Area: Finance

Illustration of a character wearing a hat covering their ears Research Brief / Investing

Ignorance — About One’s Investments, Anyway — Isn’t Always Bliss

Valentin Haddad’s research looks at the phenomenon of “information aversion,” when individual investors stop tracking their portfolios for fear of bad news

Woman shopping for a new home Research Brief / Personal Finance

How Will You Spend Your IPO Windfall?

“Uh, I already bought a house”: Tech workers spend ahead of actual stock sales

Illustration of a man stressed by laptops, smartphones Research Brief / Investing

How Tech’s Disruption Alters Investors’ Appetite for Risk

New technology’s upending of the old creates demand for alternative assets to offset risk

Calm blue ocean water with a sliver of horizon above it. Research Brief / Bond Market

How Quantitative Easing Changed the Bond Market

Investors’ future expectations about QE policy lowered long-term yields, made investors feel safer holding the bonds

Tug of war with a $20 bill in the middle on gradient background Research Brief / Investing

How Our Collective Struggle With Self-Control Shapes Stock Prices

Overspending rises in times of stress and that affects investment decisions

An image of the national debt amount Research Brief / Debt

How Much Debt Can the Government Roll Over Forever?

Public bonds compete against other investments; a model of that relationship

New York Met Life building Research Brief / Investing

How Life Insurers Insulate the Markets from Turmoil

Valentin Haddad’s research finds that insurers’ patient investing shields risky assets — and those who hold them — from steeper declines

Illustration of a man looking at a stock chart Research Brief / Corporate Investment

How ETFs Muffle Stock Market Feedback to Managers

The rise of passive investing leaves companies mistrusting market signals on how best to deploy capital

Map of Peru with gold nugget on top Research Brief / Banking

How Commodity Price Swings Destabilize Bank Relationships

Small firms in Peru shop nationwide for cheap credit, but loyalty runs two ways

Black and white image of train tracks Research Brief / Banking

How Banking’s Bifurcated Deposit Approach Is Altering Lending — and Risk

Offering higher deposit rates lessens emphasis on loans of fixed rate and longer maturity

Illustration of a woman with reflection of line chart going up Research Brief / Investing

How an Excess of Stock Analyst Optimism Lands on Companies Least Deserving of It

Results of financially weak firms are difficult to forecast; in uncertainty, Wall Street’s views are overly generous

Two people sit opposite of each other while working on their laptops Research Brief / Investing

Heading for a Divorce? Might Want to Go Easy on Stock Picking

Active traders lose their edge as a marital breakup approaches

Close up of a smartphone Research Brief / Investing

GameStop Aside, Retail Investors Might be Terrible at Momentum Investing

Using Chinese A and B shares, institutional players outperform individuals

A group of people on separate phone lines Research Brief / Markets

Financial Constraints on Intermediaries Cause Asset Mispricing

Real-world bond data reveals how the capital positions and liquidity of middlemen affect prices of securities they broker

Aerial view of a neighborhood Research Brief / Housing

Fed Policy Helped Distressed Homeowners But Wasn’t a Cure-All

Modifications curtailed foreclosures during 2008-09 crisis, but borrowers remained at high risk of delinquency

A residential street with houses on each side of the street, Research Brief / Real Estate

Equity-Rich Homeowners Overpay for Their Next House

Less diligent as shoppers, such buyers help drive up home prices