Celebrating 10 years of AIFMRM
AIFMRM celebrated its 10th birthday in style at one of Cape Town’s premier hotels. Academics, associates, donors, founders and staff members gathered at the Cellars-Hohenort on 11 July, along with many others who had been a part of the AIFMRM journey over the past decade.
Guests were treated to fine dining with wine chosen by AIFMRM founder and director – and amateur sommelier – Professor David Taylor. After mingling in the reception rooms, attendees were regaled by stories from Professor Don Ross, Colin Iles, and Professor Taylor about AIFMRM’s inception and objectives.
“We wanted something that would change the ecology of quantitative finance in South Africa,” Professor Ross said. This would require hard work, financing, and collaboration. Colin Iles added: “Professor Ross, Professor Taylor and I realised that together, we could go far with this idea.”
So, AIFMRM was born. Ten years down the line, it has exceeded expectations. It is rare for a specialist programme to be established at any South African university – rarer still for it to endure. At AIFMRM’s core was a vision of an institute that would not only be exceptional on an academic level but also in terms of the type of financial experts it would produce: professionals who would be instrumental in shaping and innovating at the highest level of industry.
Don, Colin, and David agreed that their purpose was to be able to develop the minds that would shape the financial industry to advance our society. It was not a modest goal, but with over 300 graduates from the two Master’s degrees, it appears that this is well on its way to being achieved. While the majority of AIFMRM graduates work in South Africa’s financial sector, many alumni hold positions at major financial institutions across the world.
FirstRand’s Chief Risk Officer, Gert Kruger, said: “The AIFMRM programme has consistently produced top-performing candidates over many years. It has successfully balanced academic rigour with practical skills and insights relevant to industry. As the market has evolved, so has the programme, resulting in well-rounded candidates equipped with up-to-date knowledge who excel in both academia and practice. It is truly a world-class programme.”
Producing and supporting such exceptional students would not have been possible without the backing of the Faculty of Commerce at UCT.
As Professor Suki Goodman, Dean of the Faculty, reveals: “AIFMRM has proved to be a hugely successful and strategically important entity in the Faculty of Commerce. The postgraduate programmes have produced a diverse cohort of exquisitely trained, technically proficient financial practitioners and scholars into industry and academia.”
She added that risk management and quantitative finance are highly specialised and dynamic areas, with the research produced by AIFMRM contributing to industry-specific needs. "If the achievements of the first ten years are anything to go by, the next ten will yield abundant returns on the generous investments of our corporate partners," she said.
These corporate partners – ABSA, Old Mutual, Standard Bank, Nedbank, RMB, FirstRand, Sanlam, and Liberty – have played a vital role in the institute's life. It is not just their financial backing but also the productive exchange of professional and academic insights that has benefited all concerned.
While AIFMRM began as – and remains – an institute dedicated to solving the quantitative finance challenges in South Africa’s financial sector, it has become about something else too: people. Fantastic quants do not just arise out of thin air – they begin with and are supported by dedicated people. They are inspired by and encouraged by other members of the academic and professional community, and they flourish and prosper due to a generous atmosphere of collaboration.
“Everybody here – and some people who are not – has at one time or another over the last ten years acted selflessly to benefit us. AIFMRM is something that we did together – all of us. I am very proud of what we have achieved.”