By Ed Hayward | Chronicle Staff

Published: May 23, 2013

Charles I. Plosser, the president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, and the Wharton School’s Franklin Allen will deliver the keynote addresses at the Eighth Annual Finance Conference at the Carroll School of Management on June 5 and 6.

Plosser, who has led the Philadelphia Fed since 2006, is a macroeconomist well known for his research on real business cycles. Prior to joining the Fed, he was a professor, research center director and dean of the William E. Simon Graduate School of Business Administration at the University of Rochester.  

Allen is the Nippon Life Professor of Finance and Economics at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. His research has focused most actively on financial innovations, asset price bubbles, financial crises and the comparison of financial systems. He is the co-author of the widely used textbook Principles of Corporate Finance.

Conference organizer Associate Professor of Finance Edie Hotchkiss said Plosser brings unique insights into U.S. monetary policy as a regional fed president and a periodic member of the Fed’s policy-making Open Market Committee.

“He’s a key player in U.S. monetary policy and we’re honored that he will be joining us for the Finance Conference,” said Hotchkiss, whose Finance Department colleague Jun Qian also will take part in the conference. “Whether you’re a university faculty member or an executive in the private sector, his insights will offer perspective to anyone connected to the world of finance.”

Allen will bring a perspective based on his expertise in global financial markets, Hotchkiss said.

“This is a joining of academia and industry for conversations that might not otherwise happen,” said Hotchkiss. “It’s meant to be a great learning experience that covers a wide array of topics that fall across all asset classes for investors.”

Speakers such as Prosser and Allen reflect the mission of the annual finance conference, which brings a diverse group of financial experts to campus for a wide-ranging series of discussions about the latest academic research and the issues practitioners face on a daily basis in the private sector.

“Ever since we developed this conference, our goal has been to develop a great bridge between practitioners and academics working in the fields of finance and asset management,” said Griffith Family Millennium Professor Hassan Tehranian, who chairs CSOM’s Finance Department. “This conference is the perfect vehicle to accomplish that goal. We have a tremendous collection of thought leaders who will be here sharing their latest insights.”

The conference’s strong alumni component will include Steven M. Barry ’85, chief investment officer of fundamental equity at Goldman Sachs Asset Management; Joseph Wickwire II ’86, portfolio manager at Fidelity Management & Research Co.; John E. Buehler, Jr., ’69, managing partner at Energy Investors Funds; and David P. O’Connor ’86, senior managing partner at High Rise Capital Management, LLP, and Roch Hillenbrand ’72.

Other speakers include James S. Chanos, president and founder of Kynikos Associates.

The conference website is at http://www.bc.edu/schools/csom/research/asset.html.