Individual assignment: Fintech
Financial technology (Fintech) firms can now be found in many areas of the financial system. Research papers are starting to emerge in areas such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML). The objective of your report is to apply finance tools to examine a change in your chosen area (AI or ML).
Use one or more papers to focus on a single type of Fintech. Your report should:
Briefly explain the area you have chosen
Discuss the role of your chosen area in Finance
Outline the method and data used by the researchers
Evaluate the findings
Discuss the implications for financial services organisations, firms and individuals
Success criteria for the assignment: There is no right or wrong answer as such. Your report will mainly be evaluated on your line of reasoning which should make use of the existing academic literature. The idea is to let you go into depth.
You are responsible for setting the scope of the project. You will have to devise a means of assimilating the academic and practitioner literature; you should refer to both. You can search the electronic journals on the library website for suitable articles. Research papers can be found on google scholar and www.ssrn.com.
Unpublished working papers are acceptable but do note that you will find a range of quality. Note that you will also find review papers and essays on these sites.
You can search the electronic journals on the library website for articles.
Your reading need NOT be restricted to finance and you may also use scholarship from other disciplines. White papers by investment companies and professional bodies can also be used but you should look to apply theory and not merely repackage existing facts, figures and trends.
Diagrams, tables and other exhibits can be included but make sure that these can be clearly read and understood by the markers.
A high standard report will:
provide clear, concise explanations
provide critical analysis rather than a description
incorporate both theory and evidence in your analysis
use appropriate scholarly research
recommend strategies or solutions for firms, individuals and/or regulators
1,500 words is the maximum length of the report, including appendices but not references, tables, exhibits or infographics. A 10% tolerance applies. You are not expected to devote much space to media reports. Where appendices are used these should be provided in synopsis form only and the impact on the analysis should be discussed, cross-referenced and explained.
