The Finance Department conducts research into the main areas of finance, such as asset pricing, corporate finance, market microstructure, financial intermediation and regulation.
The department has 30 professors and runs a highly successful Ph.D. program with a strong placement record, and hosts visiting faculty from leading US and European schools. It organizes about 30 research seminars per year by leading US and European academics.
The department is responsible for teaching the MBA specialization in Finance, the EMBA, the MSc International Finance, the Grande Ecole Master in Management Finance specialization, and the Executive Master in Finance.
Tribute to Denis Gromb
Denis Gromb, Professor of Finance at HEC, passed away on Sunday October the 30th. It’s impossible to overstate how wonderful it has been for us all, faculty, students, and staff, to work with Denis. The HEC Paris Finance Department conveys its deepest sympathy to Denis' wife and daughter, and to his family.
The scientific community has many reasons to remember him. We feel that his direct academic contribution is best evidenced in two truly seminal papers.
As a visiting PHD student at LSE, Denis met Mike Burkart and Fausto Panunzi. Together, they wrote an important and influential paper, “Large shareholders, monitoring, and the value of the firm.” The paper uncovered a new and important tradeoff: Monitoring of managers by large shareholders can be a good thing to the extent that it reduces agency problems. There can be too much of a good thing, however, and when it becomes intrusive, large shareholders’ oversight stifles managers’ initiatives. So maybe it is a good idea not to concentrate ownership too much, to leave some discretion to the manager, and thus encourage initiative and involvement in projects.
At MIT, Denis overlapped with Dimitri Vayanos. Together they created an important new body of research, at the frontier between asset pricing and financial intermediation (starting with a seminal paper in 2002, “Equilibrium and welfare in markets with financially constrained arbitrageurs”). If markets are perfect and complete, then the law of one price holds and the equilibrium is Pareto optimal. While the assumption of perfect and complete markets makes the model nicely tractable, it is also extremely unrealistic. Denis and Dimitri managed the “tour de force” of relaxing that assumption, making the model much more realistic while still offering a tight characterization of equilibrium. If deviations from the law of one price arise, then arbitrageurs should step in and trade on them. Financial constraints such as collateral constraints or borrowing constraints, however, limit the extent to which they can do so, preventing immediate price adjustment. But, as arbitrageurs’ positions become more and more profitable, their financial constraints are relaxed, and they invest further, thus driving prices closer to the no-arbitrage case. By doing so, arbitrageurs not only foster price adjustment, they also provide liquidity. Thus, they create positive externalities. Because arbitrageurs do not fully internalize these externalities, however, equilibrium generally is not Pareto optimal. This creates the scope for policy intervention.
This stream of research illustrates a great strength of Denis’ research. His work addresses important issues that really matter for finance practitioners, but it does so within the rigorous and deep framework of equilibrium theory and keeping in mind welfare considerations. We need that type of research to understand the world and have something useful to say about it.
Denis’ papers illustrate his maestria as a researcher. He would identify an important open issue, craft the simplest and most elegant model possible, and thus shed crystal clear light on the problem. Reading Denis’ work is an amazing experience, and fortunately, this treasure is still with us. Even more amazing was observing Denis think. You would ask him a difficult economic question. He would pause. For several seconds or minutes, he would frown and maybe say “hum, hum.” Then, slowly, deliberately, Denis would develop a deep and subtle argument. After that, it would be your turn to pause and be silent, to take in the depth and subtlety of Denis’ thoughts.
Denis’ contribution to economics however goes far beyond his own papers. As a mentor, a teacher, a source of inspiration, an adviser, and a generous provider of comments and suggestions, he helped many, many of us come up with better papers and with better ideas. We owe him to try following in his footsteps and being as generous to others as he has been to us.
Lead News
Irina Zviadadze Awarded Best Young Researcher in Finance and Insurance 2023
Irina Zviadadze, Associate Professor of Finance at HEC Paris and affiliate researcher at the Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR), is the winner of the “Best Young Researcher in Finance and Insurance” award 2023, sponsored by the SCOR Foundation for Science.
Congratulations to Dr Tianhao Yao, Finance, who successfully defended his doctoral dissertation at HEC Paris on June 6, 2023. Tianhao has accepted a position as Assistant Professor at Singapore Management University (SMU) starting in July.
Research on Equity Crowdfunding Accepted in the RAND Journal of Economics
HEC Paris Professor of Finance Stefano Lovo has had his research paper “Herding in Equity Crowdfunding” accepted for publication in the RAND Journal of Economics, the leading journal in industrial organization. The research is in collaboration with Thomas Astebro...
HEC Paris is ranked the top business school in Europe by the Financial Times, and research impact is part of the ranking’s factors. Indeed, HEC Paris is one of the world’s top research schools in economics and management, and our faculty aim to have an impact on pedagogy...
Tributes for HEC Professor Denis Gromb have flooded in from colleagues, academics and former students worldwide, following the news that the Antin I.P. Chair Professor of Finance passed away on October 30. He was one of the most impactful and respected scholars in his...
The AMF awards its 2022 prize for young researchers in economics to HEC PhD Noémie Pinardon-Touati
This year, the Scientific Advisory Board of the Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF) awards its young researcher prize in economics to Noémie Pinardon-Touati (HEC PhD and Assistant Professor in the department of Economics at Columbia University), whose research focuses on...
HEC Dean Eloïc Peyrache formally launched the school’s first-ever job matching platform for students and staff at the September 22 Townhall meeting. RAMP-UP, invented and designed by Associate Dean for Research Christophe Pérignon answers both a growing need for academics...
Major Influx into HEC’s Researcher-professor Community in 2022
HEC Paris welcomed 11 new research professors to its faculty ranks for this new academic year, one of the richest pickings in years. The top-class scholars join seven of the school’s nine departments, swelling HEC’s total of professor-researchers to 120.
HEC Paris PhD Candidate Maxime Bonelli, wins the EFA Doctoral Tutorial Prize 2022
Congratulations Maxime! The European Finance Association (EFA) DT Co-Chairs awards the best paper presented at the 2022 EFA Doctoral Tutorial to Maxime Bonelli, HEC PhD in Finance.
Congratulations to Dr Noémie Pinardon-Touati, Finance specialization, who successfully defended her Doctoral Dissertation at HEC Paris, on June 20, 2022. Dr Pinardon-Touati has accepted a position at Columbia University (USA) as Assistant Professor.
AQR Top Finance Graduate Award recognizes HEC PhD Noémie Pinardon-Touati amongst the most promising finance PhD graduates in 2022
Congratulations to Noémie Pinardon-Touati, one of the 6 winners of the 2022 AQR (Applied Quantitative Research) Top Finance Graduate Award. This prestigious prize rewards the six best students in finance in the world selected by a jury of absolutely top academics in the...
Jean-Édouard Colliard Awarded Best Young Researcher in Finance and Insurance 2022
Jean-Édouard Colliard, Associate Professor of Finance at HEC Paris and co-holder of the Analytics for Future Banking chair (HEC Paris — Natixis — Polytechnique), is the winner of the “Best Young Researcher in Finance and Insurance” award 2022, sponsored by the SCOR...
Congratulations to Dr Junli Zhao who received this Wednesday, March 16, 2022, the prestigious HEC Foundation Doctoral Dissertation Award 2021 for his research in intermediation in financial markets.
Two HEC Professors Win Prestigious “Case Method Oscars” in 2022
For the first time in its 32-year history, the Case Centre, a leading independent case-publishing platform, has rewarded not one, but two, HEC academics in the same year for their outstanding case work in 2021. Professors Rodolphe Durand and Denis Gromb were recognized in...
HEC Academics Enjoy Rich Exchange with Station F Startuppers
More than a dozen of HEC’s top faculty members paid a visit to Station F in early December as part of a learning expedition to the world’s biggest startup campus. This was designed to further solidify the strong ties between the business school and this hub of incubating...
HEC Data Day Returns with Groundbreaking Multidisciplinary Research
The fourth Data Day saw a welcome return to in-person presentations and conversations. 21 months after its previous edition, this hybrid event involved 150 practitioners, researchers and students gathered in the Jouy campus’ T Building. The 2021 edition saw lively...
Research by Jean-Edouard Colliard and Thierry Foucault Published in the Journal of Finance
The Journal of Finance, one of the top journals in financial economics, just published the paper “Inventory Management, Dealers' Connections, and Prices in Over-the-Counter Markets” by HEC Paris finance professors Jean-Edouard Colliard and Thierry Foucault (together with...
Thierry Foucault Appointed Editor of Leading Finance Journal
Thierry Foucault, HEC Chaired Foundation Professor of Finance, has been appointed co-managing editor of the Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis (JFQA) last September.
Denis Gromb’s Case on Private Equity Wins the 2021 AFFi-CCMP Prize
The case “Private Equity and Infrastructure : Antin's TowerCo Deal” written by Denis Gromb has won the prestigious AFFi*-CCMP Prize. This recognizes the year’s best case in Finance and rewards an original, innovative analysis, aiming to illustrate concepts of finance and...
Congratulations to Dr Junli Zhao, Finance specialization, who successfully defended his Doctoral Dissertation at HEC Paris, on August 12, 2021. Dr Zhao will join City University of London, Bayes Business School on September 1, 2021.
Research by Daniel Schmidt Accepted in the Review of Asset Pricing Studies
Associate Professor of Finance Daniel Schmidt has had his research paper “Fundamental Arbitrage under the Microscope: Evidence from Detailed Hedge Fund Transaction Data” accepted for publication in the Review of Asset Pricing Studies, one of the best journals in financial...
University of Zurich Awards Bruno Biais an Honoris Causa Doctorate
Bruno Biais, professor of finance at HEC Paris, was granted an Honoris Causa Doctorate by the University of Zurich, recognizing his fundamental contributions to Finance and Economics.
Thierry Foucault’s Work on AI and Finance Wins a European Research Council Grant
Thierry Foucault, professor of finance at HEC Paris and GREGHEC (CNRS/HEC), and the Scientific Co-Director of Hi! Paris Center*, is one of 209 new recipients of the European Research Council (ERC) Advanced Grant. The top award allows Foucault to pursue his project research...
Research on Cryptocurrency by Ioanid Rosu Published in Management Science
The Finance Department at HEC Paris is pleased to announce that Associate Professor Ioanid Rosu has had his research paper “Evolution of Shares in a Proof-of-Stake Cryptocurrency” published in Management Science, one of the world’s top management journals. The research is...
Johan Hombert Wins European Research Council Grant
Johan Hombert, professor of finance at HEC Paris, has been selected for a European Research Council (ERC) Consolidator Grant, making HEC Paris recipient of two ERC grants in 2020, and three in total.
Research on Real Estate by Christophe Spaenjers Accepted by The Review of Financial Studies
The Finance Department at HEC Paris is pleased to announce that Associate Professor Christophe Spaenjers has had his research paper on the profitability of real estate accepted for publication in the Review of Financial Studies, one of the world’s top three finance...
New Research by Irina Zviadadze Accepted in the Review of Financial Studies
The Finance Department at HEC Paris is pleased to announce that Associate Professor Irina Zviadadze has had her research paper on risk-return trade-off accepted for publication in the Review of Financial Studies, one of the world’s top three finance journals.
HEC Paris Professor of Finance Creates a Blog to Make Sense of Financial Markets
Professor Johan Hombert initiated a blog on finance to keep in touch with his students at HEC Paris by helping them understand the COVID-19 crisis, during and following the lockdown in France. The blog hence answers various questions about finance.
Congratulations to Dr Huan Tang, Finance specialization, who successfully defended her Doctoral thesis at HEC Paris, on August 27, 2020. Huan joined the London School of Economics as Assistant Professor.
New Research Shows That Unemployment Insurance Can Spur Entrepreneurial Activity
How to foster business dynamism when we emerge from COVID-19? New research shows that well designed unemployment insurance is key. Professor of Finance Johan Hombert (HEC Paris), with three researchers from UC Berkeley and MIT Sloan School of Management, has recently...
Ph.D. Graduate Huan Tang Wins the 2020 AQR Top Finance Graduate Award
The HEC Paris Finance Department is proud to announce that HEC Ph.D. student Huan Tang is one of the six winners of the 2020 AQR Top Finance Graduate Award.
Congratulations to Dr Pekka Honkanen, Finance, who successfully defended his Doctoral thesis at HEC Paris, on May 26, 2020. Pekka will join the Terry College of Business, University of Georgia as Assistant Professor of Finance.
Bruno Biais wins a European Research Council’s Advanced Grant
In early 2020, the European Research Council (ERC) granted €450 million for Europe’s long-term research, because "Europe’s future depends on science and research", reminded Mariya Gabriel, European Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth. HEC...
Fintech seems to be everywhere these days - but how much do we really know about the industry? In our latest Executive Horizons survey, 65% of respondents gave their knowledge of financial technology a score of only 3 out of 5. So how is Fintech transforming finance? What...
HEC PhD Student in Finance, Maxime Bonelli, wins the 2019 SUERF/UniCredit Foundation Research Prize
Congratulations! HEC PhD Student, Maxime Bonelli, wins the 2019 SUERF/UniCredit Foundation Research Prize, with his paper "Labor Mobility and Capital Misallocation in the Mutual Fund Industry." Maxime will present his paper at the conference at UniCredit in Milan in...
HEC and Société Générale have renewed a partnership for the Energy & Finance Chair stretching back to 2005. The October 15 on-campus ceremony was followed by an evening conference focusing on the “key to driving today’s energy transition”.
The October 3 Faculty Day featured welcome speeches for a dozen academic figures who join the ranks of HEC research professors, now numbering a total of 120. Faculty & Research Dean Jacques Olivier and Dean Peter Todd greeted the new staff members.
We are happy and proud to welcome our new 12 high potential PhD students to our campus (9 nationalities and all from top schools) who started their PhD journey last week. They were welcomed both by PhD fellow students, staff, professors and the HEC Foundation who is the...
Boris Vallée, HEC PhD 2014, Nominated Associate Professor
The HEC PhD Program congratulates Professor Boris Vallée on his recent nomination as Torstein Hagen Associate Professor of Finance at Harvard Business School.
HEC Paris Creates the Jean-Marie Eveillard Endowed Chair in Value Investing
The HEC Foundation announced the creation of an endowed chair in value investing, financed by Jean-Marie Eveillard (H62), one of the most successful global value investors in history. The first chair holder is HEC Professor of Finance Augustin Landier.
Congratulations to Dr Yapei Zhang, Finance specialization, who successfully defended her thesis at HEC Paris, on July 2, 2019. Yapei will join the ShanghaiTech University School of Entrepreneurship and Management as Assistant Professor of Finance from summer 2019.
Warm congratulations to all our 2019 PhD graduates. Ali Shantia (Information Systems and Operations Management) - Charles Boissel (Finance) - Elena Fumagalli (Marketing) - Elena Plaksenkova (Strategy and Business Policy) - Jiachen Yang (Management and Human Resources) -...
The fifth S&O Research Day featured 21 presentations and three keynote speeches in a whirlwind exchange over two days. Organized by HEC Professor Georg Wernicke, the May 23-24 event was notable for its diversity, high-powered insights and motivation.
4 Nations Cup: voting for the most promising young scholars in finance
The 4 Nations Cup is an international competition for young finance researchers, presenting their latest research. Representing four nations, the contestants compete for the support of the audience who vote for the winning team at the end of the day.
Q&A with Witold Henisz: Exploiting Big Data for a Financial Revolution
Witold Henisz has been a key figure at The Wharton School for the past two decades. The Deloitte & Touche Professor of Management has been researching ways for corporations to find, build and maintain relationships with their external stakeholders.
HEC Paris, ArianeGroup and the European Space Agency (ESA) signed a three-year partnership setting up a joint-Chair to study long-term economic tendencies and opportunities in Space Economy. The trio seeks to capitalize on rapid advances in materials science and the...
Congratulations to Dr Sylvain Catherine who successfully defended his thesis on February 14, 2019. Sylvain joined The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania (USA) as Assistant Professor.
Braving the January 22 snowstorms, around 100 academics, students, company representatives and sponsors attended HEC’s second on-campus Data Day, a wide-ranging conference devoted to the impact of data on research, education and society.
This 2018-19 academic year saw the arrival or confirmation of nine academic figures to swell the numbers HEC researchers to 118. At the September 27 Faculty Day, Dean Peter Todd and Faculty & Research Dean Jacques Olivier welcomed the academics, many of whom are known for...
Impactful Investing: Turning Promises into Results
The Society & Organizations (S&O) Center and the European Venture Philanthropy Association (EPVA) recently teamed up with Action Tank Social and Business for a plenary focused on impactful investing. This movement seems to promise both financial return and a meaningful...
HEC Paris win 2016 Harvard International Finance Competition
On April 23rd, a team of international students from HEC Paris won the final round of the 2016 Harvard International Finance Competition, a world-renowned case study contest featuring the best global universities on Harvard's campus.
HEC Paris and ODDO BHF signed a Financial Analysis teaching Chair aimed at boosting HEC’s training in corporate financial analysis methodologies. The first Chairholder will be Associate Professor of Finance Alexei Ovtchinnikov.
Following the April 10 HEC Paris - ViaVoice debate on the finance industry and new technology, HEC Professor Augustin Landier shared his vision on the generation gap between younger and older managers; the multi-disciplinary nature of modern finance; and answering the...
“Fintech Goes Global”: The emergence of a borderless industry - another success for the third edition of HEC Paris’ Fintech Talent Fair
According to Philippe Limantour, Chief Innovation Officer at EY, fintechs are organizations that combine innovative business models and technology to enable, enhance and disrupt financial services. The term, which first appeared at the end of the 90s, is now a top trend in...
Fintech at the crossroads: disruption, collaboration and regulation
Has fintech reached the age of reason? Banking professionals, finance experts, fintech start-up founders and students were invited to partake in the passionate debate that took place at the Second edition of HEC Paris' Fintech Fair on October 20th.
HEC Prof Johan Hombert awarded Best Young Researcher by the Fondation Banque de France
After Philip Valta in 2013, Johan Hombert, HEC Paris Assistant Professor in Finance and member of the Research Laborotary GREGHEC has won the prize of the “Best Young Researcher” by the Fondation Banque de France. This award is given to Johan Hombert for his overall...
Congratulations to Dr Maxime Bonelli, Finance, who successfully defended his Doctoral Dissertation at HEC Paris on July 6th, 2023. Maxime has accepted a position as Assistant Professor at London Business School.