News

July 08, 2021

SAIF Qinglan Fund Established

On June 30th, the establishment ceremony of the SAIF Qinglan Fund was held. Professor Guangshao Tu (Adjunct Professor at SJTU and Executive Director of the SAIF Board) and Professor Chun Chang (Executive Dean, Professor of Finance and Huifu Chair Professor at SAIF) delivered speeches. All SAIF professors and members of the management team attended the ceremony. Professor Guangshao Tu emphasized that the Qinglan Fund was established to promote young scholars to direct their efforts in teaching and research toward advancing SAIF's academic research and contributing to its think tanks. Professor Chun Chang said in his speech that SAIF, with its top academic research and extraordinary educational programs, takes the lead in the financial disciplines in China. The SAIF Qinglan Fund, an endowment fund jointly established by Professor Tu, along with many SAIF professors and alumni, will further support SAIF's lead position in the finance arena. The SAIF Qinglan Fund, one of the funds donated to by professors, introduces and cultivates of high-level young academic talent and provides targeted support for junior faculty in academic research. It will be used for the Qinglan Research Award and the Qinglan Scholars Program, and can also be used to support junior faculty at SAIF. The Qinglan Fund has set up a sub-fund, the Qinglan-Pudong Science Investment Fund. According to fund management regulations, people and enterprises from all areas can now donate to it. Anyone who donates more than a certain amount can become a director of the fund; he or she would then also have the right to rename the sub-fund.

July 06, 2021

2021 SAIF Commencement Held

On July 3rd, the 2021 SAIF Commencement Ceremony was held in the auditorium at the Xuhui Campus of Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU). This year's event featured remarks from Qing Wu (Vice Mayor of Shanghai, Chairman of the SAIF Board) and Zhenbin Yang (Chairperson of the SJTU University Council, Vice Chairman of SAIF Board). The ceremony was also broadcast live to enable graduates and professors overseas to participate virtually. In his opening remarks, Professor Zhenbin Yang praised the remarkable achievements SAIF had made in recent years. "SAIF has effectively promoted SJTU's "First-class universities and disciplines of the world" construction and provided both talents and think tanks for the development of the Shanghai International Financial Center and the Global Science and Technology Innovation Center,"Professor Yang said. "In your new life journal, be perseverant, be honest, progress with foresight, and always strive for the prosperity of our nation," he remarked to the graduates. Vice mayor Qing Wu, in his speech, gave his best wishes to the graduates. He inspired all graduates to contribute greater efforts toward their future careers. In 2021, a total of 405 MF, MBA, EMBA, GES, and PhD students were awarded their degrees by SAIF. Included among them are the first class of Fintech Track graduates from SAIF’s flagship MF program. The Fintech graduates are heavily favored by the market; each student completes two years of systematic courses in finance, statistics, machine learning, and computer skills. The data provided by the SAIF Career Development Center shows that the placement rate of Fintech graduates is 100% and that half of them received more than three job offers. Meanwhile, the placement rate of MF General Track graduates was also 100% in 2021. Secondary market investment and research, sales and trading, consulting and investment banking are the main job functions for this year's MF graduates. By the end of June, the placement rate of 2021 full-time MBA graduates had reached nearly 95%. The top two industries they entered were asset management and investment banking or consulting (security/financial). During the ceremony, nineteen 2020 graduates and sixteen 2021 graduates received the "Shanghai Outstanding Graduate" award. Thirty-three 2020 graduates and thirty 2021 graduates received the "SJTU Outstanding Graduate"award. Shuwang Yan, a graduate representative from the EMBA program delivered an extraordinary graduation speech in which he reflected upon his own learning experience and expressed gratitude to SAIF. Three graduate donor representatives accepted the graduation donation certificates. To encourage students with remarkable achievements, all funds from the donations will be granted as scholarships to SAIF MBA and MF students. At the ceremony, Jianjun Wang (Executive President of the Alumni Association at SAIF) warmly welcomed all graduates to join the SAIF Alumni Association. Together with the 2021 graduates, the 2020 graduates were also invited to join the commencement, which was canceled last year due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Professor Chun Chang, Professor Qigui Zhu, Professor Hong Yan, and Professor Feng Li awarded the graduation certificates to both 2020 and 2021 graduates and took photos with them. At present, SAIF has produced over 5000 graduates, all of whom now contribute to the progress of China's finance industry.

July 01, 2021

SAIF’s AACSB Accreditation Extended

On June 25, 2021, the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) Board of Directors officially informed the Shanghai Advanced Institute of Finance (SAIF) that its accreditation had been extended for an additional five years. SAIF first earned its AACSB accreditation in 2016 and became one of the youngest accredited business schools in the world. International AACSB accredited institutions must complete an intensive peer-review process every five years to ensure continued compliance with evolving business education standards. From May 9th to May 11th, an AACSB Peer Review Team (PRT) conducted a virtual continuous improvement review on SAIF. The PRT was chaired by Professor Kalok Chan (Former Dean of the School of Business, Chairman of the Department of Finance, the Chinese University of Hong Kong), with Professor Wei-Chi Tsai (Dean, School of Business, National Chengchi University) and Professor Chae-Yeol Yang (Dean, School of Business Administration, Chonnam National University) as members. After a series of online interviews and conversations with SAIF stakeholders (including the management team, faculty, staff, students, alumni, as well as representatives of donors and employers), the PRT completed its comprehensive evaluation on SAIF's development during the past five years. These included its development strategies and goals, faculty management, intellectual contributions, educational programs, curriculum management, allocation of resources, and other aspects. After the review, the PRT applauded the outstanding achievements made by SAIF over the past five years. "SAIF has an open, friendly, and collegial culture. The school offers high-quality courses and provides students with a strong theoretical foundation, international perspectives, and local insights. Meanwhile, SAIF is quite responsive to market needs; for example, it comes up with the Fintech track for the MF program, and the Innovation Finance track for the EMBA program. In addition, its Chinese Academy of Financial Research (CAFR) fulfills an important mission of policy research and applied research, and creates research impact that can influence policy making,"stated Professor Kalok Chan, on behalf of the PRT. "Modeled after leading business schools in the world, SAIF obtained its initial AACSB accreditation only six years since its inception. The successful re-accreditation this year undoubtedly marks the recognition of our achievements in the past 12 years by the international peers. With our world-class faculty, innovative research, and leading curricula, SAIF will continue to provide finance education to the highest standards, endeavor to fulfill its mission to be a world-class institution, and make greater contributions to the financial industry development both in China and globally,"said Professor Chun Chang, SAIF Executive Dean.

June 04, 2021

SJTU Ranked 1st in Finance among Mainland Chinese Universities

Shanghai Ranking Consultancy introduced the Global Ranking of Academic Subjects (GRAS) 2021 on May 26, 2021. Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU) and Tsinghua University ranked 1st and 2nd among mainland Chinese universities in Finance. In terms of the specific evaluation of academic indicators in Finance, SJTU ranked 1st among mainland Chinese universities with the weighted number of papers published in top journals scoring at 56.8, the average impact of papers published scoring at 81.8, and the percentage of internationally cooperative papers published scoring at 82.3. Shanghai Ranking Consultancy is a top-class organization dedicating to research on higher education intelligence and consultation. It has been the official publisher of the Academic Ranking of World Universities since 2009, and its Global Ranking of Academic Subjects (GRAS) contains rankings of universities in 54 subjects. In 2021, more than 1,800 out of 4,000 universities across 93 countries and regions were listed among its rankings. GRAS rankings use a range of objective academic indicators to measure the performance of world universities in respective subjects, including: papers published, research influence, international collaboration, research quality, and international academic awards. Compared with last year, the number of universities in mainland China on the list (and the total number of their listed subjects) significantly increased by 7.5% and 11.3%, respectively, this year. In 2021, SJTU ranked among the world's top 10 in 6 subjects, with more than 40 subjects on the list in total; it ranks 1st in Marine/Ocean Engineering.

June 02, 2021

SJTU SAIF Workshop Welcomes Speech by Professor Chun Chang

On May 13, 2021, the SAIF Workshop was held for the second time in the auditorium of Tsung Dao LEE library at the Minhang Campus of Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU). Professor Chun Zhang (Executive Dean, Professor of Finance and Huifu Chair Professor at SAIF), was invited as a guest speaker to share his insights on the theme of “Excessively Loose Monetary and Fiscal Policies”. In his speech, Professor Chang analyzed the loosening trend of the international monetary and fiscal policy, which posed new challenges to both the conventional macro-finance theoretical framework and the practice of monetary and fiscal policies. He further pointed out that the model of high debt and low-interest rates had limited sustainability and would bring long-term problems, such as high inflation and deficit risks. Professor Chang then discussed why developed countries have adopted unconventional monetary and fiscal policies at this time. He emphasized that the unconventional monetary and fiscal policies could not solve the fundamental problem of development. On the contrary, it would bring a series of negative feedback loops such as increasing wealth disparity, and continuous increases for government deficit and debt ratios. These would trap countries in a vicious circle. In response to this problem, Professor Zhang put forward three approaches for China. First, we must encourage population growth, promote scientific and technological innovation, and accelerate institutional reforms. Second, we must narrow wealth disparity through precise poverty alleviation efforts. Third, we must identify the reason for the weakness in China's international finances and avoid structural risks brought about by high debt.

April 30, 2021

Professor Chao Zi published in the Journal of Financial Economics

Recently, the paper "Under-Diversification and Idiosyncratic Risk Externalities" by Professor Chao Zi, Assistant Professor of Finance at Shanghai Advanced Institute of Finance (SAIF) at Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU), was published by the top international finance journal Journal of Financial Economics (JFE). Sponsored by the School of Business at the University of Rochester, JFE is one of the Top 3 international financial journals in the world, along with Journal of Finance (JF) and Review of Financial Studies (RFS). It's a peer-reviewed academic journal covering both theoretical and empirical types of research within financial economics. The paper was co-authored by Professor Chao Zi, together with Dejanir Silva (Professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign) and Felipe S. Iachan (Professor at the EPGE Finance School in Brazil). It focuses on the topic of "Under-Diversification and Idiosyncratic Risk Externalities" and yields targeted solutions. By constructing a macro-financial model, the authors found that idiosyncratic uncertainty did cause underinvestment and excessive aggregate risk-taking, which had a significant impact upon welfare. They point out that optimal allocation could be implemented through financial regulation using a tax benefit on debt and risk-weighted capital requirements on financial intermediaries.

April 29, 2021

The 1st “Yangtze River Finance” Workshop at SAIF Inaugurated

On April 21, 2021, the first “Yangtze River Finance” workshop at SAIF was inaugurated in the Yangtze River New Financial Demonstration District. It was jointly sponsored by Nanjing Jiangbei New District and the Shanghai Advanced Institute of Finance (SAIF) at Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU). Nearly 100 staff from Jiangbei New District attended the conference. Qun Luo, Deputy Secretary of the Party Work Committee of Jiangbei New District, delivered a speech at the event on behalf of Jiangbei New District. He said that under the new development pattern of "Domestic and International Dual Circulation", Jiangbei New District should seize upon development opportunities to vigorously promote the financial industry with joint efforts made by relevant departments and entrepreneurs. He also thanked SJTU for its care and support for the Jiangbei New District of Nanjing. Professor Qigui Zhu (Secretary of the CPC SAIF Committee) delivered a speech on the theme of the "Macro-economic Situation in the Post-epidemic Era" from six aspects. These include: the macro-economic analysis system, the construction of the new development pattern, the complexity of the global economy, the deployment of the government's economic work, the analysis and judgment of the economic situation, and the thinking behind high-quality development.

April 28, 2021

Donor Appreciation Ceremony Held at SAIF

On April 17, 2021, an appreciation ceremony for the 3rd anniversary of the establishment of the Shanghai Advanced Institute of Finance (SAIF) Donation Wall was held at the Xuhui Campus at Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU). Professor Guangshao Tu (Adjunct Professor at SJTU and Executive Director at SAIF) and Professor Chun Chang (Executive Dean, Professor of Finance and Huifu Chair Professor at SAIF) delivered welcome speeches. At the beginning of the ceremony, Professor Jie Pan (Vice Dean at SAIF) introduced the history of the SAIF Donation Wall to the donors and alumni. In April 2018, in recognition of the contributions to the development of SAIF made by donors, the SAIF Donor Wall was officially established in the south hall at SAIF at Xuhui Campus. At present, 100 individuals, 14 classes, and 19 enterprises have been listed on the wall. Many of them have made multiple donations, which fully reflects the SAIF donation culture — "Be thankful for mutual benefits". In April 2019, SAIF ran a special donation program called "Step By Step" to celebrate its 10th anniversary of establishment. Professor Chang said in his speech that SAIF donors demonstrate the "Gratitude"spirit of both SJTU and the International Business School, which is one of the most precious assets of SAIF since its establishment twelve years ago. He hoped that with the spirit of SJTU and the power of SAIF, donors and SAIF would continue to be of benefit to each other. As a representative donor of the "Step By Step”program, Professor Tu said that the development of SAIF was inseparable from the care and support of all kinds of shareholders, with special recognition being given to the donors. Through the program, Professor Tu jointly established the "SAIF Qinglan Fund" with several professors. He hoped that these programs and funds would promote young scholars to collaborate in their efforts with teaching and research to build SAIF into a world-class financial school.

April 20, 2021

CAFR-FinVolution Joint Research Laboratory to be Assembled

On April 15th, 2021, CAFR-FinVolution Joint Research Laboratory at Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU), which was donated by FinVolution Technology, was officially unveiled at the FinVolution Partner Conference with the theme of "FinVolution: New Business Model of Future". Professor Guangshao Tu, Adjunct Professor at SJTU and Executive Director of Shanghai Advanced Institute of Finance (SAIF), delivered a speech at the conference. The launch of the CAFR-FinVolution Joint Research Laboratory represents the recognition and ardent expectation of the industry for SAIF's academic achievement. It will also greatly support SAIF's research and practice in the field of digital finance. SAIF will continue to forge ahead with determination, give back to society with outstanding research, and make unremitting contributions to the construction of Shanghai as an international financial center.

March 20, 2021

Delivering Financial Theories and Ideas: the 1st SAIF Workshop Inaugurated

On March 11th, 2021, the inaugural SAIF Workshop was launched in the auditorium of Tsung Dao LEE library at the Minhang Campus of Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU). Professor Tan Wang, Professor of Finance and MF Program Academic Director at Shanghai Advanced Institute of Finance (SAIF) at SJTU, was invited as a guest speaker to share his insights on the theme of "Investment Overview". Nearly 150 students attended the event, along with Professor Hong Yan, Professor of Finance and Deputy Dean for Faculty and Research at SAIF. SAIF Workshop is a series of academic lectures on finance, designed for SJTU faculty and students and built on SJTU’s Master Forum. In each session, a professor at SAIF will be invited to interpret relevant field knowledge, analyze macro financial landscapes, and explore financial development models, business strategies or market trends. In this session, Professor Wang reviewed the evolution of classic investment philosophy. He introduced the key concepts of investment around three key words of value, risk, and market effectiveness. In addition, Professor Wang also discussed several portfolio theories aimed at risk diversification and explained to the audience how to "not put eggs in the same basket", from an academic point of view. Furthermore, he shared his thoughts on emerging concepts such as ESG investment and financial empowerment of the real economy. He believed that today's finance not only seeks higher returns and risk diversification, but also takes into account social responsibility. It is hoped that the workshop would bring some inspiration to the audience on their future asset allocation and to assist their understanding for a number of issues, from the perspectives of both finance and dynamics.