AJ Aryamaan Jena

I study how noisy financial information turns into prices, forecasts, and portfolio decisions, using methods from data science and machine learning. I am also interested in prediction markets.

Most recently, I have been working on covariance estimation and regularization in my working paper, Conditioning or Orientation? Shrinkage Targets for Characteristic-Managed Portfolios.

Before the PhD, I was a research assistant at Chicago Booth (machine learning for Zillow home prices and LendingClub defaults), Harvard Business School (pension portfolios and illiquidity; acquisitions and FinTech innovation), and IIM Bangalore (presale housing returns).

I have also interned at Cboe Global Markets (VIX quote filtering, SEC EDGAR data tools), Pareto Frontier Capital (crypto trading signals), Adaptive Investment Solutions (a hedging quote engine), and Pipli AI (OCR and named-entity recognition).

Officially, football is my main interest outside research. Unofficially, research is my main interest outside football. I study it far more seriously than it needs as the Department of Unnecessary Football.

I also care about mental health awareness, access to education, and financial literacy. In 2020, I co-founded The Existology Foundation, a Mumbai nonprofit that works with students, parents, and educators to destigmatize mental illness.