Amy Yazhu Li

RESEARCH

Equity-based compensation and the timing of share repurchases: the role of the corporate calendar

Ingolf Dittmann, Amy Yazhu Li, Stefan Obernberger, and Jiaqi Zheng

• Forthcoming in the Journal of Accounting and Economics: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0165410125000345

Featured as article by Harvard Law School Forum: https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu/2022/04/28/the-corporate-calendar-and-the-timing-of-share-repurchases-and-equity-compensation/

• Conferences: American Accounting Association (AAA) Annual Meeting 2022, SFS Cavalcade Asia-Pacific 2022, American Finance Association (AFA) Annual Meeting 2023, European Finance Association (EFA) Annual Meeting 2023

Abstract: We examine whether CEOs use share repurchases to sell their equity at inflated prices. We document that share repurchases, like equity-based compensation, are affected by the corporate calendar—the firm's schedule of earnings announcements and insider trading restrictions. The corporate calendar can fully explain why share repurchases and equity-based compensation coincide. The alignment with the corporate calendar is stricter in firms with strong internal governance or high external monitoring. When CEOs sell equity, firms are actually less likely to repurchase. Our findings reconcile earlier studies and highlight the importance of the corporate calendar for the timing of share repurchases.

Actual Share Repurchases and Shareholder-Creditor Conflicts

Single author, first draft completed

• Presented at: Brown Bag Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Tinbergen Institute PhD seminars series, ERIM PhD seminar series 

Ownership of Poison Bonds

with Shuo Xia  and Rex Wang

• Work-in progress

Buyback motives: Evidence from open-market share repurchases in China

Single author

• Work-in-progress

TEACHING

Options and Futures (Bachelor course)

January 2024 – present

Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen

Financial Methods and Techniques (Bachelor course)

January 2021 – June 2023

Erasmus University Rotterdam, together with Rogier Quadvlieg and Marc Gabarro

Thesis Supervision

45 Bachelor Students

33 Master Students

September 2019 – June 2023

Thesis topics: ESG, Empirical Corporate Finance, Fintech, Corporate Governance