The mission of the Finance Theory Group is to foster and advance theoretical research in financial economics, especially in the areas of corporate finance, financial institutions, and financial markets. The FTG strives to promote theoretical research that will influence finance thought, guide and illuminate empirical work, and impact policy.
The FTG holds two regular meetings every year, where members and fellows meet to present and discuss their work. Members and fellows of the FTG are researchers from leading institutions, who work primarily on the theory of corporate finance, financial institutions, and financial markets.
The group was founded by Itay Goldstein and Gustavo Manso in the fall of 2009, when they organized the first meeting at MIT. Since then, the organization of the group’s regular meetings rotates among members of the group; each such meeting is organized by two or more different members. Participation is by invitation only.
Other activities of the group include a Summer School for Ph.D. students and faculty members, a Summer Conference, the “Bridging Theory and Empirical Research in Finance” conference, and the Asian Conference. These events are open to members and non-members. Additionally, the group publishes the Finance Theory Insights digest and awards a best-paper prize to recognize the top theory papers on the academic job market in finance.
The FTG’s current by-laws can be found here.