Launched in 2021, the Wharton Initiative on Financial Policy and Regulation (WIFPR) was created to support research, events, student programming, and other engagement at the intersection of finance, law, and public policy. The Wharton Future of Finance Initiative (WFFI) will continue many of the signature activities that grew and thrived under WIFPR while pursuing a broadened mission that studies the financial system and its support of the real economy, with particular attention to two forces that shape it: the stability that sustains it and the innovation that transforms it.
Conferences and Convenings
WIFPR became the home of the long-running Wharton Conference on Liquidity and Financial Fragility, which began in 2012. It fostered new initiatives, including a joint annual conference with the International Monetary Fund and the Wharton Chicago-Harvard Insolvency and Restructuring Conference. WIFPR also co-hosted the 2026 Wharton Future of Finance Forum at Penn Washington, bringing together leading voices from academia, industry, and government to discuss the most pressing questions facing global finance.
Research and Policy Engagement
Through its series of white papers, roundtables, and webinars, WIFPR served as a hub for insight and discussion on critical innovations and key challenges across financial markets and institutions. Participants included leading scholars at the University of Pennsylvania and other institutions, industry practitioners, legal experts, and policymakers. This work carries on in the WFFI Policy Series.
Student Engagement
WIFPR engaged with Wharton and Penn students through events featuring prominent guest speakers such as Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman, Minister of Finance and Minister of Corporate Affairs of India; Daleep Singh, Vice Chair and Chief Global Economist at PGIM Fixed Income and former Deputy National Security Advisor for International Economics; and Neel Kashkari, President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. It also expanded opportunities for students to deepen their understanding of financial policy and regulation through a student fellows program, which will continue under WFFI.
Continuing WIFPR’s Legacy
Over the course of its work, WIFPR established a strong foundation for research, dialogue, and student engagement at the intersection of finance, law, and public policy. As WFFI builds on that foundation, it will carry forward WIFPR’s commitment to rigorous scholarship and meaningful engagement while expanding its focus to address the evolving challenges and opportunities shaping the future of finance.