Thematic ETFs can be a minefield for investors, and Professor Itzhak Ben-David's recent insights provide a timely warning. His research highlights the pitfalls of specialized ETFs (including real estate ETFs), which often lose 6% annually in their early years, as they are launched in response to investor over-excitement.

Institutional backers have reaped rewards while bringing funding and efficiency to some of the world's biggest airports, but not in this country. Now, that may be about to change. Research by Finance Professor Michael Weisbach shows that privatization of airports can lead to positive changes without sacrifices to safety.

Above-average management fees for overvalued investments are a toxic mix, according to research focused on ETFs, conducted by Itzhak Ben-David, the Neil Klatskin Chair in Finance and Real Estate, PhD candidate Byungwook Kim, and their colleagues.

The number of publicly listed companies has been nearly halved since the 1990s. A big reason, according to René Stulz, the Everett D. Reese Chair of Banking and Monetary Economics at Fisher, has been a shift in what companies are producing.

Brian Mittendorf, the H.P. Wolfe Chair in Accounting at Fisher, says an “interesting partnership” has developed between charities and financial-services companies. At the center of this relationship: shared opposition to proposed rules by the U.S. Treasury Department that would penalize certain payments from charitable funds to wealth advisers who steer the investments.

Allocators want a piece of the private credit pie, but new research from Fisher's Isil Erel, the David A. Rismiller Chair in Finance, Michael Weisbach, the Ralph Kurtz Chair in Finance, and Assistant Professor of Finance Thomas Flanagan, shows that their investments might not pay off.

In a new study released by the National Bureau of Economic Research, Fisher's Michael Weisbach, the Ralph D. Kurtz Chair in Finance; Isil Erel, the David A. Rismiller Chair in Finance at Fisher; and Assistant Professor of Finance Thomas Flanagan argue that direct lenders on the whole hardly produce any alpha — or extra compensation over broad market benchmarks.

Private markets have plenty of detractors. For many, their worst drawback is high fees. A research paper co-authored by Michael Weisbach, the Ralph Kurtz Chair in Finance, found that private equity funds that specialize in buying out companies tend to see their net returns reduced by 6 percentage points annually because of management fees and interest costs.

Why have momentum stocks performed so poorly over the last two decades? Itzhak Ben-David, the Neil Klatskin Chair in Finance and Real Estate, suggests that a change instituted by Morningstar in how it rates mutual funds could be part of the reason.

After years of concerns about how quickly the money reserved for charity gets distributed and whether donor-advised funds need to operate more transparently, proposed new federal regulations are now pending. Though the regulations would not create new requirements for how rapidly these funds distribute money, they do provide some new guidelines for what uses for DAFs are allowed by law, writes Brian Mittendorf, the H.P. Wolfe Chair in Accounting.

Research by Itzhak Ben-David, the Neil Klatskin Chair in Finance and Real Estate, and his colleagues show how thematic ETFs could be harbingers for the launch of Bitcoin ETFs.

The SEC’s approval of bitcoin ETFs arguably is the occasion to sell, not buy. This is especially important for retirement investors to consider because the existence of a bitcoin ETF should not change the cryptocurrency’s underlying value, according to Itzhak Ben-David, the Neil Klatskin Chair in Finance and Real Estate at Fisher.

A mutual-funds rating company changed its methodology two decades ago, and that, according to research from Itzhak Ben-David, the Neil Klatskin Chair in Finance and Real Estate, and his co-authors, has made a significant difference in the performance of momentum strategies.

The highly-anticipated spot bitcoin ETFs are likely to be disappointing performers for a considerable time after they are launched.

Assistant Professor of Finance Shaojun Zhang explains her research and her structural model-based measure of systemic default, which measures the joint probability of multiple companies defaulting simultaneously.

Is the glut of new exchange traded funds (ETF) a sign of an impending catastrophe? Research by Fisher's Itzhak Ben-David, the Neil Klatskin Chair in Finance and Real Estate, Byungwook Kim and their colleague Francesco Franzoni shows the underperformance of many of the news ETFs.

For nearly 25 years, Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) have been a popular passive investment vehicle for both household and professional investors due to their low transaction costs and high liquidity. But what are the pros and cons? How can you diversify your portfolio to avoid volatility? Itzhak Ben-David, the Neil Klatskin Chair in Finance and Real Estate, offers his take on the current state of ETFs.

The traditional financial theory attributes security returns to market- or factor-based risk, with no role ascribed to other influences. In research published by Itzhak Ben-David, the Neil Klatskin Chair in Finance and Real Estate, the authors argue for including investor demand as an additional variable in explaining returns. Can changes in investor demand generate systematic changes in security returns?

Fintech lenders are ‘relying heavily’ on credit scores to determine loan pricing, according to a study co-authored by Itzhak Ben-David, the Neil Klatskin Chair in Finance and Real Estate, and his colleagues.

Research from Amin Shams, assistant professor of finance, is highlighted as part of a larger discussion into changes in crypto markets.

In a roundup of research-backed financial topics, a paper co-authored by Itzhak Ben-David, the Neil Klatskin Chair in Finance and Real Estate, provides insight into the pros and cons of stock buybacks.

The crypto market saw a weekend drop, with most crypto coins in the top 100 list flashing red over the last 24 hours.  “When the volume is low, the same trade size can move prices a lot more,” said Amin Shams, a finance professor at Fisher who has study cryptocurrencies.

Does financial innovation in the ETF space create value for investors? A study by Fisher's Itzhak Ben-David, the Neil Klatskin Chair in Finance and Real Estate, graduate research assistant Byungwook Kim, and their colleagues Rabih Moussawi and Francesco Franzoni suggests otherwise.

A research paper co-authored in 2018 by Assistant Professor of Finance Amin Shams and John Griffin, finance professor at the UT Austin McCombs School of Business, explored a single, still unidentified, Bitcoin “whale” almost singlehandedly drove the token’s giant run-up in late 2017 and early 2018 by distorting the trading in the token. Bitcoin's recent price stability has some wondering whether big buyers could be setting a price floor and pushing the cryptocurrency higher.

Whether it’s cloud stocks, crypto or Korean pop, there’s an exchange-traded fund offering a way in. Just don’t expect it to beat the S&P 500, according to research by Itzhak Ben-David, the Neil Klatskin Chair in Finance and Real Estate, and his colleagues.