At least once a month since February 1997, [the New York chapter of] QWAFAFEW has been bringing the math-minded men and women of finance together to raise a glass and think out loud, presenting drafts of papers that later end up polished and published in professional and academic journals. Because they are advising institutions or running funds, their ideas can make a real difference to investors, changing the way pensions cut risk, indexes get constructed, or fund managers trade.

Wall Street learns from them, and every month at QWAFAFEW they network, jawbone, and learn from each other.