National Bank of Canada Capital Markets

Call for Research Proposals on the Theme of Financial Innovation

The CDI and National Bank of Canada Capital Markets are pleased to offer a $20,000 grant* to support research projects on the theme of financial innovation.

We would like to extend our warmest thanks to National Bank of Canada Capital Markets for its valuable support as a sponsor of the Pierre Laroche Scholarship. Its contribution reflects its commitment to supporting and promoting the next generation of professionals in the field of derivatives.

The Capital Markets segment at National Bank offers a complete suite of products and services to corporations, institutional clients, and public-sector entities. This segment focuses on relationships with clients and their growth by providing comprehensive advisory services and research or capital markets products and services. Over 1,000 specialists serve the Bank’s clients through its offices in North America, Europe, the UK, and Asia. National Bank of Canada Capital Markets.

Your submission must include:

  • The name and academic affiliation of the principal investigator and co-authors;
  • The project title and an abstract (maximum of 2 pages) that will enable the Selection Committee to assess the project’s relevance to the theme of financial innovation;
  • The principal investigator’s academic CV;
  • The identification of one or more academic journals in which the project’s results could potentially be published;
  • A two-year proposed budget specifying the intended use of the funds (research assistant compensation, data acquisition, travel and conference participation expenses, etc.).

Requirements:

  • The principal investigator (applicant) must be a faculty member (assistant, associate, or full professor) at a Canadian university;
  • Submission of a research paper (working paper) no later than December 30, 2028, in the format required by the targeted academic journal;
  • Acknowledgement of the financial support provided by the Pierre Laroche-Scholarship and the CDI in the research paper and in any resulting published article;
  • Presentation, either virtually or in person, no later than March 31, 2029, of  the  research findings  to  Mr. Pierre Laroche and representatives of National Bank of Canada Capital Markets and the CDI.

Projects will be evaluated based on their relevance to the theme of financial innovation, methodological quality, feasibility, publication potential in a leading academic journal, and the quality of the principal investigator’s academic CV.

Please submit your proposal by email as a PDF document written in either French or English to cdi-icd@hec.ca by Friday, October 23, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. (Eastern Time).

The winning project(s) will be announced on or around Monday, November 16, 2026.

*The Selection Committee reserves the right to select a single project to receive the full $20,000 grant or two projects to receive $10,000 each. The Committee also reserves the right not to select any project if none of the submissions meets its expectations.