GIWM was delighted to hold its annual conference on Recent Trends in Wealth Management at the University of Geneva on June 19, 2024. The event featured an impressive array of practitioners and top-tier presentations.

Moderated by GIWM Director Prof. Rajna Gibson Brandon, the conference welcomed an eminent keynote and highlighted three award-winning projects, exploring and shaping recent trends in the field of Wealth Management.

• First, Prof. Philipp Krueger (GFRI) investigated whether institutional investors are genuinely contributing to environmental sustainability or merely greening their portfolios. His findings revealed that re-weighting portfolios towards lower carbon-emitting firms is the predominant strategy, with little evidence for corporate change effectively “Greening the Planet”.
  • Interested in his research? Read his project here.

• Next, Prof. Seymon Malamud (EPFL) challenged the whidely-held philosphy of parsimony in economic models. He demonstrated, with theoretical and empirical evidence, that machine learning (ML) asset pricing models with a high number of factors outperform simpler ones by a large margin. Providing new, rigorous theoretical insight into the behavior of ML models, this presentation left us eager to imagine the implications if everybody use complex models in the future.
  • Interested in his research? Read his project here.

• Critically balancing the enthusiasm for AI, Prof. Jennie Bai (Gergetown University) presented her research, showing that human touch cannot be fully replaced by technology, with evidence from the lockdown period.
  • Interested in her research? Read her project here.

• A special mention goes to Prof. Bruno Bais (HEC Paris), Member of the Scientific Council of GIWM, for his outstanding keynote contribution on the significance of cryptocurrencies. He demonstrated, throughrigourous empirical studies, that cryptocurrencies are most relevant in context with non-benevolant gouvernements. This insightful analysis adds a crucial dimension to our understanding of digital currencies in today’s world.
  • Interested in his research? Read his paper here.

Overall, their insightful contributions allowed us to delve deep into some of the most trendy and critical buzzwords in wealth management today, ingnitating a lively and engaging discussion with the participants.

We also thank the University of Geneva and Fondation Genève Place Financière for promoting our event and fostering connections between academia and practitioners.

GIWM attracts quality submissions for its call for projects in wealth management and is looking forward to annually inviting top speakers, to share their research with the audience composed of scholars and practitioners.

Do you have innovative research ideas in the field of Wealth Management? Make sure to follow our GIWM call for projects. GIWM values your work and is dedicated to provide support and visibility to curring-edge research!