International Association of Financial Engineers (IAFE)

By
Julia Kagan
Julia Kagan
Full Bio

Julia Kagan is a financial/consumer journalist and former senior editor, personal finance, of Investopedia.

Learn about our editorial policies
Updated January 10, 2023
Reviewed by
Amy Soricelli
Amy Soricelli
Reviewed by Amy Soricelli
Full Bio
Amy Soricelli has over 40 years working with job candidates and has honed the art of the job search in all areas. She offers one-on-one session interview preparation skills or constructs resumes for job seekers. She conducts workshops and seminars on all aspects of the job search and is a consistent contributor to HBCU Career Connection.
Learn about our Financial Review Board
Fact checked by
Suzanne Kvilhaug
Suzanne Kvilhaug
Fact checked by Suzanne Kvilhaug
Full Bio
Suzanne is a content marketer, writer, and fact-checker. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Finance degree from Bridgewater State University and helps develop content strategies for financial brands.
Learn about our editorial policies
International Association of Financial Engineers (IAFE)

Investopedia / Candra Huff

What Is the International Association Of Financial Engineers (IAFE)?

The International Association for Quantitative Finance (IAQF), formerly the International Association of Financial Engineers (IAFE), is a not-for-profit, professional society dedicated to promoting the field of quantitative finance by providing platforms to discuss current and fundamental issues in the profession.

Understanding the International Association Of Financial Engineers (IAFE)

Founded in 1992, the International Association of Financial Engineers (IAFE), now known as the International Association for Quantitative Finance (IAQF), is comprised of academics and professionals from banks, broker-dealers, hedge funds, pension funds, asset managers, technology firms, regulators, accounting, consulting and law firms and universities worldwide.

Members have access to exclusive content on the organization’s website and to IAQF committees (area-specific initiatives to discuss policy issues in depth, including investor risk, operational risk, technology, and education); attendance to IAQF evening forums; and discounts to certain industry journals and IAQF endorsed conferences.

The group also pays tribute to one member of the financial engineering world with a Financial Engineer of the Year (FEOY) award. The winner is announced annually at a hosted gala dinner usually held at the United Nations building in New York City. This attracts some of the most prestigious people in the field as one of IAQF’s biggest events of the year.

Financial engineering is a cross-disciplinary field that utilizes computational intelligence, mathematical finance, and statistical modeling to analyze and predict market activity in order to make more informed investing, trading, and hedging decisions.

Risk management is a key aspect of financial engineering and practitioners attempt to calculate the financial risk posed by specific investments. Financial engineers are often referred to as "quants" because of the quantitative skills required of the profession. Financial engineers are typically well-versed in the C++ programming language and math subfields, including stochastic calculus, multivariate calculus, linear algebra, differential equations, probability theory, and statistical inference.

Article Sources
Investopedia requires writers to use primary sources to support their work. These include white papers, government data, original reporting, and interviews with industry experts. We also reference original research from other reputable publishers where appropriate. You can learn more about the standards we follow in producing accurate, unbiased content in our editorial policy.

  1. International Association of Financial Engineers. "About / Introduction." Accessed March 17, 2021.