About Us

Overview

FinFAQs.com, a product of FedWise, LLC, presents unbiased, reliable, clear and concise financial answers through its FedWise Answer Engine™. Conceived by financial policy professor Alan Rechtschaffen, this database was created in consultation with professors, economists, and current and former regulators. The information is based on the most reliable government sources. Our researchers have worked to present this material so that the most complex financial subjects might be more easily understood.

The pool of answers available to you at FinFAQs.com is constantly being updated. The FedWise Answer Engine™ installed on our site is constantly learning what questions need answers and how to provide the most important information for you. These questions and answers are for educational purposes only, and are not intended to be investment advice. Answers are based on reliable sources but can not be guaranteed as to completeness or accuracy.

FedWise is currently encouraging banks and credit unions to offer the FedWise Answer Engine™ on their sites so consumers can have answers to questions when they are researching financial products. For more information, contact bankmarketing@fedwise.com.

FedWise, LLC Team

Dr. Troy leads FedWise in envisioning a solution to the national crisis in financial literacy. Dr. Troy applies his experience as former Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Deputy Assistant and Acting Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy and his work at the Department of Labor to the problems confronting the American financial consumer. Working hand in hand with Les Yeamans, Dr. Troy helps FedWise evolve public solutions to private sector problems for commercial benefit. Dr. Troy is a Senior Fellow at Hudson Institute and has written for the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, Forbes, and other publications. He has appeared on Fox News, Fox Business, Al Jazeera English, and the Jim Lehrer Show, among other outlets.

Virginia Citrano, Managing Editor

Virginia has overall responsibility for developing the content and proprietary process behind The FedWise Answer Engine™. Virginia leverages her experience as Editor at Forbes.com in this critical FedWise capacity. She supervises the team of journalists (graduates of Columbia University's School of Journalism) who are researching and developing new questions and answers. Virginia leverages her 25 years in financial and business journalism, working for such publications as The Wall Street Journal's European edition, Institutional Investor and Crain's New York Business. She also applies to FedWise her custom publishing experience at Wachovia, Wells Fargo and Bank of America.

Grayson Levy, Product Development

Grayson is responsible for FedWise product development and support including The FedWise Answer Engine™ and the FinFAQs Web site. Grayson leverages his 10+ years of web development experience at The New York Sun and the Middle East Forum. Grayson applies his experience as the founder of the opinion and essay Web site Pundicity to the many development issues encountered in FedWise's start-up phase.

FedWise Advisory Board

Peter Derow served as president and CEO of Institutional Investor, a wholly owned subsidiary of Capital Cities/ABC and then the Walt Disney Company. Earlier, Mr. Derow served as Chairman and President of Newsweek, Director of The Washington Post Company, President of the CBS Publishing Group, and Senior Vice President and Director of CBS. While at CBS, he was one of the founders of Prodigy.

Hon. Donald B. Marron is director of the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center. Dr. Marron served in a series of senior government positions, including as a member of the President's Council of Economic Advisers, acting director of the Congressional Budget Office, and executive director of Congress's Joint Economic Committee.

Hon. Susan M. Phillips was dean of The George Washington University School of Business. She was a member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. She is a director of several public companies and the National Futures Association. Dr. Phillips also is a trustee of the Financial Accounting Foundation and was a member of the "Flash Crash" commission.

Hon. Phillip Swagel is an economist and academic. He was assistant secretary for economic policy at the U.S. Treasury Department. At Treasury, he served on the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) Investment Committee. Dr. Swagel served as Chief of Staff and Senior Economist at the White House Council of Economic Advisers and as an economist at the Federal Reserve Board and the International Monetary Fund.

David Wachtel served as publisher of Institutional Investor, Director of Media & Marketing at Bloomberg LP and Vice President of Marketing for the Wall Street Journal. He has also run his own consulting firm focused on Web site development, strategic marketing and sales for a number of well-known media companies. He is a graduate of Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs.