Meet DeGroote School of Business blockchain expert Katya Malinova

Katya Malinova, an emerging academic leader researching blockchain and fintech, is joining the DeGroote School of Business as the Mackenzie Investments Chair in Evidence-Based Investment Management.

Malinova joins DeGroote by way of the University of Toronto’s Department of Economics, where she most recently held the title of Associate Professor. She also served as co-director of the Master of Financial Economics program from 2015 to 2018.

“It’s important that my research is impactful, and I knew the best place to further my work was at DeGroote,” Malinova says.

“I was also very impressed with the calibre of students coming from McMaster, as I encountered many of them in Toronto.”

While at DeGroote, Malinova plans to undertake research related to market structure, fintech, and blockchain — specifically, how the latter will affect financial services in the near future. She’s also interested in the rapidly emerging global study of cryptosecurities and crypto-assets.

“We are very excited that Katya Malinova has joined the DeGroote School of Business. Her innovative research will further enhance the research reputation of the School,” says Anna Danielova, associate dean, faculty affairs and accreditation.

“It will also have broad, valuable impact on business and economic policy,” Danielova continues.

“Katya’s knowledge of the institutional features of Canadian stock markets make her an important contributor to the policy discussion centered on stock market design, both in Canada and in abroad.”

Malinova’s research and expertise in innovative new techonologies will be a huge asset for the fintech research, agrees Barry McInerney, president and CEO of  Mackenzie Investments.

“As a leading investment management solutions partner, we know the world of finance and see firsthand how the industry continues to evolve at a rapid pace with new technologies, products, and services,” McInerney says.

“I am thrilled that Katya Malinova has been selected to fill the Mackenzie Investments Chair in Evidence-Based Investment Management, and even more excited to see how her research will broaden everyone’s understanding of these new innovations.”

Born in the former Soviet Union, Malinova spent much of her childhood north of the Arctic Circle in the city of Murmansk. Her family later moved  to the small town of Sosnovy Bor, west of St. Petersburg, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, where she fell in love with cross-country skiing.

Malinova studied statistical physics at St. Petersburg State University, earning a BSc in 1998. During this time, she participated in an exchange program with the University of Michigan, and developed an unexpected passion for economics.

“After going abroad, I became the rebel in the family, academically,” she says with a laugh.

“My grandfather was a radiologist, my father a physicist, and my mother a computer scientist.”

Malinova returned to Michigan to earn a PhD in economics in 2006, and continued her academic career at the University of Toronto.

Most recently, she was one of three researchers selected by the Canadian Securities Administrators to conduct a pilot study of the impacts of trading fees and rebates on order routing behaviour by dealers, as well as execution quality and market quality.

Malinova’s position is funded through a  gift from Mackenzie Investments and Power Corporation of Canada.