Quantitative Finance is the application of mathematical and statistical methods to valuation, trading, investment, hedging, and risk management in financial markets. A large part of it used to be popularly called Financial Engineering — particularly for the areas that deal with innovative financial products and processes, although this name has become less popular in the light of huge speculative losses on such products by rogue traders. The 2008 global financial crisis saw some extravagant products, particularly the CDOs, failed banking processes, reactive government bailouts, and these cost taxpayers plenty.

However, more correctly interpreted, it is the improper and greedy gambles on such innovative financial instruments by financial institutions, the ineffectiveness of credit rating agencies, and condoning by well paid corporate boards and even the negligence and complacency of regulatory bodies that gave rise to the GFC. Constructive financial engineering (not destructive financial engineering ) that started since the dawn of modern civilizations — such as the creation of implicit forward contracts by Joseph in Chapter 41 of the first book, Genesis, of the Bible, still has its proper place and important use in financial markets.

Statistical Modeling is the application of mathematics and logic to the inquiry  of real data manifestations. Econometrics is statistics coupled with economic purpose. Increasingly with the growing sophistication of machine learning and big data, all these quantitative techniques and methods will bring quantitative finance to a new level.

SMU started a new undergraduate Major in Quantitative Finance in August 2006 within the Business School. It was the first time Mathematics courses,  excepting beginner calculus, were offered at SMU. The first Financial Engineering Programs in Singapore were started in 1999 at NUS and also at NTU. The earliest discussion of universities with MAS on trying to build industry expertise in Singapore on Computational Finance & Financial Engineering was in 1997/98. It had been exciting for me to be involved in the above activities in Singapore.