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Milken Institute Finance
Finance Pillar Highlight
Report
Global Opportunity Index 2026: Growth Markets in Southeast Asia
This report offers an in-depth look at the composition and evolution of capital inflows and cross-border mergers and acquisitions activity.
Finance Portfolios
We work within six portfolio areas: 10,000 Communities; Financial Innovations Labs; FinTech and Innovation; Geo-Economics, Climate Resilience, and Innovation; Inclusive Capitalism; and Lifetime Financial Security.
Featured Thought Leadership
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Examining the Gap Between AI Use and Impact: Insights from the Global Opportunity Index
AI adoption is accelerating across both advanced and developing economies. According to a recent report by Strand Partners and Amazon Web Services (AWS), 42 percent of European businesses were using AI in 2025, a 27 percent increase from...Read ArticleImage
Leilani Jimenez
Senior Associate, ResearchLeilani Jimenez is a senior associate with the Research Department at the Milken Institute. In this role, she supports the department's research portfolio in health economics, regional economics, and international finance. -
Global Opportunity Index 2026: Growth Markets in Southeast Asia
As firms diversify supply chains amid intensifying geopolitical competition, Southeast Asia's developing economies are drawing renewed attention from global investors.Read Report
NJ
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Request for Information Related to the Financial Literacy and Education Commission (FLEC) Update to the US National Strategy for Financial Literacy
April 6, 2026 Financial Literacy and Education Commission US Department of the Treasury Washington, DC 20220 RE: Notice of Request for Information Related to the Financial Literacy and Education Commission (FLEC) Update to the US National...Read LetterImage
Cheryl L. Evans, JD
Director, Lifetime Financial Security, Milken Institute FinanceCheryl L. Evans, JD, leads the Lifetime Financial Security (LFS) Program of the Milken Institute’s Finance pillar. She frequently discusses a variety of issues related to financial security and retirement savings and has been cited in publications such as US News and World Report, Yahoo Finance, Bloomberg News, MarketWatch, CBS News, Pensions & Investments, McKnight’s Senior Living, and TheStreet. -
Strategic Recalibration of Climate Finance: Maximizing Impact, Managing Disruption
The global community is at a strategic inflection point in the race to meet ambitious climate, sustainability, energy transition, and adaptation goals.Read Report
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Milken Institute’s 2026 Global Conference Convenes Changemakers in Los Angeles, May 3–6
At a defining moment for international stability, leaders will focus on solutions through open dialogue and cross-sector collaboration.Read ArticleImage
Chad Clinton
Director, Media RelationsChad Clinton is the director of media relations for the Milken Institute. Hired to this role in August 2021, Clinton develops and executes strategies to amplify the Institute’s core messages by generating coverage of its pillar workstreams, experts, and events. -
Investing in Europe’s Competitiveness: Improving European Defence Readiness
The Milken Institute, in partnership with Oliver Wyman, hosted a private roundtable during the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on January 19, 2026.Read Report
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Milken Institute Opens ‘Future of Finance’ Event in Washington, DC
Business and government leaders will explore evolving market structures and emerging policy challenges shaping the finance industry amid rapid transformation. Washington, DC (March 3, 2026) — The Milken Institute today opened its Future of...Read ArticleImage
Chad Clinton
Director, Media RelationsChad Clinton is the director of media relations for the Milken Institute. Hired to this role in August 2021, Clinton develops and executes strategies to amplify the Institute’s core messages by generating coverage of its pillar workstreams, experts, and events. -
Rewiring for Wealth: Making the Pivot from Debt Dependency to Saving and Investing
Americans are drowning in a record $18.59 trillion of household debt, and breaking free requires combining personal financial discipline with institutional support to shift from mere survival to genuine wealth-building.Read ArticleImage
Cheryl L. Evans, JD
Director, Lifetime Financial Security, Milken Institute FinanceCheryl L. Evans, JD, leads the Lifetime Financial Security (LFS) Program of the Milken Institute’s Finance pillar. She frequently discusses a variety of issues related to financial security and retirement savings and has been cited in publications such as US News and World Report, Yahoo Finance, Bloomberg News, MarketWatch, CBS News, Pensions & Investments, McKnight’s Senior Living, and TheStreet. -
Economic Mobility Alliance: Chairman's Prospectus and Reference Materials February 2026
The Milken Institute's Economic Mobility Alliance (EMA) unites a variety of the Institute’s programs to expand access to capital under a single, coordinated umbrella, accelerating economic opportunity for individuals at every stage of their...Read ReportImage
Mike Milken
ChairmanMike Milken, chairman of the Milken Institute, has been at the forefront of successful initiatives in medical research, education, public health and access to capital for more than four decades. Fortune called him “The Man Who Changed Medicine” and Forbes listed him among “Visionaries Reimagining Our Children’s Future.” -
Strengthening the US-Mexico Pharmaceutical Supply Chain
The pharmaceutical supply chain is an intricate, interconnected system that plays a crucial role in ensuring communities and individuals have timely access to medicines.Read Report
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Reimagining Impact Investing for Small Businesses in the Age of AI
Small businesses are responsible for nearly half of all private-sector jobs and economic growth. They, along with startups, serve as the dual engines driving both innovation and economic expansion.Read ReportImage
Kristen Fanarakis
Associate Director, Small Business, Entrepreneurship, and Economic GrowthKristen Fanarakis leads the small business, entrepreneurship, and economic growth initiative within the Milken Institute’s Finance pillar. She focuses on macroeconomic and systemic trends affecting American small businesses and startups, and their implications for the economy and innovation. -
Generosity After the LA Fires: Charitable Giving and the Road Ahead to Rebuilding
In the aftermath of the devastating Eaton and Palisades Wildfires in Los Angeles, philanthropic institutions, corporations, community-based organizations, and individuals generated a significant cross-sectoral charitable giving response—and...Read ReportImage
Alexander Meeks
Director, 10,000 Communities Initiative, Milken Institute FinanceAlexander Meeks is a director at Milken Institute Finance. He focuses on helping communities accelerate resilient disaster recovery and adapt to extreme weather events.