi 13 CH-8032 Zurich CH-1015 Lausanne CH-6900 Lugano

Tel: +41 21 692 33 84 Tel: +41 58 666 47 52 Tel: +41 44 634 39 52 Fax: +41 21 692 34 35 Fax: +41 58 666 47 34 Fax: +41 44 634 43 45 [email protected] [email protected] [email protected]

11 Swiss Finance Institute Swiss Finance Institute (SFI) is the national center for fundamental research, doctoral training, knowledge exchange, and continuing education in the fields of banking and finance. SFI’s mission is to grow knowledge capital for the Swiss financial marketplace. Created in 2006 as a public–private partnership, SFI is a common initiative of the Swiss finance industry, leading Swiss universities, and the Swiss Confederation.

c/o University of Geneva, Bd. Du Pont d'Arve 42, CH-1211 Geneva 4 T +41 22 379 84 71, [email protected], www.sfi.ch