Annual workshop on quantitative finance and actuarial sciences

The 2017 annual workshop on quantitative finance and actuarial sciences at Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University helped to further the deepening combination of production, education, and research in those areas.

The workshop, co-organised by the Research Institute of Quantitative Finance (RIQF) at XJTLU, International Business School Suzhou (IBSS) at XJTLU, and XJTLU’s Department of Mathematical Sciences, aimed to promote XJTLU’s brand awareness and influence in the industry and also to create internship and career opportunities for XJTLU students.

It attracted over 70 guests from academic and industrial circles and supervision departments both from within China and overseas to discuss aspects of quantitative finance, capital markets, asset pricing, portfolio and risk management.

Attendees were welcomed by Professor Adam Cross, deputy dean of IBSS, Dr Gang Liu, head of the Department of Mathematical Sciences, and Dr Ahmet Goncu, director of RIQF.

The latest academic developments in the field of actuarial sciences, including heavy-tailed distribution claims and mortality models, were also presented during the seminar.

Previous workshops were aimed to enhance communication between academia and industry. This year, the organiser especially invited representatives from supervision departments to share their opinions.

Dr Wei Hung, director of Research Institute Shanghai Futures and Derivatives Trading, introduced the regulatory framework of China's futures market, and also put forward some practical problems that need to be solved in China's commodity futures market, which resonated with attendant academics and industry practitioners.

The insurance industry in China has developed rapidly in recent years. In view of this trend, this year’s workshop also added life insurance issues at the actuarial science session. Attendees shared the latest research results on themes of heavy-tailed theory, insurance asset management, and small sample mortality in life insurance companies.

The seminar also helped to identify the needs of talent recruitment and generated quantitative financial projects from specific enterprises. Among them, some participating enterprises, such as Rational Stone Investment Management Co. (Shanghai), have solved the issue of talent recruitment. In total, at least seven internship opportunities in quantitative finance were offered to the students from IBSS and the Department of Mathematical Sciences throughout the 2-day workshop.

Dr Yi Hong (IBSS), deputy director of RIQF said after the meeting: “In recent years, the demand for quantitative financial research and talent has been continually growing. This annual workshop is the important part of our persistent efforts to deepen communication between academic and industrial circles, promote quantification methods to be widely used in financial and actuarial industries, and build XJTLU into an important hub that can drive the combination of production, learning, and research within the region.”

Other guests who attended the seminar included Professor Athanasions Pantelous from the University of Liverpool, Dr Yuxin Xie from Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, Dr Ai Han from Mathematics and System Institute at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Dr Hongsong Chou, executive director of CITIC Securities Company Limited, Bin Lu, Investment Manager from Pinan Life Insurance, Panly Peng from China International Capital Corporation, Ke Wang from Shenyin&Wanguo Futures, Dr Honghai Zhu, partner of BoLiu Capital Co.(Shanghai), Dr Li Zhou, president of Rational Stone Investment Management Co. (Shanghai) and Mr. Shicheng Zhou, General Manager of Guohai Liangshi Futures and etc..

Dr Lin Yang, Dr Cihangir Kan, Dr Jiajun Liu and Dr Lu Zong from XJTLU’s Department of Mathematical Sciences, and Dr Qiuyu Chen from IBSS helped to organise this annual workshop.