OR/MS Today, August 1997

FSS Section is Renamed and Revived

At the recent San Diego National Meeting, the Finance Section of INFORMS was restructured and renamed; the new name is the Financial Services Section (FSS). This name change is more than cosmetic. At the recent Section meeting, the attendees were unanimous in their desire to reach out to the financial services community (banking, investment banks, insurance firms, etc.) in order to build a bridge between their pressing problems and the skills set of the INFORMS community.

INFORMS members have a long history in the development of financial engineering methods (portfolio optimization techniques, risk management methods, etc.). The FSS will continue to support sessions at the national meetings and specialized conferences on this theme. However, the Section will also embrace the productivity and efficiency challenges facing this sector of the economy as well. Why? Financial services comprise more than 4 percent of the Gross Domestic Product in the United States as well as employing more than 5.4 million people, more than double the combined number of people employed in the manufacture of apparel, automobiles, computers, pharmaceuticals and steel.

While impressive, these numbers belie the much larger role that this industry plays in the economy. Financial services firms provide the payment services and financial products that enable households and firms to participate in the broader economy. Given the size and importance of this sector, it is surprising to see very few papers presented at INFORMS meetings on the management of these organizations, especially when compared to the large number of manufacturing and transportation-related papers.

Thus, the revised and revived FSS will be the main focal point for academics to interact with industry leaders on the broad set of issues facing the financial services industry. Our goal is to develop deep relationships with industry, including the sponsorship of specialized conferences and sessions that deal with the issues raised above.

The first steps of the FSS will take place at the upcoming Dallas meeting, where two sessions will be sponsored by the Section; one on financial engineering and the other on efficiency of financial service firms. In addition, the Business Meeting will be used to develop a strategic plan for the FSS to accomplish its goal of deep interaction with the industry.

If you are interested, please come to the meeting. If you are unable to attend, contact: Dimitris Tsioutsias, SDT, Research Group, dimitris@sdt.com; John Birge, University of Michigan, (313) 764-9422, jrbirge@umich.edu; or Patrick T. Harker, The Wharton School, (215) 898-4715, harker@wharton.upenn.edu

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