Masterclasses

FIRN offers PhD students and academics at FIRN member institutions access to research Masterclasses each year presented by world class international academics.

2024 Masterclasses

Recent topics in corporate finance: Agency problems inside and outside the firm

Presented by Nadya Malenko (Boston College) and Andrey Malenko (Boston College)

This course will discuss several recent developments in corporate finance research, focusing on agency problems inside and outside the corporation. We will talk about the growing role of institutional investors in firms’ ownership structures, highlighting the conflicts not just between managers and shareholders, but also among shareholders themselves. In particular, we will discuss the interactions between fund managers and fund investors, who are the ultimate owners of the firm, the rising heterogeneity in investors’ preferences, and its effects on governance and shareholder voting. We will then explore how such differences in preferences can hinder effective information flows and lead to less informed decision-making, emphasizing the role of organizational structure, allocation of control, and board composition in alleviating these issues. We will also discuss the research on information design, which highlights how conflicted parties can strategically use information to advance their interests, and study the implications for topics such as corporate governance, stress testing, and capital regulation. Finally, we will cover recent developments in the literature on agency conflicts between shareholders and creditors: this new research emphasizes the role of reputation and commitment power, and their implications for the dynamics of capital structure decisions. The course will be co-taught by Nadya Malenko and Andrey Malenko.

2023 Masterclasses

The Economics of the Asset and Wealth Management Industries

Presented by Richard Evans (University of Virginia)

Summary: With the dramatic global growth of exchange-traded funds specifically and passive investing generally, the decline in traditional pensions and the rise of defined contribution retirement investing, and the disruptive innovation of FinTech, the asset and wealth management industries have undergone a dramatic transformation in the past two decades.  Given the systemic importance of this industry to both firms and individuals alike, this transformation is of central importance to financial markets.  However, for financial economists, the connection of these industries to key economic theories is even deeper.  For example, Grossman and Stiglitz’s (1980) seminal work on the informational efficiency of markets directly maps into the world of professional investors that is asset management.  In this course, we will explore the asset and wealth management industries and both their systemic importance to financial markets and investors as well as their key connection to financial economics.

Finance, Intellectual Property (IP), and Sustainability

Presented by Po-Hsuan Hsu (College of Technology Management, NTHU)

This course aims to understand the role and impact of innovation activities and intellectual property (IP) in financial markets, manager decisions, and corporate operations. From an asset pricing perspective, the instructor will examine how financial market participants price various forms of technological innovation and intellectual property, such as R&D, patents, trademarks, innovation awards. From the perspective of corporate decisions, the instructor will discuss the determinants of country- and firm-level innovative capability and intellectual property development. In addition, the instructor plans to cover the role of corporate social responsibility, ESG, and green innovation in financial markets and corporate decisions. Finally, the instructor will share experience on research ideas, project choices, data collection, and empirical testing.

2023 PhD Course Program – Semester 1

2022 Masterclasses

FIRN offers PhD students and academics at FIRN member institutions access to research Masterclasses each year presented by world class international academics. The following masterclasses were offered in 2022.