Winter Research Desk · Applications open
Build your first investment thesis with a former J.P. Morgan senior economist.
Choose a real company. Build your own valuation. Defend what you think it is worth. Join Alex Dryden and four other high-school students for six live research sessions this winter.
5 Fellows · Grades 9–12 · Online, worldwide
November 23, 2026 – January 15, 2027 · $1,000
Alex Dryden, CFA
Former Senior Economist, J.P. Morgan
10+ years in London & New York.
Now researching and teaching at SOAS.
Your mentor for all six live sessions.
Meet the person behind the credentials ↓Alex has appeared on
His research has been quoted in
for five places on our inaugural Research Desk
represented among Research Desk applicants
OUR PRIOR 1:1 MENTORSHIP STUDENTS HAVE BEEN ADMITTED TO
Applications are open for the Winter 2026–27 Research Desk. Admissions shown relate to prior 1:1 mentorship students and reflect their full applications; they are not outcomes of the new cohort.
The experience
Six sessions with Alex.
A point of view of your own.
You bring a company and a question. Alex helps you turn them into an argument backed by numbers, then challenges you to make it stronger.
Start with a company that interests you.
A biotech awaiting a trial result. An AI business spending billions. A listed football club. Choose your own company and sharpen the question with Alex.
Put a number behind your view.
Read the accounts, build a model in a spreadsheet or Python, and test how different assumptions change your valuation. Receive written feedback on every draft submitted during the programme.
Face the skeptical investor.
Present your thesis, answer Alex's questions, and revise your work. Complete an individually authored 2,000–2,500-word report and your own valuation model.
From J.P. Morgan's markets team to your research desk.
Alex spent more than a decade at J.P. Morgan Asset Management in London and New York, working on macroeconomic analysis, central banks and bond markets. His roles included Senior Economist and Global Market Strategist.
- Professional qualifications: CFA and CAIA charterholder; completed the Investment Management Certificate.
- Research and teaching: PhD researcher in Economics and Doctoral Research Fellow at SOAS's Centre for Sustainable Finance. His teaching covers global financial markets, banking and finance.
- Published research: author of “Where Are All of Asia's Debt-for-Nature Swaps?” in Asian Development Review, alongside research on sovereign debt and climate finance.
- Education: MSc from SOAS and a BSc in International Business, Finance and Economics from the University of Manchester.
- Making economics accessible: founder of Financial Fables, where he explains economics and investing through stories.
For the Winter Research Desk, Alex leads every live session, helps refine each Fellow's question, gives written draft feedback, and answers research questions between sessions.
Professional backgrounds and media references describe Alex's experience. GRF is not affiliated with or endorsed by these institutions or outlets.
The people behind the feedback
What learning with a mentor feels like.
Prior GRF 1:1 mentorship
“With every draft my work became more focused, every argument became stronger, and by the end I had far more confidence in my ability to tackle difficult questions independently.”
Orange County, California
Alex's university teaching
“Alex is easily the best tutor I've had in any of my modules at SOAS. His willingness to answer every question and make students feel comfortable is unparalleled.”
Feedback on Alex's teaching, outside GRF
These comments relate to prior 1:1 mentorship and Alex's university teaching. These are not testimonials from the Winter 2026–27 Research Desk.
Winter 2026–27 · Five seats
What is a company
really worth?
Spend the winter building an answer you can defend. Six 90-minute Monday sessions with Alex, with a break over Christmas and independent research between meetings.
Complete your report and model by January 15. Finished reports are featured in the GRF cohort collection with student and parent consent. Fellows who complete the program receive a GRF certificate.
- Applications
- Close November 13, 2026
- Program
- November 23, 2026 – January 15, 2027
- Winter break
- December 19 – January 3
- Commitment
- 4–6 hours per week
- Students
- Grades 9–12 · Worldwide, online
- Tuition
- $1,000 for the full program
- Before paying
- Seven days to consider your offer and an optional parent call
Prefer individual mentorship?
Your finance question. A professor or former finance professional.
Every lead research mentor is a university professor or former finance professional. Private mentorship includes 15 research sessions, four writing sessions, four publication-support sessions, and feedback on every draft. Tuition is $4,999, with need-based aid available.
Winter Research Desk · 5 places
Your company. Your argument.
Your place at the desk.
Six live sessions with Alex, November 23 – January 15.
Applications close November 13.