As a distinguished Chief Architect Forum Board Member and Vice President, Chief Architect, Global Architecture, Risk and Governance at Manulife, Shawn McCarthy is currently pursuing a PhD with a focus on the impact of global events on market sentiment. His research, which builds upon a prior study Enhancing Financial Market Analysis and Prediction with Emotion Corpora and News Co-Occurrence Network, seeks to uncover the intricate relationships between world events, producing countries, and their corresponding financial markets.
McCarthy is not merely conducting research; he is creating a novel framework. His work aims to develop a comprehensive understanding of how news analysis and global events influence market sentiment across various sectors. By constructing an extensive model for market prediction and risk management, he is enabling organizations to navigate the complexities of financial markets within an interconnected global economy more effectively.
In his role as a Graduate Instructor at the esteemed University of Colorado, McCarthy upholds his professional motto, Inspire Growth
and is committed to fostering innovation in others. His efforts extend beyond the immediate confines of finance and academia, as he seeks to develop future leaders capable of navigating the challenges of an increasingly complex global market.
PhD Candidate, Computer Science and Information Systems, 2026
University of Colorado Denver
M.S., Computer Science and Engineering, 2009
University of Colorado Denver
B.S., Computer Science and Engineering, 2003
University of Colorado Denver
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This study introduces Fin-ALICE (Artificial Linguistic Intelligence Causal Econometrics), a framework designed to forecast financial time series by integrating multiple analytical approaches including co-occurrence networks, supply chain analysis, and emotional sentiment analysis to provide a comprehensive understanding of market dynamics. In our co-occurrence analysis, we focus on companies that share the same emotion on the same day, using a much shorter horizon than our previous study of one month. This approach allows us to uncover short-term, emotion-driven correlations that traditional models might overlook. By analyzing these co-occurrence networks, Fin-ALICE identifies hidden connections between companies, sectors, and events. Supply chain analysis within Fin-ALICE will evaluate significant events in commodity-producing countries that impact their ability to supply key resources. This analysis captures the ripple effects of disruptions across industries and regions, offering a more nuanced prediction of market movements. Emotional sentiment analysis, powered by the Fin-Emotion library developed in our prior research, quantifies the emotional undertones in financial news through metrics like “emotion magnitude” and “emotion interaction”. These insights, when integrated with Temporal Convolutional Networks (TCNs), significantly enhance the accuracy of financial forecasts by capturing the emotional drivers of market sentiment. Key contributions of Fin-ALICE include its ability to perform month-by-month company correlation analysis, capturing short-term market fluctuations and seasonal patterns. We compare the performance of TCNs against advanced models such as LLMs and LSTMs, demonstrating that the Fin-ALICE model outperforms these models, particularly in sectors where emotional sentiment and supply chain dynamics are critical. Fin-ALICE provides decision-makers with predictive insights and a deeper understanding of the underlying emotional and supply chain factors that drive market behaviors.