The Institute provides a new high level establishment for quantitative financial analysis and new training programmes for professionals in the financial industry. It carries out its work in close collaboration with leading experts in financial economics and financial econometrics from the industry and prominent organisations from around the world. The major activities of the Institute are:

• Generating cutting edge research
• Organising training activities
• Driving education in financial economics
• Developing human resources and industry applications

In carrying out these activities, the Institute reaches out to industry partners and to distinguished local, regional and international institutions. In addition to its strong internal team at SMU, SKBI looks to external partners from industry and other academic centres to capitalise on their strengths and maximise the Institute's potential. For international prominence, it is essential for the Institute to bring in strong affiliates to work jointly with its people on the ground and to promote its research agenda. The key programmes which the Institute spearheads include research grants, conferences, seminars, training/education symposia and workshops, and research publications.

The Institute is fundamentally engaged in both academic research as well as applied studies in four major areas:

• Financial Econometrics,
• "Silver" Security,
• Asset Securitisation and Real Estate Finance in Asia, and
• Corporate and Investor Responsibility.

For each of these four areas, a research centre has been established, under the umbrella of the Institute, to drive the various activities in the area.