CashNews.co
It’s a brand-new program. Now it has a new name and lots of funds to play with.
The University of Chicago Booth School of Business today (October 1) announced that it has received a gift of $60 million to name Booth’s new Master in Finance program, which launched this fall. In recognition of the gift from Clifford Asness and John Liew, founders of the global investment management firm AQR, the new program will be known as the Asness and Liew Master in Finance Program.
Asness earned an MBA from the University of Chicago in 1991 and a Ph.D. in 1994, and Lieu, a University of Chicago trustee, earned his MBA in 1994 and Ph.D. in 1995 from the school.
BOOTH A LONGTIME LEADER IN FINANCE ED
“Thanks to Cliff’s and John’s extraordinary generosity and leadership, the Asness and Liew Master in Finance Program will ensure that talented college graduates quickly reach the frontiers of modern finance,” says Madhav Rajan, Booth dean and George Pratt Shultz professor of accounting, in a news release accompanying the announcement. “By providing broad support for faculty, students, and other areas of the program, this investment will enable the school to successfully carry out its mission to influence and educate this promising new group of leaders.”
The 15-month Asness and Liew Master in Finance Program, along with Chicago Booth’s new Master in Management program, was announced in 2023 as the school’s first new degree offerings in 88 years. According to the school it is designed “for recent college graduates who are seeking a master’s that builds on their analytical aptitude and allows them to start a career in finance with a competitive advantage over their peers.”
Long considered a leader in finance education, Chicago Booth sent 32.6% of its MBA Class of 2023 into the field — down a bit from 2022, but more than any other MBA class since 2016. Finance MBAs this year made a median salary of $175K, with some in more specialized areas making more; the high salary for any Boothie in the Class of 2023 was a grad who went to work in private equity and reported a base salary of $247,500. Year in and out, the school’s top recruiters include Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, Citigroup, and Morgan Stanley, among others.
The new finance master’s welcomed its first cohort in August.
‘THIS IS REALLY THE LEAST WE CAN DO’
“We developed this transformative program to not only expand students’ quantitative skills, which are critical for excelling in the world of finance, but also to enhance their interpersonal and critical-thinking skills,” Starr Marcello, deputy dean for MBA Programs at Booth, said in a December story when the new program was announced. “By combining a deep understanding of finance with the ability to communicate effectively and solve problems, our Master in Finance graduates will be prepared to succeed in their early jobs and far beyond.”
The immersive Asness and Liew Master in Finance Program offers a course of study “rooted in advanced quantitative methods in finance,” according to the school’s description. “Students have the opportunity to take classes about the technologies and advances that are disrupting the financial industry — from artificial intelligence to machine learning to blockchain technology. The program also offers students opportunities focused on career exploration and advising, such as the exclusive Leaders in Finance Speaker Series, as well as the option to specialize in an area that will help them stand out in the job market.”
Asness and Liew co-founded AQR in New York City in 1998. Asness serves as managing principal and chief investment officer, and Liew oversees research and portfolio management and is a member of the firm’s executive committee. Their previous gifts to the school have included investments in junior faculty fellowships, support for the naming of the Kent A. Clark Center for Global Markets, and the establishment of the AQR Capital Management Professorship, currently held by distinguished service professor Ralph S.J. Koijen.
“When I think about the difficulties of professional and intellectual success I think ‘there but for the grace of Chicago go I!’ Everyone needs some luck in life, and my great luck was being there when I was,” Asness says about making the new gift. “This chance to give something back — helping make Chicago for others what it was for me — is beyond gratifying. Thank you, Chicago.”
“It’s hard to overstate the impact that our time at Booth had on us professionally. We literally built our careers and our business around what we learned. This really is the least we can do,” adds Liew.
DON’T MISS CHICAGO BOOTH LAUNCHES A NEW MASTER OF FINANCE, ITS SECOND NEW DEGREE IN 88 YEARS and BOOTH WELCOMES ITS FIRST MiF AND MiM COHORTS — AND OPENS APPLICATIONS FOR THE NEXT
#cashnews #UnitedStates #newsfinace #finance #FollowsCashnews