ACADEMIC RESEARCH. EXPLAINED.
MARC academic conference, which is hosted by the Villanova Finance Department. (Recent coverage of the event is available here and here.) Benefits of the conference:
The Democratize Quant mission is to turn academic insights into investment performance. The event is a joint effort between Alpha Architect and Villanova University and serves as a complement to the long-standing- Intimate environment (Max 100 attendees; screened applications)
- The pursuit of intellectual truth (No product-hawking; no story-telling; no jerks)
- CFP® CE Credit. 1
Who should attend? Investors looking to improve their knowledge:
- Independent advisors
- Family offices
- Do-it-yourself HNW
- Academic and practitioner researchers
TOMORROWS IDEAS. TODAY.
Your Research Experts
Topic #1: The ETF Industry
Presenter
Link to Paper

Eric Balchunas
Senior ETF Analyst at Bloomberg
Topic #2: Facts on Factors
Presenter

Guido Baltussen, PhD
Professor of Finance, Erasmus University Rotterdam
Discussant
Liqian Ren, PhD
Director of Modern Alpha, WisdomTree
Before joining Vanguard, Liqian was an associate economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. She earned her M.B.A. and Ph.D. in economics from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. She holds an M.A. in economics from Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis and a B.S. in computer science from Peking University in China.
Topic #3: Thematic ETFs
Presenter

Francesco Franzoni, PhD
Professor of Finance, USI Lugano
Discussant

Jay Jacobs, CFA
Head of Research and Strategy, Global X
Prior to joining Global X, Jay was a business analyst at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), in the ETF and Indexing Group, where he helped to launch hundreds of ETFs on the NYSE Arca trading platform.
Jay holds a BA from Emory University in International Studies and an MBA from Columbia Business School. He is also a CFA charterholder.
He can be followed on Twitter @JayJacobsCFA
Democratize Quant Event Logistics
Notes:
- Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc. (CFP Board) owns the CFP® certification mark, the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER TM certification mark, the CFP® certification mark (with plaque design) logo and the CFP® certification mark (with flame design) logo in the United States, which it authorizes use of by individuals who successfully complete CFP Board’s initial and ongoing certification requirements. ↩