2026 Af2i Young Researcher Grant

For the sixth consecutive year, Af2i will award a grant to one or more young researchers, PhD candidates or postdoctoral fellows working on a topic of relevance to institutional investors.

The grant may amount to up to €3,000. It will be awarded following a review by the Association’s Research Committee of an application presenting the candidate and their research project.

The application, consisting of one to two pages, may be supplemented with appendices. It must be sent to Af2i at the email address indicated below no later than March 31, 2026.
The decision will be announced in early May 2026.

Theme for 2026: “Uncertainty”

Uncertainty can have significant impacts on investment decisions, both for companies and for investors. In recent years, its level has tended to increase, both in scope and in intensity.

Geopolitical developments, armed conflicts, tensions in global trade and multilateralism, technological transformations, hesitations regarding climate policies, as well as regulatory changes — particularly in the environmental field — are just a few examples of the growing and pervasive uncertainty surrounding economic agents.

Such uncertainty affects the ability to project into the future, conduct forward-looking analysis, and carry out economic and financial forecasting, both in the short and long term.

Expected Research Topics

The Af2i Young Researcher Grant will support, in 2026, research work focusing in particular on:

• the modelling of uncertainty and its impacts on the economic and financial environment;
• the forecasting of financial flows in the short and long term;
• asset valuation and financial risk assessment;
• uncertainty management and portfolio construction in a context of increasing uncertainty;
• behavioural responses to uncertainty — whether at the individual level (according to gender, education or expertise) or at the governance level (depending on the type of company or institution).

Applications must be submitted by March 31, 2026 by email to:
jean-francois.boulier@af2i.org

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