The University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy’s Center for Municipal Finance is joining forces with Investortools, a fixed income software and data company, to make more data on the municipal finance sector available to academics. It’s the first step in an expansion of the center’s resources as it looks to become the premier destination for municipal finance researchers.
Inspired by a decade-old program at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, the data distribution partnership will connect researchers looking to publish in scholarly journals with data points gathered by Investortools and chosen by the center.
The center will adjust its data points based on feedback from researchers, CMF Director Justin Marlowe said, and the researchers will be able to choose from different data segments.
“We chose data points that we believe are most in demand among researchers,” said Justin Marlowe, director of the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy’s Center for Municipal Finance.
“We chose data points that we believe are most in demand among researchers,” Marlowe said, adding that the partnership is a win for the university because of Investortools’ decades of leadership in the municipal finance industry.
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“Their data from government financial statements are widely known as the most comprehensive and reliable in the business,” he said. “And perhaps more important, they are thought leaders who believe high-quality academic research can add tremendous value to practice.”
Investortools pulls data from the audited financial statements of city, county and state governments; the data spans everything from school districts to hospitals to transportation authorities. Its database covers all local governments with populations over 20,000, said Richard Ciccarone, president emeritus of Merritt Research Services, a subsidiary of Investortools, and includes 15 sectors in total.
“It’s a pretty wide net of the credits that are really making a difference,” Ciccarone said.
Few academics can afford top-quality private sector data, and there are a lot of hurdles involved in signing contracts with data vendors, so the academics often wind up using inferior data, said Christopher Berry, the William and Alicia Townsend Friedman professor at the Harris School.
The new partnership gives academics access to Investortools data at lower pricing, and the center handles the administrative work and vetting of researchers.
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The Booth School has had a partnership with the Nielsen Corporation through the school’s Kilts Center for Marketing since 2012. Berry said that partnership “has led to some great research,” and has proved to be a stepping stone to other Booth School partnerships with private sector data vendors.
“Our goal is to make the CMF a similar sort of academic repository for private sector data in the municipal finance industry,” he said.
The Harris partnership is already producing results. One group of researchers is currently using Investortools data to examine how natural disasters impact the fiscal health of cities and counties, and to see if climate adaptation planning can act as a buffer. Another group is researching nonprofit hospitals, and how a hospital’s debt load affects the ratio of Medicaid to Medicare to privately insured patients as well as the mix of elective or non-elective procedures performed there.
The latter research recalls one of the earlier, sporadic partnerships that Merritt had with individual academics. Northwestern University Kellogg School of Business professor Thomas Prince used Merritt data to look at nonprofit hospitals; specifically, how bond ratings and debt insurance coverage affected operating performance.
Precursors to the more comprehensive Harris School partnership, those partnerships helped Ciccarone see how such collaboration could serve both parties’ interests, he said.
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“We’re going to learn a lot from this whole process,” he said. “All of public finance is going to benefit from the insights developed with the help of this program.”
In screening researchers who apply to use the data, Marlowe said, the center will be looking to answer questions that no one has asked thus far or to update previous knowledge with more recent results.
“The main criterion is that the researchers can articulate how the project might contribute to the academic literature,” he said. “Is it developing new measures of important concepts? If that potential contribution is clear and obvious, then we’re interested.”
Jonathan Anderson, chief product officer at Investortools, said in a statement that the company expects its partnership with the university to deepen understanding of public finance, from the academic realm to market participants.
“We have to speak more of a common language – that’s part of the goal,” said Ciccarone. “It starts with the data.”
My spreadsheet reviewed a WalletHub ranking of financial distress for the residents of 100 U.S. cities, including 17 in California. The analysis compared local credit scores, late bill payments, bankruptcy filings and online searches for debt or loans to quantify where individuals had the largest money challenges.
When California cities were divided into three geographic regions – Southern California, the Bay Area, and anything inland – the most challenges were often found far from the coast.
The average national ranking of the six inland cities was 39th worst for distress, the most troubled grade among the state’s slices.
Bakersfield received the inland region’s worst score, ranking No. 24 highest nationally for financial distress. That was followed by Sacramento (30th), San Bernardino (39th), Stockton (43rd), Fresno (45th), and Riverside (52nd).
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Southern California’s seven cities overall fared better, with an average national ranking of 56th largest financial problems.
However, Los Angeles had the state’s ugliest grade, ranking fifth-worst nationally for monetary distress. Then came San Diego at 22nd-worst, then Long Beach (48th), Irvine (70th), Anaheim (71st), Santa Ana (85th), and Chula Vista (89th).
Monetary challenges were limited in the Bay Area. Its four cities average rank was 69th worst nationally.
San Jose had the region’s most distressed finances, with a No. 50 worst ranking. That was followed by Oakland (69th), San Francisco (72nd), and Fremont (83rd).
The results remind us that inland California’s affordability – it’s home to the state’s cheapest housing, for example – doesn’t fully compensate for wages that typically decline the farther one works from the Pacific Ocean.
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A peek inside the scorecard’s grades shows where trouble exists within California.
Credit scores were the lowest inland, with little difference elsewhere. Late payments were also more common inland. Tardy bills were most difficult to find in Northern California.
Bankruptcy problems also were bubbling inland, but grew the slowest in Southern California. And worrisome online searches were more frequent inland, while varying only slightly closer to the Pacific.
Note: Across the state’s 17 cities in the study, the No. 53 average rank is a middle-of-the-pack grade on the 100-city national scale for monetary woes.
Jonathan Lansner is the business columnist for the Southern California News Group. He can be reached at jlansner@scng.com
The up-and-coming fintech scored a pair of fourth-quarter beats.
Diversified fintech Chime Financial(CHYM +12.88%) was playing a satisfying tune to investors on Thursday. The company’s stock flew almost 14% higher that trading session, thanks mostly to a fourth quarter that featured notably higher-than-expected revenue guidance.
Sweet music
Chime published its fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 results just after market close on Wednesday. For the former period, the company’s revenue was $596 million, bettering the same quarter of 2024 by 25%. The company’s strongest revenue stream, payments, rose 17% to $396 million. Its take from platform-related activity rose more precipitously, advancing 47% to $200 million.
Image source: Getty Images.
Meanwhile, Chime’s net loss under generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) more than doubled. It was $45 million, or $0.12 per share, compared with a fourth-quarter 2024 deficit of $19.6 million.
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On average, analysts tracking the stock were modeling revenue below $578 million and a deeper bottom-line loss of $0.20 per share.
In its earnings release, Chime pointed to the take-up of its Chime Card as a particular catalyst for growth. Regarding the product, the company said, “Among new member cohorts, over half are adopting Chime Card, and those members are putting over 70% of their Chime spend on the product, which earns materially higher take rates compared to debit.”
Today’s Change
(12.88%) $2.72
Current Price
$23.83
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Key Data Points
Market Cap
$7.9B
Day’s Range
$22.30 – $24.63
52wk Range
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$16.17 – $44.94
Volume
562K
Avg Vol
3.3M
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Gross Margin
86.34%
Double-digit growth expected
Chime management proffered revenue and non-GAAP (adjusted) earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) guidance for full-year 2026. The company expects to post a top line of $627 million to $637 million, which would represent at least 21% growth over the 2024 result. Adjusted EBITDA should be $380 million to $400 million. No net income forecasts were provided in the earnings release.
It isn’t easy to find a niche in the financial industry, which is crowded with companies offering every imaginable type of service to clients. Yet Chime seems to be achieving that, as the Chime Card is clearly a hit among the company’s target demographic of clientele underserved by mainstream banks. This growth stock is definitely worth considering as a buy.
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Student athletes are now earning real money thanks to name, image, likeness deals — but with that opportunity comes the need for financial preparation.
Noah Collins Howard and Dayshawn Preston are two high school juniors with Division I offers on the table. Both are chasing their dreams on the field, and both are navigating something brand new off of it — their finances.
“When it comes to NIL, some people just want the money, and they just spend it immediately. Well, you’ve got to know how to take care of your money. And again, you need to know how to grow it because you don’t want to just spend it,” said Collins Howard.
What You Need To Know
High school athletes with Division I prospects are learning to manage NIL money before they even reach college
Glory2Glory Sports Agency and Advantage Federal Credit Union have partnered to give young athletes access to financial literacy tools and credit-building resources
Financial experts warn that starting money habits early is key to long-term stability for student athletes entering the NIL era
Preston said the experience has already been eye-opening.
“It’s very important. Especially my first time having my own card and bank account — so that’s super exciting,” Preston said.
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For many young athletes, the money comes before the knowledge. That’s where Glory2Glory Sports Agency in Rochester comes in — helping athletes prepare for life outside of sports.
“College sports is now pro sports. These kids are going from one extreme to the other financially, and it’s important for them to have the tools necessary to navigate that massive shift,” said Antoine Hyman, CEO of Glory2Glory Sports Agency.
Through their Students for Change program, athletes get access to student checking accounts, financial literacy courses and credit-building tools — all through a partnership with Advantage Federal Credit Union.
“It’s never too early to start. We have youth accounts, student checking accounts — they were all designed specifically for students and the youth,” said Diane Miller, VP of marketing and PR at Advantage Federal Credit Union.
The goal goes beyond what’s in their pocket today. It’s about building habits that will protect them for life.
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“If you don’t start young, you’re always catching up. The younger you start them, the better off they’re going to be on that financial path,” added Nihada Donohew, executive vice president of Advantage Federal Credit Union.
For these athletes, having the right support system makes all the difference.
“It’s really great to have a support system around you. Help you get local deals with the local shops,” Preston added.
Collins-Howard said the program has given him a broader perspective beyond just the game.
“It gives me a better understanding of how to take care of myself and prepare myself for the future of giving back to the community,” Collins-Howard said.
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“These high school kids need someone to legitimately advocate their skills, their character and help them pick the right space. Everything has changed now,” Hyman added.
NIL opened the door. Programs like this one make sure these athletes walk through it — with a plan.
