Sixth Finance Down Under
Conference - 25 March 2010

Organized by:
The Melbourne Derivatives Research Group
Department of Finance
The University of Melbourne


The Melbourne Derivatives Research Group at The University of Melbourne invites papers for the Sixth Annual MDRG conference to be held at The University of Melbourne on 25 March 2010. Papers in all areas of finance are welcome. This global conference aims to disseminate unpublished high quality research in finance.

Previous MDRG conferences (including NYU Down Under 2007, Derivatives Down Under 2008, and Finance Down Under 2009) attracted prominent presenters and discussants from the USA, Europe and Asia. Program details of those conferences can still be found on our web site:
http://www.finance.unimelb.edu.au/Research/MDRG_conferences.html

 

Please click on the following to find out more:

Organizers 

Professor Bruce Grundy
Professor Paul Kofman
Dr Carsten Murawski

 

Keynote and Invited Speakers

INVITED SPEAKERS

Professor Stephen LeRoy University of California, Santa Barbara
Professor LeRoy is a Professor Emeritus in the Economics department of the University of California, Santa Barbara. He has previously served as the Carlson Professor of Finance in the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota and as a research economist with the Federal Reserve Board. His current research interest is subprime mortgages. He has published extensively in the fields of asset pricing and monetary economics in such journals as Econometrica, The Journal of Political Economy, and The American Economic Review. His textbook, Principles of Financial Economics (with Jan Werner), is widely considered the standard for graduate students in the discipline.
http://econ.ucsb.edu/~sleroy/webpage/

 

Haim Levy - Hebrew University The Jerusalem School of Business Administration
Professor Levy's research focuses on issues fundamental to modern finance theory. In particular, his contribution to the development of the Stochastic Dominance theory paved the way to a better understanding of modern finance theory and allowed for the development of investment decision making rules under uncertainty. Professor Levy has so far published about 20 leading text books and hundreds of articles in the top finance journals, among them those he co-authored with two Nobel Prize laureates. He has been identified as the most prolific and most cited researcher in finance in the world. His unique development of stochastic dominance theory has been applied in economics, agriculture and medicine as well as other fields. He has also developed various economic models for risk-management, especially models for risk-reduction in investment, by means of international diversification and through mergers and acquisitions. Professor Levy has served as economic advisor to the Bank of Israel; the Israeli Ministry of Finance; Ministry of Industry, Trade and Labor; Ministry of National Infrastructures and other government offices. http://bschool.huji.ac.il/facultye/haim_levy/


Professor Maureen OHara Cornell University The Johnson School
Professor O'Hara's research focuses on issues in market microstructure, and she is the author of Market Microstructure Theory (Blackwell:1995) as well as numerous journal articles. Her most recent research has focused on the role of underwriters in the aftermarket trading of IPOs, the impact of transparency on trading system performance, listing and delisting issues in securities markets, designing markets for developing markets, and the role of liquidity and information risk in asset pricing. In addition, Dr. O'Hara publishes widely on a broad range of topics including banking and financial intermediaries, law and finance, and experimental economics. Professor O'Hara is the executive editor of the Review of Financial Studies. She has served as president of the Western Finance Association, and as president of the American Finance Association. Professor O'Hara is on the board of directors of Investment Technology Group, Inc. (ITG), an agency brokerage firm, where she serves as lead director and chair of the compensation committee. Professor O'Hara is also chairman of the board of Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Rochester. She has consulted for a number of companies and organizations, including Microsoft, Merrill Lynch, Credit Suisse First Boston, the New York Stock Exchange, Bristol-Meyers Squibb, and the World Federation of Exchanges.
http://www.johnson.cornell.edu/faculty/profiles/ohara/


Professor Richard Stapleton The University of Manchester
Professor Stapleton holds a Chair in Finance at Manchester University, and is also a Professorial Fellow at The University of Melbourne. He received his PhD from Sheffield University and previous appointments include Chairs in Finance at Strathclyde University and Lancaster University and a Professorial Fellowship at Cambridge University. His publications appeared in the top finance journals: Journal of Finance, the Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, the Review of Financial Studies and the Journal of Financial Economics as well as in top econom(etr)ic journals: Econometrica, the Economic Journal, and the Journal of Economic Theory in addition to numerous specialist derivatives journals and books. His research focuses on issues in asset pricing, and he has published prolifically on the valuation of interest rate derivative securities. His research papers on the Libor Market Model have set the standard for practically applied research in fixed income, subsequently adopted by financial institutions.
http://www.rstapleton.com/

 

Programme committees

Programme Review Committee

Logistics

About Melbourne

There is much to love about Melbourne. This sophisticated cosmopolitan city in the south-east corner of mainland Australia inspires a deep passion in those lucky enough to live here. Melburnians love the city's vibrant energy, staggering choice of restaurants, funky boutiques, caf-filled laneways, cool bars, unbeatable galleries, luscious parks and village-like inner suburbs, each with its own special character.

Melbourne is the capital of Victoria and is a relatively modern city which is less than 200 years old and never sits still. New futuristic designs add to the fascinating mix of architecture and ensure the skyline is constantly changing. Melbourne is very much about lifestyle. It is no huge surprise to residents that their city has been ranked as one of the worlds most liveable cities
For more information, please click here for Visit Melbourne website: http://www.visitmelbourne.com/
And for a map of the Central Business District (which is walking distance from the conference venue): http://www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/rsrc/Maps/CityMap.pdf

Climate

March weather in Melbourne is typically quite mild with spells of fine sunny weather and temperatures around 20C. The nights are quite cool with temperatures dropping to 14C. However, weather in Melbourne can also be notoriously fickle and often provides four seasons in one day.

Travel Guide

Click here for the travellers guide to help you plan your trip to Melbourne: http://www.immi.gov.au/visitors/index.htm and http://www.australianexplorer.com/visa_information.htm
These sites contain useful information that you should know before arriving in Melbourne, including visa requirements.

Accommodation

Our recommendation is the Stamford Plaza Hotel, 111 Little Collins Street, Melbourne. To book rooms, please book online with the hotel directly on:http://www.stamford.com.au/spm/

Conference Venue
Melbourne Business School at The University of Melbourne campus, Parkville. - Map

Full maps of the University's campus at Parkville are available here.

GETTING THERE

Train

Train travellers alight at Melbourne Central station, exiting via the Swanston Street exit. Any tram on Swanston Street heading North-West named "University of Melbourne" will take you near the Melbourne Business School.

Bus

Two bus services take you to the doorstep of the University of Melbourne. The bus stop for both services is outside the Arts Centre of the University of Melbourne on Swanston Street:

Tram

The following tram routes can be used to get to the University of Melbourne:

Swanston Street

Elizabeth Street/Royal Parade

Contact Us

Finance Down Under 2010 Conference Secretariat
Conference Secretary: Ms Leonie Haddad
Email: l.haddad@unimelb.edu.au
Telephone: +61 3 8344 6913
Fax: +61 3 8344 6914

 

 

 

alt text Download the full Conference Programme - (PDF - 76 KB)