Psaros Center for Financial Markets and Policy

What Psaros Center for Financial Markets and Policy does

The Georgetown Psaros Center for Financial Markets and Policy is a non-profit academic research and policy center housed within Georgetown University's McDonough School of Business in Washington, D.C. Founded in 2010, the center functions as a convening platform at the intersection of financial markets and public policy, hosting the annual Financial Markets Quality (FMQ) Conference, the FinPolicy Trek student immersion program, the Undergraduate Stock Pitch Competition, the Careers in Finance networking event, and an Internship and Fellowship Opportunities program connecting students with federal agencies such as OMB, Treasury, SEC, CFTC, and FINRA. Its programming also includes a Distinguished Fellows Program and a Visiting Fellows Program, which have hosted SEC and CFTC chairs, Federal Reserve officials, major financial institution CEOs, and U.S. Senators. The center is led by Executive Director Michael Piwowar (former SEC commissioner and acting chairman) and Founding Director Reena Aggarwal, with advisory leadership from Michael Psaros (Co-founder and Managing Partner of KPS Capital Partners).

The center's product portfolio is delivered as in-person events, conferences, and student programs rather than as software or technology products. Core offerings include the FMQ Conference (held annually at Lohrfink Auditorium in the Rafik B. Hariri Building), the FinPolicy Trek (a week-long immersive program taking Georgetown undergraduates to financial offices in Washington, D.C. and New York City), the Undergraduate Stock Pitch Competition ($2,500 prize), and the Careers in Finance event (300+ student attendees annually). Content is distributed digitally through the center's website (finpolicy.georgetown.edu) and YouTube channel (@psaroscenter), which extends reach beyond physical attendees. Research output covers topics including credit reporting, open banking, interest rates, and digital asset regulation.

The center operates as a non-profit and does not generate commercial revenue. All student programs are free for Georgetown students. Funding flows through donations (with Michael Psaros, B'89, as a significant benefactor and Advisory Board Chair), Georgetown University support, and event-related activities. The organization employs approximately 30 people and serves four overlapping stakeholder segments: Georgetown undergraduate students, federal policymakers and regulators, financial industry professionals seeking engagement with policy and academic perspectives, and academic researchers. Given its non-commercial structure, the center is not a traditional investment target; its value is measured in programmatic reach, reputational capital, and influence rather than revenue.

Name

Psaros Center for Financial Markets and Policy

Legal name

Georgetown Psaros Center for Financial Markets and Policy

Website

https://finpolicy.georgetown.edu

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Georgetown Psaros Center for Financial Markets and Policy is a non-profit academic center within Georgetown University's McDonough School of Business that convenes policymakers, financial industry leaders, and scholars through the annual FMQ Conference while engaging Georgetown undergraduates via the FinPolicy Trek and Stock Pitch Competition.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Financial Markets Policy Research

NAICS

Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (6113)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYMPAGAGAG

Finance & Investment Conferences

Media, Entertainment & Sports/Live Entertainment & Events (Concerts, Theater, Festivals)/Conventions & Conferences (Business Events)

Keywords

• Financial policy research
• Academic finance center
• Market regulation forum
• Financial markets conference
• Experiential finance learning

Headquarters

HQ city

Washington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The Psaros Center is an academic research and policy center that convenes policymakers, regulators, and financial industry leaders through its annual FMQ Conference, conducts solutions-oriented research on global financial market issues, and engages Georgetown University students through experiential learning programs including the FinPolicy Trek, Stock Pitch Competition, Careers in Finance event, and Internships and Fellowship Opportunities gateway.

Product overview

The Georgetown Psaros Center for Financial Markets and Policy is an academic research and policy center that operates as a platform of programs rather than a software product. Its portfolio includes the annual FMQ Conference, the FinPolicy Trek student immersion program, the Undergraduate Stock Pitch Competition, the Careers in Finance networking event, and the Internship and Fellowship Opportunities program. These offerings are complemented by Distinguished Fellows and Visiting Fellows programs that bring together leading policymakers and industry professionals. The center serves as a forum for solutions-oriented discussions and research at the intersection of finance and policy.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Financial Markets Quality (FMQ) Conference: Annual premier event for policymakers, industry professionals, and scholars to discuss critical financial issues
• FinPolicy Trek
• Undergraduate Stock Pitch Competition
• Careers in Finance Event

Products and services

• Financial Markets Quality (FMQ) Conference

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 300 students annually attend the Careers in Finance event
• +2 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Milken Institute: The Milken Institute is a non-profit economic think tank focused on financial markets, capital formation, and policy. It is directly comparable: Michael Piwowar (the Psaros Center's new Executive Director) was previously EVP at Milken Institute Finance, and both organizations convene industry leaders around financial market policy.

Broad incumbents

• Brookings Institution: Brookings is one of the largest and most established U.S. think tanks with substantial work on financial markets, monetary policy, and regulation. It operates at a much broader scale than the Psaros Center but shares the model of convening academics, policymakers, and industry around financial policy research.
• Manhattan Institute for Policy Research: Manhattan Institute is a policy research organization producing work on finance, economics, and regulatory policy. Comparable in producing policy research and convening discussions, though based in New York rather than Washington, D.C. and operating at broader policy scope.
• Peterson Institute for International Economics: PIIE is a leading non-profit research institution focused on international economics, financial markets, and policy. It is comparable to the Psaros Center in its academic research orientation and convening role at the intersection of finance and policy, though it operates at a larger, more established scale.
• Bipartisan Policy Center: BPC is a Washington, D.C.-based think tank that convenes policymakers across party lines on financial regulation, economic policy, and related issues. It is comparable to the Psaros Center in its D.C. location, convening function, and policy research focus, but operates with a broader policy remit.
• CFA Institute Research and Policy Center: CFA Institute is a global association of investment professionals that conducts research and policy advocacy on capital markets and investment industry standards. It is comparable to the Psaros Center in producing thought leadership at the intersection of finance and policy, but with a global professional-member base rather than an academic-student base.
• Hoover Institution: Hoover is a Stanford-based public policy research center that conducts influential work on economic and financial policy. Comparable as a university-embedded policy research center with strong convening power, though it operates at substantially larger scale and broader policy remit.

Emerging players

• Yale Program on Financial Stability: YPFS is a Yale School of Management academic center focused on financial stability research, policy, and crisis response. It is highly comparable as a university-embedded academic center studying financial markets and policy, though its focus skews more toward crisis and stability research than market structure.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@psaroscenter
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/psaros-center-for-financial-markets-and-policy

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Psaros Center for Financial Markets and Policy