The Department of Economics is proud to announce that MFed, one of our student organizations, has moved to the second stage of the Annual Fed Challenge! After making a well-received virtual presentation, the team will have the opportunity to participate in a Q&A session and compete against other teams nationally.
Hosted by the Federal Reserve, the Annual Fed Challenge asks college students to analyze current economic conditions, forecast conditions in the near future, examine risk factors and mitigants, and finally formulate monetary policy recommendations based on the previous three factors. Each year, dozens of schools participate by sending in a 15-minute presentation, with a select few moving onto a Q&A session. This year, MFed was one of three schools chosen to represent the 7th Federal Reserve District, which includes Michigan, Iowa, and parts of Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin. After receiving feedback last year, MFed’s Competition Team implemented new growth strategies that led directly to their advances this year.
MFed’s Competition Team, led by Economics student Avani Singireddy, is only one part of the overall structure of MFed. The club’s overall mission is to promote financial literacy both on and off campus. Their Education Outreach Committee, headed by Jack Crandall visits elementary schools in both Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti to teach students about the basics of spending and saving, with some lessons even introducing studentsto advanced concepts like the stock market. Students can also join the Research Team, which allows students to analyze topics of their choice under the guidance of Dr. Oleg Zamulin (one of our lecturers) and Dr. Daniil Manaenkov (a forecaster with the Research Seminar in Quantitative Economics).
Our entire department is very proud of the MFed Competition Team’s successes. Driven by a passion for financial education and literacy, the club has continued to grow and expand. Aside from the aforementioned committees, the club also hosts biweekly meetings that offer professional development, financial education, and presentations from a variety of speakers. Interested students can read more about MFed on their website, on instagram @mfedumich, or by contacting their President, Anastasiya Ilkiv, at mfed-eboard@umich.edu
