Sustainable Investing (mostly through the angle of mutual funds)

(1) Agoraki, M.E.K., Kouretas, G.P., Wu, H. and Zhao, B., 2025. Imbalanced ESG investing?. Journal of Corporate Finance, 93, p.102810. (Lead investigator)

• Featured by Factor Zoo, one of the most popular academic WeChat public accounts in China, under the discussion title: "Emphasis on E, Light on S and G: How to Understand the Imbalance in Fund ESG Investing?"

(2) Navigating ESG Controversies: What is the Role of ESG Rating? (Lead investigator, R&R in Journal of Business Ethics)

(3) Talk vs. Walk: Lessons from Silent Sustainable Investing of Mutual Funds (Lead investigator)

• • Conference: the 3rd Welsh Postgraduate Research Conference, the South West Doctoral Training Partnership Summer School, the Jean Monnet Summer School, the EFiC 2023 Conference,  the Welsh Quarterly Finance Seminar Series (invited), EAA 2024, 31st Finance Forum | the Annual Meeting of the Spanish Finance Association (AEFIN), IFABS Shanghai 2024, IAF Conference 2025

  • Award & Honor: scholarships for the best papers of the PhD Mentoring Day awarded by AEFIN; Invitation to the FinReg Blog of Duke Financial Economics Center at Duke University; Responsible Investment Research Blog

Quantitative Investing

(1) When Bayes-Stein Meets Machine Learning: A Generalized Approach for Portfolio Optimization (Lead investigator, Reject&Resubmit in Management Science)

• • Conference: EUROFIDAI-ESSEC Paris December Finance Meeting 2023, Erasmus University Rotterdam FinEML Conference 2023, FMA Europe 2023 Conference, EFMA 2023 conference, 2022 Chinese Finance Annual Meeting (CFAM), Cardiff Fintech Conference 2022, UC Berkeley CDAR Risk Seminar (invited), Birmingham School of Mathematics Seminar (invited)

  • Award & Honor: Research Excellence Award ($1000) - Financial Investment Talent Development Fund awarded by CFAM; the highest evaluation from Session Chair and Program Chairs, with the recommendation for publication in the European Financial Management journal - EFMA 2023 conference

(2) Han, W., Newton, D., Platanakis, E., Wu, H. and Xiao, L., 2024. The diversification benefits of cryptocurrency factor portfolios: Are they there?. Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, 63(2), pp.469-518.

(3) Wu, H., Gao, Z., Nie, B. and Zhao, B., 2025. Can machines learn Chinese mutual funds?. Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, p.102935.

Other

(1) Agoraki, M.E.K., Wu, H., Xu, T. and Yang, M., 2024. Money never sleeps: Capital flows under global risk and uncertainty. Journal of International Money and Finance, 141, p.103013. (Lead investigator)

(2) Wang, X., Wang, M. and Wu, H., 2024. Geopolitical risk and corporate cash holdings in China: Precautionary motive and agency problem perspectives. International Review of Financial Analysis, 93, p.103235.

(3) Time is the Witness: Bank Failure Prediction via a Multistage AI Model (R&R in Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting)

Working Member of Europe Union COST Action CA19130 - Fintech and Artificial Intelligence in Finance - Towards a transparent financial industry (FinAI)

Journal Referee: European Journal of Operational Research (1), Journal of Business Ethics (3), Journal of International Money and Finance (8), Annals of Operations Research (2), Journal of Financial Stability (2), European Journal of Finance (3), European Financial Management (1), Economics Letters (2), European Journal of Political Economy (2), International Review of Financial Analysis (2), Emerging Markets Finance & Trade (1), Emerging Markets Review (1), Economic modelling (1), North American Journal of Economics and Finance (2), Climate Policy (1)

Conference Volunteer: European Academy of Management (EURAM) 2024 Conference, 2023 Financial Reporting and Business Communication (FBRC) Conference