Weiming (Elaine) ZHANG, CFA

Employment:

2022 - Present     Assistant Professor of Finance, IE Business School, Spain

Education:

2017 - 2022       Ph.D. in Finance, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong         

2012 - 2016       B.Sc. in Quantitative Finance and Risk Management Science,  The Chinese University of Hong Kong

2015 - 2015       Exchange student in Adam Smith Business School,  The University of Glasgow, United Kingdom

Publications:

• ESG Preference, Institutional Trading, and Stock Return Patterns (with Jie Cao, Sheridan Titman, and Xintong Zhan), 2023, Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis 58, 1843-1877.

– Featured at NBER Working Paper Series, Presented at WFA (2020), FIFI (2020), NFA (2019), Geneva Summit on Sustainable Finance (2018), Finance Down Under (2019)

• Carbon Emissions, Mutual Fund Trading, and the Liquidity of Corporate Bonds (with Jie Cao, Yi Li , Xintong Zhan, and Linyu Zhou), 2025, Management Science, forthcoming.

Publications by Invitation:

• The Return Predictability of Carbon Emissions: Evidence from Hong Kong and Singapore (with Jie Cao, Xintong Zhan, and Yaojia Zhang), 2023, Pacific-Basin Finance Journal 82 (Special Issue), 102177. 

• Green Human Capital and Carbon Emissions of Asian Firms (with Fangyuan Li, and Yaojia Zhang), 2025, Asian Economic Policy Review (Special Issue), forthcoming.  

Working Papers:

1. Unlocking ESG Premium from Options (with Jie Cao, Amit Goyal, and Xintong Zhan)

– Revise & Resubmit, Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis

– AFA (2022), FIRS (2022),  ABFER (2023), SFS Cavalcade North America (2023), Melbourne Asset Pricing Meeting (2021)

2. Foreign Institutional Ownership and Corporate Carbon Emissions (with Jie Cao, Xintong Zhan, and Yaojia Zhang)

– Revise & Resubmit, Strategic Management Journal  

– NFA (2023),  UN PRI Academic Network Conference (2023), FMA Europe (2023), AFA (2024) poster 

3. Socially Responsible Investors and Stock Price Informativeness (with George Yang, Xintong Zhan, and Yaojia Zhang)

– Revise & Resubmit, The Accounting Review

– ABFER (2024), ARCS (2025) 

4. Opioid Crisis Along the Supply Chain (with Jie Cao, Linjia Song, and Xintong Zhan)

 – Reject & Resubmit, Production and Operations Management

– ARCS (2025) 

5. Short Sellers and Social Responsibility Ratings   (with Jie Cao, David McLean, and Xintong Zhan)  

– Previously circulated as  "Green or Brown: Which Overpriced Stock to Short Sell?". CICF (2025), NFA (2021), FMA Consortium on Asset Management (2023)

6. Opioid Crisis and Firm Downside Risks: Evidence from the Option Market  (with Jie Cao, Amit Goyal, Yajing Wang, and Xintong Zhan)

– Finance Down Under (2025), FMA Conference on Derivatives and Volatility (2025)

7. The Impact of Labor Risk on Implied Cost of Equity Capital: Evidence from Opioid Epidemic (with Jie Cao, Linda Myers, Xintong Zhan, and Yaojia Zhang) 

8. Female Directors Reduce Corporate Carbon Emissions Globally (with Jie Cao, Xintong Zhan, and Yaojia Zhang)

References: 

Prof. Jie (Jay) Cao (PhD Supervisor) |  Prof. Sheridan Titman (UT-Austin)  |  Prof. Amit Goyal (HEC-Lausanne)  |  Dr. Yi Li (Federal Reserve Board)

Honours & Awards:

• Spanish Ministry Grant (Principle Investigator), 2024, Euro € 46,250

• The Sustainable Impact Research Awards, IE University, 2024

• Best Paper Prize,  FMA Consortium on Asset Management by University of Cambridge,  2023

• General Research Fund (Co-Investigator), Hong Kong Research Grant Council, 2021, HK$$672,993 (US$86,500)

• Best Paper Prize,  FMA Consortium on Asset Management by University of Cambridge,  2020

• GIWM Research Grant,  Geneva Institute for Wealth Management, Switzerland, 2020, CHF15,000

• AFA student travel grant, 2020

• AAM–CAMRI Prize in Asset Management, Asia Asset Management and National University of Singapore, 2019, US$15,000 

• Alternative Risk Premia Research Grant of the Paris–Dauphine House of Finance and Unigestion, 2019, €10,000

• Best Paper Award, 26th Conference on the Theories and Practices of Securities and Financial Markets, 2018

• Postgraduate Studentship, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2017-2022

• CFA Program Access Scholarship, 2016

• Yasumoto International Exchange Scholarship, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2014

• CIMA Scholarship for CIMA Global Business Challenge, Chartered Institute of Management Accountants 2014

• Dean’s List for three years, 2012/13 - 2015/16 

• Master's List in Wu Yee Sun College for three years 2012/13 - 2015/16

Research Featured in News:

• "ESG Preferences Negatively Affecting Market Efficiency", written by Larry Swedroe @https://alphaarchitect.com/, September 29, 2023

• "Is Climate Change Driving Mutual Funds to Dump High Carbon Bonds?", China Business Knowledge @ CUHK, March 17, 2022 

• "ESG Investors Succeed in the Bond Market", written by Larry Swedroe @www.advisorperspectives.com, December 13, 2021

• "Research and Investment Strategies", Risk & Reward by Invesco, Q3, 2020

• "CUHK Finance Researchers Win 2019 AAM-CAMRI Prize in Asset Management", CUHK Business School New, December 12, 2019 

• "A Look at ESG’s Influence on Market Efficiency", Canadian Investment Review, October 10, 2019  

• "Does CSR Influence Our Investment Behaviour?", China Business Knowledge @ CUHK, January 17, 2019 

• "How CSR Changes Our Behavior and Society", China Business Knowledge @ CUHK Luncheon Series, May 16, 2018  

• "CUHK Business School Finance Ph.D. Student Earn Recognition at the 6th Annual CQAsia Conference", CUHK Business School New December 20, 2017