Finance is an applied branch of economics that deals with how individuals and organizations allocate financial resources overtime. Reflecting the expertise and interests of the current faculty, the PhD program in Finance at the Ivey School of Business is particularly focused on research topics in corporate finance, investments and behavioral finance. Our goal is to train excellent scholars that can distinguish themselves as productive researchers and effective teachers.
The study of corporate finance emphasizes the monetary decisions of business entities and the decision-making process of their managers. The Ivey finance faculty is actively conducting research in many corporate finance topics including, but not limited to: initial public offerings (IPOs); capital structure; corporate governance; executive compensation; international finance and cross-listings.
The study of investments is centered on financial decisions of households and professional investors and how they impact prices in financial markets. Behavioral finance incorporates insights from individual and social psychology in modern financial theory to deepen our understanding of financial decision-making. Faculty at Ivey is currently involved in several research projects in the area of investment and behavioral finance including, among the others: household investment and saving decisions; strategies of successful value investors; the value of financial advice; market microstructure; pre and post retirement financial decisions.
The finance curriculum reflects the deep interconnections between finance and economics. In the first year, students are required to complete courses in the UWO Department of Economics (e.g., microeconomics, macroeconomics and econometrics). In the second year, students will integrate advanced courses from the Department of Economics with specific finance courses offered at Ivey such as corporate finance, investments and empirical research in finance.
The PhD in finance has a strong focus in quantitative research. As a result, a strong background in statistics and econometrics can help students to successfully complete the required coursework. If you are considering applying to our PhD in Finance and you have questions regarding the program, please feel free to contact the PhD Finance Coordinator or any finance faculty member doing research in your specific area of interest.
- Foundations of Finance 9801 a/b
The first core seminar in finance introduces the mathematics of portfolio theory, the Capital Asset Pricing Model and, market efficiency. The focus will be on the mathematical tools used in each of these areas. - Financial Economics 9811 a/b
This course represents an advanced study of asset pricing and other empirical techniques frequently used in financial economics. Focus is on the techniques used most often in the analysis of financial markets and how they are applied to actual market data. - Corporate Finance 9821 a/b
This course covers the theoretical and empirical corporate finance literature. The class format is designed to familiarize students with how academic papers are written and to train them in critically reading these papers. Assignments are intended to help students identify questions and develop ideas for their dissertations. - Corporate Research in Finance 9831 a/b
This course is designed to develop an understanding of the various research methodologies used in different areas of financial economics. Students will have the opportunity to interact with faculty doing research in diverse areas of financial economics and are be required to complete one mini-project.
Refereed Articles
Athanassakos, G., 2011, "Do Value Investors Add Value?", Journal of Investing, Summer, 20(2): 86 - 100.
Athanassakos, G., 2011, "The Performance, Pervasiveness and Determinants of Value Premium in Different US Exchanges: 1985-2006", Journal of Investment Management, Third Quarter, 9(3): 33 - 73.
Foerster, S.R., 2011, "Double Then Nothing: Why Stock Investments Relying on Simple Heuristics May Disappoint", Review of Behavioral Finance, forthcoming.
Foerster, S.R., Sapp, S., 2011, "Back to Fundamentals: The Role of Expected Cash Flows in Equity Valuation", North American Journal of Economics and Finance, forthcoming.
Athanassakos, G., 2010, "Seasonality in Value vs. Growth Stock Returns and the Value Premium", Journal of Financial and Economic Practice, 10(2): 73 - 96.
Athanassakos, G., Ackert, L.F., Naydenova, B., Tafkov, I., 2010, "Determinants of Investor Demand for Cross-Listed Firms", Financial Markets, Institutions & Instruments, August, 19(3): 245 - 267.
Busaba, W.Y., Chang, C., 2010, "Bookbuilding vs. Fixed Price Revisited: The Effect of Aftermarket Trading", Journal of Corporate Finance, June, 16(3): 370 - 381.
Goerzen, A., Sapp, S., Delios, A., 2010, "Investor Response to Environmental Risk in Foreign Direct Investment", Management International Review, December, 50(6): 683 - 708.
Lo, I., Sapp, S., 2010, "Order aggressiveness and quantity: How are they determined in a limit order market?", Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions & Money, July, 20(3): 213 - 237.
Southam, C., Sapp, S., 2010, "Compensation Across Executive Labor Markets: What Can We Learn from Cross-Listed Firms?", Journal of International Business Studies, January, 41(1): 70 - 87.
Non-Refereed Articles
Athanassakos, G., 2012, "Canada's housing bubble: This time is not different", Globe and Mail, February(23).
Athanassakos, G., 2011, "A faster way to identify value stocks", Canadian Investment Review, March(16).
Athanassakos, G., 2011, "Germany wants to have it both ways", Globe and Mail, September(19).
Athanassakos, G., 2011, "How to Keep a Lid on Public Debt", Globe and Mail, October(28).
Athanassakos, G., 2011, "Investors should beware the inflation mirage", Globe and Mail, March(30).
Athanassakos, G., 2011, "Signs Point to a Severe Housing Correction in Canada", Globe and Mail, April(10).
Athanassakos, G., 2011, "The Contrarian Case for Active Investing", Globe and Mail, August(30).
Athanassakos, G., 2011, "The cure for Greece? Bankruptcy and the drachma", Globe and Mail, June(8).
Athanassakos, G., 2011, "The rising risk of an emerging market bubble", Globe and Mail, January(25).
Athanassakos, G., 2011, "Why we're on a fast track to the 1970s", Globe and Mail, July(21).
King, M., 2011, "Currency Markets to Politicians: Clean Up Your Act", Canadian Investment Review, August(10).
