For more than 30 years, the annual Gould Scholastic Award has been awarded in recognition of outstanding university students who compose exceptional academic papers on topics related to investment management strategies, theories and trends. The scholarship was previously administered by DST Systems, Inc. before its acquisition by SS&C Technologies in 2018. The award represents the effective utilization of operations management and information technology to advance the financial services industry.
The concept for this year’s entries posed the question, “As we continue to explore technology in our everyday lives, how do you see technology changing the interactions we have and the types of interactions as it relates to investing?”
Austin Russo of Rockhurst University was awarded first place, with a scholarship of $10,000 for his paper examining the technology preferences of the next emerging generation of investors, Generation Z (Gen Z). Russo discussed how artificial intelligence (AI) can be used to help guide Gen Z investors’ financial decisions, fitting their preference for a sleek, digitally automated financial landscape.
Charles Cangelosi, also of Rockhurst University, received the $7,500 second-place scholarship for his discussion of how AI can be used to effectively manage risk. He explored how machine learning can use various models to predict future market conditions and maximize portfolio construction.
Receiving the $5,000 third-place scholarship, Brecker Ferguson of Northeastern University wrote about the macroeconomic shifts in financial behavior as a result of technological changes. He argued that the age of fintech and digitization creates challenges such as decentralization’s potential impact on poverty, but also significant opportunities like providing paths to success for aspiring entrepreneurs.
Recognizing and supporting the future leaders in the industry is part of our ongoing commitment to investing in the research and technology innovations that drive our industry forward. To learn more about the Gould Scholastic Award, contact us.