12th Congress of the Bachelier Finance Society brought together around 290 participants from over 30 countries

Last week, the School of Applied Mathematics of the Getulio Vargas Foundation (FGV EMAp) hosted the 12th edition of the World Congress of the Bachelier Finance Society, one of the two most important events in the area of ​​Quantitative Finance in the world. This was the first time in Latin America and the event welcomed approximately 290 participants from 30 countries in total. 

The week featured several activities at FGV in Rio de Janeiro. More than 230 paper presentations and nine plenary sessions were held, with the participation of the world's leading experts in Quantitative Finance.

The event enabled the exchange of experiences and knowledge between internationally renowned researchers, together with the participation of financial market experts and postgraduate students in areas related to Computational Modeling, Stochastic Optimization, Computational Statistics, Differential Equations in Finance and Data Science.

Researchers from more than 30 countries were present in Rio | Photo: Cris Vicente

Impeccable organization

In the view of Jan Obloj, President of the Bachelier Finance Society, the outcome of the first congress in South America was the best possible.

“Hosting the event in South America proved to be a wise decision. The Bachelier Foundation aims to make it global and to connect the community of researchers and industry partners working in the field of Quantitative Finance. The conference structure and reception were spectacular, and that is exactly what we wanted to achieve with the event. It is great to visit South America for the first time, because we have so many researchers and participants here. Everything was fantastic”, said Obloj, a professor at the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom.

Jan Obloj celebrated the arrival of Congress in South America | Photo: FGV EMAp

Of the almost 300 participants who were in Rio de Janeiro during the five-day event, Austrian Karoline Vonach also approved the organization of FGV EMAp and the level of excellence of the plenary sessions and congress activities. She has just completed her master's degree at the Vienna University of Technology and the event became a kind of guide for her line of research towards a doctorate in the area of ​​Quantitative Finance.

“I’m not entirely sure what my PhD topic will be, but I think it’s one of the main reasons I came to this event. It’s important to know my possibilities so I can make a decision. I think it’s great to see that Mathematics brings together different areas, especially Quantitative Finance, and I believe there are many more topics covered here at the event”, said Karoline, who was surprised by a presentation on Environmental Finance.

“It’s a topic I’d never come across before and it’s an inspiring topic to pursue a PhD in. It’s very different from what I saw in my master’s degree, for example”, adds the student. On her first visit to Brazil, Karoline made it clear that the hospitality of the locals and her colleagues at the event helped her have an even more satisfying experience at FGV EMAp.

Karoline expanded her possibilities for a doctorate | Photo: FGV EMAp

“I really enjoyed the experience of visiting Brazil. Brazilian people seem to be more open and receptive. It’s much easier to start a conversation. I did activities with several people and found it very enjoyable. Here you have connections with many people from various countries around the world and they help you to create new ideas and new approaches that you wouldn’t have thought of. The more you talk to people, the more knowledge you acquire, which I think is fantastic for research”, she adds.

An undergraduate student in Data Science and Artificial Intelligence at FGV EMAp, Ramyro Corrêa Aquines is thinking about pursuing a career in Quantitative Finance and believes that the content presented last week allowed him to increase his knowledge, whether to continue in the research area or enter the market.

“This experience was very important to me. I aim to work in the area of ​​Finance. Although I am a Data Science student, I want to work in the area of ​​Applied Mathematics and it is always good to see great researchers who are able to apply what we are used to seeing in undergraduate studies, such as Probability and Stochastic Processes. It is a greater motivation to continue studying and reach a level like this, whether working with research in Finance or working in a large fund”, says Ramyro.

Student at FGV EMAp, Ramyro intends to continue in the Finance area | Photo: FGV EMAp

FGV at the top in organizing scientific events

Yuri Saporito, a member of the Scientific Committee and organizer of the event, was very impressed with the impact of the congress on the international community. “Bachelier has the characteristic of internationalizing the event. Events have been held in Asia recently, and this is the first time in South America. It is the event where the leading minds in the field meet, and bringing FGV EMAp into this segment is very important for the area of ​​Quantitative Finance. It represents an important area in which students will do internships in the financial market. It is interesting to see the latest research or work being done in connection with academia and the market,” notes the FGV EMAp professor.

Yuri Saporito was President of the Congress Organizing Committee | Foto: FGV EMAp

The organization and level of excellence of the congress activities contributed even more to the School continuing to position itself as an institution of the highest world level.

“The event was a success. Everything went smoothly. FGV EMAp is excellent for holding events. The participants were very complimentary. Brazilians know how to throw a party. In this case, a math party is a very positive thing. It’s really cool that Mathematics is included in the Brazilian people’s celebration. The plenary sessions were excellent, they set the tone for the event, and the participants were very excited” says Saporito, coordinator of the School’s undergraduate course in Data Science and Artificial Intelligence.

History of the World Congress of the Bachelier Finance Society

This is the main event of the Bachelier Finance Society. Held every two years, it began in 2000 and has now been held 12 times.

See the venues of previous Congresses:

12th - Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), in 2024 - in-person

11th - Hong Kong (China), in 2022 - online

10th - Dublin (Ireland), 2018 - in-person

9th - New York (USA), 2016 - in-person

8th - Brussels (Belgium), 2014 - in-person

7th - Sydney (Australia) - 2012 - in-person

6th - Toronto (Canada) - 2010 - in-person

5th - London (United Kingdom) - 2008 - in-person

4th - Tokyo (Japan) - 2006 - in-person

3rd - Chicago (USA) - 2004 - in-person

2nd - Crete (Greece) - 2002 - in-person

1st - Paris (France) - 2000 - in-person

Who was Bachelier?

The Frenchman Louis Bachelier, who gives his name to the world's most important conference on Quantitative Finance, was a mathematician from the 19th and 20th centuries. Bachelier is best known for being the first professional mathematician to model the stochastic process now called Brownian Motion, which is the basis of most models used in the field.

The French mathematician is considered a precursor of Modern Probability Theory, in addition to being called by the scientific community as the father of Quantitative Finance.