The Chicago Board of Trade hosted its first seminar in 1948, bringing together traders and academics to discuss the futures markets industry. Copies of the first and subsequent proceedings of those conferences were made available to participants and others who were interested in the futures markets industry.
By 1978, the research presented at the seminars was of a more formal kind common in academic circles. Dr. Lloyd Besant, director of the CBOT's Education Department, published the presented paper in a new journal, Review of Research in Futures Markets.
In 1985, Patrick Catania, Dr. Besant's successor, continued the research seminars and strengthened the editorial process of the journal. Papers submitted to RFM were peer-reviewed, and the journal's name was changed to Review of Futures Markets. The journal presented in print the proceedings of the significant research of international scholars and industry experts.
Mr. Catania expanded the range of the seminars, to Europe, with the first European Research Symposium held in 1988, and then to the Pacific Rim in 1990, with the Asia Pacific Futures Research Symposium.
Revew of Futures Markets was published under the auspices of the Chicago Board of Trade(CBOT) from 1982 to 1994. Since then, the CBOT has published only the proceedings of the Futures Research Symposium under the auspices of the CBOT Educational Research Foundation.
The CBOT has agreed to allow Kent State to use the name Review of Futures Markets to restart the publication of the world-class journal.
--Chicago Board of Trade gives MSFE Program Million Dollar Gift
Asia Pacific Futures Research Symposium
The Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) has promoted academic research for the past 50 years by sponsoring annual research seminars in the United States, Europe, and in the Asia-Pacific region. As derivatives markets have grown and the employment of hedging and risk management strategies has increased, the annual symposia have helped to advance the understanding of these markets globally.
These seminars provide a recognized forum for academics and practitioners to present recent research to an audience of fellow researchers and market practitioners. In 2002 the CBOT Educational Research Foundation presented a gift to Kent State University to continue promoting this academic research. The Foundation Board still actively participates in the organization of the symposium, while Kent State University provides management and coordination of the event.
The forum benefits both the paper presenters and the audience. Paper presenters receive constructive feedback from formal discussants, market users, and the research-oriented audience. They can use this feedback in subsequent revisions of their papers, and in fact improve the finished product as a result of this forum. Finally, the presenters are free to publish their final product in the various academic and professional journals.
The goal for each seminar is to have 10 papers presented and discussed during the day-and-a-half program. Submissions are reviewed and selected by the Editorial Advisory Board, an independent group of leading academics and practitioners. Criteria for paper selection include not only the contribution of the paper to the relevant literature in the area, but also the paper's ability to stimulate meaningful discussion and future dialogue among the program attendees.
Finally, each seminar's proceedings - both papers and commentaries - are printed, bound, and distributed as an issue of the CBOT Research Symposium Proceedings, not precluding submission of the research to professional journals. The proceedings are also available on this web site in pdf format.
Patrick Catania
Executive Editor
If you are interested in learning more about the CBOT seminars please address your request to:
Rebecca E. Evans
Department of Finance
College of Business Administration
P.O. Box 5190
Kent, Ohio 44242-0001
Phone: 330.672.0190
Fax: 330.672.9806
Email: evansr@kent.edu
