The Future Is Bright for Finance

PROVO, Utah – Dec 21, 2017 – Steven Thorley’s office looks different than it did when he first started teaching full-time at the BYU Marriott School of Business twenty-six years ago. His bookshelf holds more awards and publications, a taxidermy deer head now sits on the wall, and his world map of currencies has filled with collections from his travels.

But Thorley’s office isn’t the only part of BYU Marriott that has transformed over the years: Thorley has seen the school undergo many changes to its finance curriculum, faculty, and culture.

Current students are familiar with the prominence of the finance program within BYU Marriott. Hundreds of hopeful students apply to the program each year, and many graduates have achieved successful careers at companies such as Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, and Wells Fargo. However, Thorley points out that this wasn’t always the case.

Formed in 2009, the Department of Finance is relatively new to the school. Thorley played a role in the formation of the department and served as its first chair. The department was created to better meet the needs of students interested in the field, including providing knowledge needed to land competitive job positions.

“I think the finance program is doing great at achieving that goal,” Thorley says.

The updated curriculum also helps BYU Marriott recruit new finance professors, especially those who can fulfill the demands of teaching and publishing research.

“We’re getting new faculty all the time,” Thorley says, “and they are very talented.”

Along with many of his colleagues, Thorley has seen remarkable success in his research. His work on investor overconfidence, portfolio constraints, and other subjects has been published in many top financial journals. In 2006, he received a Berstein Fabozzi/Jacobs Levy Award for his research in portfolio management.

Thorley is currently the H. Taylor Peery professor of finance, which is made possible through a generous endowment by the Peery family. The endowment also provides resources for scholarships, research publications, administrative support, and activities such as case competitions, field studies, and campus clubs.

According to Thorley, the Peery Institute of Financial Services has contributed to the changing culture of the finance program. He has seen the finance program grow in competitiveness and anticipates it will increase even more in national recognition over the next few years.

“The future is bright for BYU Marriott’s finance program,” Thorley says.