MESSAGE FROM OUR DIRECTOR

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MESSAGE FROM OUR DIRECTOR

In a landmark year for the Australian Centre for Financial Studies, a comprehensive review and restructure of the organisation has been largely completed, and we have successfully begun the next chapter in our history as part of the Monash Business School in Melbourne.

As a result of the restructuring, we have settled into impressive new headquarters in the Melbourne CBD and, in August of this year, changed our name to the Monash Centre for Financial Studies (MCFS), reflecting our full integration with Monash University.

In our new CBD location, we are working in close proximity to a large and vibrant financial community comprising headquarters and major offices of banks, pension and sovereign wealth funds, investment companies, consulting firms, regulators, policymakers, government departments and technology businesses. This greatly assists our researchers and other faculty staff in interacting frequently and efficiently with the practitioner community.

Amid the momentous changes of the past couple of years, I am delighted to report that three outstanding academics joined our research ranks in 2019.

Dr Ummul Ruthbah, a PhD in Economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, was appointed a Senior Research Fellow. Dr Yolanda Wang joined the Centre as a Research Fellow in February. Dr Wang has a PhD in Finance from the University of Melbourne. She was joined in May by Dr Bei Cui, who has a Doctorate of Philosophy in Finance from the University of Hong Kong, also as a Research Fellow.

While changes associated with our restructuring have unavoidably caused some temporary disruption to our research output, I am excited to report that our new researchers have hit the ground running, with each now working on major projects (mentioned in the Highlights section and outlined in this report) that will bear fruit in the coming months and years.

With our new organisational structure, a new home base, a new name for our Centre and, most importantly, a newly expanded team of talented researchers, I have never been more ambitious and optimistic for our future.

PROFESSOR DEEP KAPUR

Director, Monash Centre for Financial Studies