Leading finance expert is honoured by the British Academy

A Business School academic has been elected as a Fellow of the British Academy, a leading institution for humanities and social sciences.

Franklin Allen, Professor of Finance and Economics at Imperial College Business School, was recognised by the Academy for his research on issues relating to financial crises, corporate finance and financial innovation. His recent projects include an analysis of the Chinese stock market.

He joined Imperial in 2014, as one of the founders of the Brevan Howard Centre for Financial Analysis, a research centre which aims to engage policymakers, financial services professionals and the wider public on global financial challenges.

Professor Allen has been appointed as a Fellow of the British Academy among 66 highly distinguished scholars from around the world. Fellows of the British Academy represent the very best of humanities and social sciences research, in the UK and globally. This year’s new Fellows are experts in subjects ranging from feminist theory to the economic development of Africa; medieval history to Indian philosophy and face perception.

Commenting on his new Fellowship, Professor Allen said: “I’m delighted to receive this recognition by the British Academy for my work. Financial instability and economic uncertainty are among the greatest global challenges we face. I hope this Fellowship will highlight the research of the Brevan Howard Centre in trying to make sense of the major financial challenges facing financial institutions, businesses and society.”

He is the fourth academic from Imperial College Business School to have been honoured for their research by the British Academy. Last year, Professor Douglas Gale, another founder of the Brevan Howard Centre, was elected as a Fellow alongside Professor Mike Wright, Director of the Centre for Management Buy-out Research. Professor Carol Propper, Associate Dean of Faculty and Research, was the first Business School academic to be made a Fellow in 2014.

Professor Nelson Phillips, Acting Dean of Imperial College Business School, said: “Congratulations to Franklin on his new Fellowship. The Brevan Howard Centre has been key to enabling us to grow our significant body of research on world financial issues so I’m delighted that Franklin has been recognised for this incredible achievement. I’m pleased that the Business School has again been acknowledged for our world-leading research in finance and economics.”