Current Position
2021-Present Associate Professor of Finance, Sheffield University Management School, University of Sheffield, United Kingdom
Other Positions
2024-Present Founder and CEO of Epistemica Ltd, an independent consultancy firm that guides high-net-worth individuals through the complexities of financial markets, with emphasis on the role of the temporal experience in investments.
2021-Present External Examiner, University of Edinburgh Business School, University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom, Programs: Accounting and Finance (MA Hons), Accounting and Business MA (Hons), and Finance and Business MA (Hons)
Past Positions
2017-2021 Assistant Professor of Finance, Birmingham Business School, University of Birmingham, United Kingdom
2015-2017 Assistant Professor of Finance, Notre Dame University, Lebanon
Education
2015 Ph.D. in Economics (Finance Thesis), University of St Andrews, United Kingdom
2011 MSc in Finance, University of St Andrews, United Kingdom
Research Areas
Price Informativeness; Corporate Finance; Monetary Policy; Time in Finance.
Publications
Central Bank Information Shocks, Value Gains, and Value Crashes, with Elie Menassa, 2024, Journal of Behavioral Finance, 25(1): 15-29.
Local Policy Uncertainty and the Firm’s Investment Reaction to Monetary Policy, with Yang Gao and Jiayi Yuan, 2024, Economics Letters, 234: 111473
Uncertainty and Corporate Investments in Response to the Fed’s Dual Shocks, with Elie Menassa, 2023, Financial Review, Lead Article, 58, 463-484
Geopolitical Risk and Corporate Payout Policy, with Jiayi Yuan, Yang Gao, and Jin Huang, 2023, International Review of Financial Analysis, 87: 102613.
Top-Tier Advisors and the Market Feedback Dynamics in Cross-Border M&As, with Jiayi Yuan and Malika Hamadi, 2023, International Review of Financial Analysis, 86: 102495.
Monetary Shocks and the Analyst Coverage of the Firm, with Leonidas Barbopoulos, 2022, Economics Letters, 218: 110776.
Monetary Policy and Anxious Presidents: The Effects of Monetary Shocks on Presidential Job Approval, 2022, Politics & Policy, 50 (2): 244-273.
The Fed’s Dual Shocks and the Housing Market, with Elie Menassa, 2022, Economics Letters, 218: 110730.
Central Bank Information Shocks, Value Gains, and Value Crashes, with Elie Menassa, 2022, Journal of Behavioral Finance.
Monetary Policy and Information Production in the Secondary Market, 2021, with Elie Menassa, Economics Letters, 207: 110044.
The Conventional and Informational Impacts of Monetary Policy on the IPO Market, 2021, Economics Letters, 200: 109751.
Macroeconomic News and Acquirer Returns in M&As: The Impact of Investor Alertness, 2020, with Leonidas Barbopoulos and Anthony Saunders, Journal of Corporate Finance, 64: 101583.
The Impact of Monetary Policy on M&A Outcomes, 2020, with Leonidas Barbopoulos and Anthony Saunders, Journal of Corporate Finance, 62: 101529.
Do Corporations Learn from Mispricing? Evidence from Takeovers and Corporate Performance, 2020, with Leonidas Barbopoulos, International Review of Financial Analysis, 68: 101128.
Liquidity and Information Asymmetry Considerations in Corporate Takeovers, 2019, with Leonidas Barbopoulos, European Journal of Finance, 25:724-743.
Paradigm Conflict and the Wealth Effects of Blockholder Formation in Private Target Acquisitions, 2019, with Elie Menassa, Journal of Behavioral Finance, 20:81-95.
The Valuation Effects of Investor Attention in Stock-Financed Acquisitions, 2018, with Leonidas Barbopoulos, Journal of Empirical Finance, 45:108-125.
The Earnout Structure Matters: Takeover Premia and Acquirer Gains in Earnout Financed M&A, 2016, with Leonidas Barbopoulos, International Review of Financial Analysis 45:283–94.
On Mergers, Monetary Policy and Output Durability, 2015, Applied Economics Letters 22:461–65.
Teaching Qualifications
2019 Postgraduate Certificate in Higher Education, Fellow of the Higher Education Academy
2012 Certificate on Assessment and Academic Misconduct, Centre for Academic, Professional and Organizational Development, University of St Andrews
Academic Leadership
2023-Present Research Development Director for Finance, Sheffield University Management School, University of Sheffield, UK
2024-Present Member of the Committee on the Restructuring of Postgraduate Programmes
2021-Present Trading Room Officer, Bloomberg Terminals, Sheffield University Management School, University of Sheffield, UK
2023 Co-Developer of the Sheffield Finance Workshop: Climate and Policy
2023 Member of the REF 2024 Internal Assessment Panel, Sheffield University Management School, University of Sheffield, UK
2020 Acting Director of the MSc Wealth and Investment Management program, University of Birmingham, UK
2019 Member of the “Teaching and Learning” and “Hidden Assets” committees
2019 Team Leader for the re-design of three modules in the MSc Investment and MSc Financial Management programs, University of Birmingham, UK
2019 Deputy Director and Admissions Officer of the MSc Financial Management program, University of Birmingham, UK
2018 Co-designer/Deputy Director of the MSc Wealth and Investment program, University of Birmingham, UK
2017 Admissions Officer, MSc in Financial Management, University of Birmingham, UK
Grants, Scholarships and Awards
2024 Co-Investigator: “Sustainable Finance and Fintech in the Digital Age”, Research, Knowledge Exchange & Impact Stimulation Funding, £4,000, Centre for Research into Accounting and Finance in Context.
2023 Principal Investigator: "Power of Climate Finance: the path to a sustainable future", Research, Knowledge Exchange & Impact Stimulation Funding, £3,000, Centre for Research into Accounting and Finance in Context
2022 Educational Development Fund, £500, University of Sheffield
2014 Honorary Fellow, St Andrews Free Market Association
2011 Entering PhD Student Scholarship (£4800), University of St Andrews
2010 Top of the Dean’s Honour list for 6 consecutive semesters, University of Balamand
2010 Patriarch Ignatius IV Scholarship (equivalent to £12000)
2007 Hariri Foundation Honouree, Fouad Suleiman Scholarship
Refereeing
Review of Financial Studies; Journal of Corporate Finance, Journal of Banking and Finance; European Journal of Finance; Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization; Economics Letters; Journal of Business, Finance, and Accounting; Quantitative Finance; Journal of Financial Research; International Review of Financial Analysis; Quantitative Finance; Energy Economics; British Accounting Review; Economic Modelling; Finance Research Letters; Accounting and Finance; Managerial Finance; Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money; International Review of Economics and Finance.
PhD Students with Completion
Jiayi Yuan: “Three Essays on Mergers and Acquisitions”, University of Birmingham (2018-2022). First Appointment: Lecturer in Finance, University of Northampton. Current Appointment: Lecturer in Finance , University of Leeds.
Courses Taught
University of Sheffield, UK
Portfolio Management and Investment (Postgraduate: Semester 2, 2022, 2023 )
Company Analysis and Valuation (Undergraduate: Semester 1, 2021, 2022)
Corporate Finance (Postgraduate: Semester 1, 2021, 2022)
University of Birmingham, UK
Advanced Finance (Part B) (Undergraduate: Semester 1, 2020)
Corporate Finance (Tutorials) (Undergraduate: Semester 1, 2020)
Dissertation Module for MSc Wealth and Investment Management (Postgraduate: Semester 2, 2019)
Portfolio Management, Asset Allocation, and Wealth Planning (Postgraduate: Semester 2, 2019)
Fund Management (Postgraduate: Semester 2, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021)
Entrepreneurial Finance (Postgraduate: Semester 2, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021)
Notre Dame University, Lebanon
Principles of Financial Management I (Undergraduate: Fall 2015 and Spring 2016)
Principles of Financial Management II (Undergraduate: Spring 2016)
Financial Institutions and Markets (Undergraduate: Fall 2015)
Principles of Investment (Undergraduate: Spring 2016)
International Business Finance (Undergraduate: Fall 2016)
Strategic Financial Analysis (Postgraduate: Summer 2016)
Oxbridge Academic Program
Introduction to Economics (Pre-University: Summer, 2015)
Other Academic Experience
2013 Tutor: Microeconomics (8 groups), Macroeconomics (6 groups), University of St Andrews
2012 Tutor: Microeconomics (4 groups), Macroeconomics (2 groups), University of St Andrews
Conference Activity and Seminar Presentations
Credit Access and Reduced Employment Growth, Aston University, Birmingham, UK: November 2023
Credit Access and Reduced Employment Growth, University of York, York, UK: September 2023
Member of the Scientific Committee, Crises and Resilience in Developing Countries, A Multidimensional Perspective, Saint Joseph University, Lebanon, November 2023
The Fact/Value Dichotomy in Empirical Finance, Opening Remarks for the Sheffield Finance Workshop: Climate and Policy, University of Sheffield, UK: May 2023
The Real Effects of Fed Information Shocks on the M&A Market, SMIFUK23 Conference, University of York, York, UK: March 2023
Member of the Program Committee of the European Financial Management Association Conference, Cardiff, UK: June 2023
The Informational Consequences of Good and Bad M&As, Brazil Finance Webinar Series, Pontifical Catholic University of Paraná
The Economy and Information: Implications for the Lebanese Crisis, part of a two-day seminar for the Lebanese Institute for Market Studies, Beirut, Lebanon: June 2020
The Mystique of the Boutiques, Liverpool University Management School, Liverpool, UK: February 2020
The Mystique of the Boutiques, Durham University Business School, Durham, UK: February 2020
Macroeconomic Indicators and Attention to Acquisitions, Cardiff Business School, University of Cardiff, Cardiff, UK: November 2019
Macroeconomic Indicators and Attention to Acquisitions, Corporate Finance and Asset Pricing Conference, British Accounting and Finance Association, University of Salford, Manchester, UK: September 2019
Monetary Policy, Information, and the Wealth Effects of M&A, British Accounting and Finance Association Conference, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK: April 2019
Price Informativeness and the Role of Advisors in M&A, Paris Financial Management Conference, IPAG Business School, Paris, France: April 2018
Price Informativeness and the Role of Advisors in M&A, British Accounting and Finance Association Annual Conference, Westminster Hall, London, UK: April 2018
The Acquirer’s Listing Status and the Option to ‘Wait and See’, 7th Financial Engineering and Banking Society Conference, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, UK: June, 2017
Do Corporations Benefit from Mispricing, British Accounting and Finance Association Conference, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, UK: August 2016
The Earnout Structure Matters: Takeover Premia and Acquirers Gains in Earnout Financed M&As, INFINITY Conference, Dublin, Ireland: June 2012
Bounded Rationality in Choice Conference, Assistant Organizer, University of St Andrews (organized by Prof. Marco Mariotti and Prof. Paola Manzini)
Other Activities
2013- 2014 Economic Policy Coordinator, St Andrews Free Market Association
2012- 2013 Postgraduate Representative, St Andrews Free Market Association
Languages
Arabic (Native), English (Fluent), French (Fluent)
Computing
Mathematica, Wolfram Language, EViews, Matlab, R (Matching, Sensitivity, Forecasting, Simulations), Bloomberg Terminals, Gambit, Python, Excel, SPSS, C++, STATA.