Finance Research

The finance faculty is an active research group dedicated to advancing the understanding of financial economics. Many of the faculty have earned international reputations for contributions to their fields. They are officers of prestigious professional organizations, are editors of and serve on editorial boards of leading academic journals, and consult and teach for public and private sector organizations. They are frequent contributors to the leading scholarly journals in finance and economics.

The combined intellectual capital of the Smith School’s 150 full-time and 50 part-time faculty are geared to the forces that are transforming the global economy and business and dedicated to helping our students understand and adapt to change. The Smith School is consistently ranked in the top 15 in the world for faculty research by Businessweek and Financial Times.

Finance Seminar Speakers: Fall 2024

DATESPEAKERLOCATION
September 6
3:30 to 5 p.m.
Toni Whited
University of Michigan
Van Munching Hall, Room 1333
September 13
10:30 a.m. to Noon
Sharjil Haque
Federal Reserve
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Van Munching Hall, Room 1330
September 27
10:30 a.m. to Noon
John Shim
University of Notre Dame
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Van Munching Hall, Room 1330
October 4
10:30 a.m. to Noon
Paymon Khorrami
Duke University
Van Munching Hall, Room 1330
October 18
10:30 a.m. to Noon
Daniel Garrett
University of Pennsylvania
Van Munching Hall, Room 1330
October 25
10:30 a.m. to Noon
Adi Sunderam
Harvard University
Van Munching Hall, Room 1330
November 8
10:30 a.m. to Noon
Greg Buchak
Stanford University
Van Munching Hall, Room 1330
November 22
3:30 to 5 p.m.
Amiyatosh Purnanandam
University of Michigan
Van Munching Hall, Room 1333
December 6
3:30 to 5 p.m.
Jaroslav Borovička
New York University
Van Munching Hall, Room 1333

Finance Seminar Speakers: Spring 2024

DateSpeaker
March 15Christian Opp
University of Rochester
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April 19Janet Gao
Georgetown University
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April 24David Autor
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
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April 26Kerry Back
Rice University
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May 3Olivia Kim
Harvard Business School
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May 17Philip Dybvig
Washington University in Saint Louis
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Finance Seminar Speakers: Fall 2023

DateSpeaker
September 7Stavros Panageas
UCLA
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September 15Winston Dou
University of Pennsylvania
September 29Dmitiry Muravyev
Michigan State University
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October 6Luigi Zingales
University of Chicago
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October 18Ufuk Akcigit
University of Chicago
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November 17Sheridan Titman
University of Texas, Austin
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December 8Lubos Pastor
University of Chicago
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December 15Jason Sockin
Cornell University
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Financial Databases & Software

The Robert H. Smith School of Business provides its faculty and students easy access to the world’s leading online real-time financial data and software. In partnership with the University of Maryland McKeldin Library, the Robert H. Smith School of Business provides its faculty and students with a world-class set of research financial and other business databases, and the software to access them. Thomson Reuters Reuters 3000 Xtra – 62 concurrent accesses Reuters 3000 Xtra is a high-speed, integrated information and transaction service. It gives users a commanding view of the global real-time financial arena and provides a combination of news, information and insight as well as access to the global Reuters trading community. Its integrated price discovery and trading capabilities across all asset classes mean that decisions can be made and executed from a single desktop. Reuters 3000 Xtra reflects Reuters vast experience in global financial markets; functionality is continually upgraded and content enriched. Datastream Advance Thomson Datastream Advance offers you access to the world's largest and most respected financial statistical database. It contains more than two million financial instruments, securities, and indicators for over 175 countries in 60 markets. With up to 50 years of history and over 8,000 different fields, it provides access to over one hundred million time series. Thomson Datastream Advance combines easy-to-use, pre-formatted charts and tabular reports with truly flexible charting to help reveal new insights and relationships. Bloomberg Bloomberg Professional – 6 full function terminals The BLOOMBERG PROFESSIONAL® service seamlessly integrates real-time and historical information on about 5 million bonds, equities, commodities, currencies and funds. The electronic library also comprises data on almost every publicly traded company and biographies of more than 1 million people. And because everything is provided in single source, information can be accessed, analyzed or archived with just a few keystrokes or clicks. Historical Databases and Retrieval Software Full access is available to members of the University of Maryland community and on the Maryland campus. WRDS We subscribe to the Wharton Research Data Services (WRDS), a web based data service that provides instant access to several research quality financial databases.

Research Articles

March 15, 2018
Manage the Risks of Privatization
While privatization comes with benefits — like not being beholden to market speculation — it also carries risks. Research by Smith School professor Hanna Lee suggests that going the public route may be better for the risk-averse. 
Read the article : Manage the Risks of Privatization
March 14, 2018
Here’s What’s Missing From Dodd-Frank Reforms
As Congress reexamines the Dodd-Frank law, the Smith School's Clifford Rossi offers this advice: Draw the credit-reporting agencies into its scope.
Read the article : Here’s What’s Missing From Dodd-Frank Reforms
March 7, 2018
Optimize Executive Incentives
Leaders might deserve dismissal when they behave badly, but some lose their jobs for simply having the right skills at the wrong time. "Over time changes in business conditions may call for a change of top management," Smith School professor M. Cecilia Bustamante says.
Read the article : Optimize Executive Incentives
March 1, 2018
#MeToo Must Be a B-School Call To Action
Business schools might seem safely removed from the transformation happening across corporate America. They're not. Institutions like mine play a central role in shaping attitudes about gender in the workplace
Read the article : #MeToo Must Be a B-School Call To Action
February 6, 2018
A Wells Fargo Sanction, a Warning for Its Peers
For Wells Fargo, the Fed's stringent sanctions last week undoubtedly come as a bit of a blow. For the rest of the banking industry, more of a warning. "This is a supervisory slapdown in a major," says the Smith School's Clifford Rossi.
Read the article : A Wells Fargo Sanction, a Warning for Its Peers
February 6, 2018
Are Wall Street Salaries a Scourge?
Wall Street has garnered a reputation for its high salaries. Analysts, policymakers and academics have chided the industry, accusing it of helping to distort the "efficient allocation of talent." Smith School experts break down that criticism.
Read the article : Are Wall Street Salaries a Scourge?
January 30, 2018
How Berkshire Is Disrupting Healthcare
For those who listen closely to what Warren Buffett says, the announcement that Berkshire Hathaway was hooking up with Amazon.com and JPMorgan Chase to create an independent healthcare company didn't come as a big surprise.
Read the article : How Berkshire Is Disrupting Healthcare
January 30, 2018
Fantasy Merger League: 2018 Edition
Smith School experts bring you their fantasy M&A league — a list of potential tie-ups and explanations about what makes each one interesting. Imagine CVS teaming with 23andMe, or Daimler with Tesla, or Hilton with Airbnb.
Read the article : Fantasy Merger League: 2018 Edition
January 29, 2018
The Cross Section of Commodity Returns
What’s the most useful way to look at commodity prices? A team of Smith School researchers sought to answer that question by examining commodity futures returns over a 42-year period.
Read the article : The Cross Section of Commodity Returns
January 23, 2018
Why 2018 Could Be Big for Fannie, Freddie
Are these the end of days for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac? Lawmakers are considering whether to close the chapter on conservatorship for the two government-sponsored enterprises, a move that could bring big changes to housing finance in the United States.
Read the article : Why 2018 Could Be Big for Fannie, Freddie
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