Topic: Investing

A collage of faces in white frames on a light green background Research Brief / Investing

How a Stock Analyst’s Face Affects Their Earning Estimates

Trustworthy and dominant-seeming men: access to corporate management. Dominant-seeming women: not so much.

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

Lettered wooden pieces arranged to spell the words "stock" and "bond". The two words share a single "O" piece. Research Brief / Corporate Investment

How Bond and Stock Prices Combine to Influence Corporate Investment

Equity volatility can encourage — or dampen — investment, depending on a firm’s bond spread

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

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

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

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

An aqua-colored view finder pointed at the ocean. Research Brief / Investing

How to Properly Incentivize Your Unicorn Finder

VCs and other investors need a contract with their seeker that blunts conflicts of interest

Illustration of a balance Research Brief / Investing

How Very Small Stocks Skew Investing Wisdom

Well-known market anomalies are largely absent among the biggest stocks

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

Chinese investors having a discussion Research Brief / Investing

In China, Big Investors Have Brilliant Timing ― Or Do They Know Someone?

A scan of a million brokerage accounts finds the wealthy trade ahead of market-moving news

Silver line graph, bar chart and analytical trend lines on black background having stock quotes. Illustration of the concept of investment. Research Brief / Investing

Inclusion in an ETF Can Improve the Pricing of Underlying Stocks

It can also help management make capital expenditure decisions

An illustration of a man holding an umbrella standing ina sea of alarm clocks. Research Brief / Nudges

Lack of Urgency Can Undermine a Popular Behavioral Nudge

Encouraging pre-commitment to a future behavior helps people do hard things — but it can backfire

Earnings statement Research Brief / Wealth Inequality

Largest Firms’ Stock Gains Skew Big Picture on Worker-Owner Income Division

Wage earners get larger (relative) share at smaller companies, not at giants like Apple, Alphabet and Amazon

Illustration of a woman crossing a ravine on top of money Research Brief / Venture Capital

Lending to Startups: Not as Risky as You’d Think

Entrepreneurs borrow between equity funding rounds with a strong record of repaying debts

A gloomy seascape. Research Brief / Corporate Finance

Looming Risk to Financial System: $1 Trillion in Commercial Loan Pools

Known as collateralized loan obligations, their aim is actually to reduce risk