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: Spring 2025

DATESPEAKERLOCATION
February 28 
10:30 a.m. – Noon
Aaron Pancost 
University of Texas, Austin
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VMH 1330
March 7 
10:30 a.m. – Noon
Adi Sunderam 
Harvard University
VMH 1333
March 14 
10:30 a.m. – Noon
Deniz Aydin 
Washington University in St Louis
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VMH 1333
April 4 
10:30 a.m. – Noon
Taisiya Sikorskaya 
University of Chicago
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VMH 1333
April 7 
1:00 pm – 2:30 pm
Kilian Huber 
University of Chicago
VMH 2333 ABC
April 11 
10:30 a.m. – Noon
Torben Andersen 
Northwestern University
VMH 1333
April 25 
10:30 a.m. - Noon
Bo Bian 
University of British Columbia
VMH 1333
May 2 
10:30 a.m. – Noon
Julia Fonseca 
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
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VMH 1333
May 9 
10:30 a.m. – Noon
Carola Frydman 
Northwestern University
VMH 1333

Finance Seminar Speakers: Fall 2024

DATESPEAKER
September 6Toni Whited
University of Michigan
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September 13Sharjil Haque
Federal Reserve
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September 20Deeksha Gupta
Johns Hopkins University
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September 27John Shim
University of Notre Dame
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October 4Paymon Khorrami
Duke University
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October 15Charles Nathanson
Northwestern University
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October 18Daniel Garrett
University of Pennsylvania
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October 25Valentin Haddad
UCLA
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November 8Greg Buchak
Stanford University
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November 22Amiyatosh Purnanandam
University of Michigan
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December 6Jaroslav Borovička
New York University
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December 10Scott Baker
Northwestern University
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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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Banking Seminar

October 24, 2024

Event highlights

The Journal of Financial Services Research and the Center for Financial Policy hosted the inaugural Banking Seminar Series at the Ronald Reagan Building, Smith School Suite. The event featured Raghuram G. Rajan, Katherine Dusak Miller Distinguished Service Professor of Finance at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, who led the first seminar in the series.

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

September 22, 2022
Gas Prices Are Going Down, While Food Prices Soar, Why?
We’re getting some relief at the gas pump, but having to dig deeper in our pockets to pay for groceries. The price of eggs is up about 40 percent since this time last year. We’re paying 20 percent more for milk, bread and a staple in many Americans’ diet - chicken.
Read the article : Gas Prices Are Going Down, While Food Prices Soar, Why?
September 15, 2022
The Venture Capital Landscape Is Changing, and Perhaps Not for the Better
Startup companies have traditionally looked for the most experienced venture capitalists they could find to get their businesses off the ground and support their growth. That’s not always the case anymore, according to a study by Smith's Rich Mathews and co-author Naveen Khanna.
Read the article : The Venture Capital Landscape Is Changing, and Perhaps Not for the Better
September 1, 2022
Student Loan Forgiveness: What Borrowers Need to Know to Initiate Action
Last week’s student loan forgiveness announcement by the Biden Administration leads to the question: How do borrowers initiate action? The White House has indicated that application is likely to open in early October. But what about the meantime? Borrowers can prepare for the process, says Smith’s…
Read the article : Student Loan Forgiveness: What Borrowers Need to Know to Initiate Action
September 1, 2022
Two Separate Takes on Student Loan Forgiveness
Economic arguments for and against student loan forgiveness have streamed through the media since President Biden last week announced a three-part plan to cancel student debt for low- to middle-income borrowers. In responses to Brain Trust, Smith experts Michael Faulkender and David Kass give…
Read the article : Two Separate Takes on Student Loan Forgiveness
July 18, 2022
Jamie Dimon Blasts Fed’s Stress Test. Smith’s Clifford Rossi Partially Agrees, Explains
The Federal Reserve’s bank stress test is “capricious” and “arbitrary.” . . . “It’s inconsistent. It’s not transparent. It’s too volatile.” These descriptors came late last week from JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon during his bank’s quarterly earnings call. It was a response to results of the latest…
Read the article : Jamie Dimon Blasts Fed’s Stress Test. Smith’s Clifford Rossi Partially Agrees, Explains
July 13, 2022
Musk’s Buyer’s Remorse and Potential Deal Outcomes

Elon Musk’s move to abandon his $44 billion offer to buy Twitter has the company intent on forcing the deal through.

Read the article : Musk’s Buyer’s Remorse and Potential Deal Outcomes
July 13, 2022
Are Corporate Profits Driving Inflation?

Consumers are feeling the effects of the highest inflation rates in decades, particularly on essentials like groceries and gas, while many big companies are reporting record profits. That dichotomy is angering a lot of Americans and public officials.

Read the article : Are Corporate Profits Driving Inflation?
June 23, 2022
Midyear Stocks to Watch
Amid the highest inflation in 40 years, the “outlook for U.S. stocks in the second half of 2022 is very uncertain with at least a 50% probability of a recession in 2022 or 2023,” says Clinical Professor of Finance David Kass at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business.
Read the article : Midyear Stocks to Watch
June 9, 2022
Mitigating Drug Shortages via a Quality Management Rating System is Viable: New Study
The longstanding ‘safe and effective’ regulatory approach to assure Americans their drug products meet a high standard of quality remains effective. However, the pharmaceutical industry needs an additional apparatus – a quality rating system – to address recent supply shortages that are…
Read the article : Mitigating Drug Shortages via a Quality Management Rating System is Viable: New Study
June 9, 2022
Climate Finance Risk Management Virtual Bootcamp Dovetails with SEC Proposed Disclosure Rules
The Securities and Exchange Commission’s recently proposed updated rules for public companies to report the climate-related impact of their businesses to the federal government and their shareholders. While the commission collects public comments on the proposal up to June 17, the University of…
Read the article : Climate Finance Risk Management Virtual Bootcamp Dovetails with SEC Proposed Disclosure Rules