I am a PhD candidate in finance at the University of St. Gallen and the Swiss Finance Institute.

My research interests lie in the study of mutual funds, competition in asset management, and the role of information in financial markets.

My current work examines mutual fund fees and horizontal differentiation in the fund industry. More broadly, I am interested in how investors acquire and process information, including the influence of social media and investor networks on market outcomes.

I like to study economically important questions by applying network analysis, natural language processing, and other data-driven approaches to financial markets.

Prior to my doctoral studies, I worked as a Quantitative Analyst at Morningstar Sustainalytics. I hold a master's degree in finance from Queen's University and bachelor's degrees from Brock University and Dublin City University.

Email: aaronjames.black@unisg.ch

Working Papers

Pricing Differentiated Funds: The Puzzle of ESG Fund Fees (with Julian F. Kölbel)

Sustainable and Impact Investments International Conference - MCC Best Paper Award 2025 (Second Place)

Abstract: We document a robust anomaly in the fee setting of U.S. mutual funds: ESG funds charge net expense ratios 11.5 basis points lower than those of conventional funds across providers, and 6.5 basis points lower within provider. Using panel data from 2011-2024, we show this fee gap persists across data sources, ESG classifications, and market segments. A Hotelling-style model of horizontal differentiation predicts that funds with higher returns and stronger differentiation should command higher fees. ESG funds have outperformed peers net-of-fees and exhibit greater textual differentiation, but nonetheless charge lower fees. The result is inconsistent with standard theories of fee setting based on performance signals or competitive differentiation.