Why Active Investors Matter in an ETF Era
With passively managed funds and ETFs surging in popularity in recent years, it might seem like active investment managers would soon be a relic of the past. Here's why they won't be sidelined.
How Free Trade Is Transforming Africa
Today, Africa is set to become home to the largest free trade union in the world, both by area and by population. Already, the trade agreement is changing the continent.
What Samsung’s Folding Phone Says About Markets
It should have been a banner week for Samsung Electronics, but wasn’t. Instead, it was a master class in 'efficient markets.'
Chemical Engineer Finds Finance Niche
Passion for math and science led Russell Wermers to a career in chemical engineering. His transition to finance came later, when he enrolled in an MBA program and discovered the need for quantitative rigor in a frontier industry with high potential for innovation.
Why There's Now One Less Worry for Markets
There was a key development on Capitol Hill last week you might have missed. The decades-old Gephardt Rule, which seeks to avoid having the U.S. run afoul of the debt limit, was given new life.
Teaching Finance the Maryland Smith Way
Short-term thinking hurts companies. But finance students at Maryland Smith learn a different approach. They focus on value maximization, not profit maximization.
How Shareholder Primacy Wards Off Short-termism
Companies have built-in incentives to avoid short-termism. But they fall into the myopia trap when they confuse value creation with income maximization.
Here’s What’s Missing From the Shareholder Primacy Debate
Critics come down hard on shareholder primacy. But Maryland Smith professor Michael Faulkender says people err when they overlook risk/reward economics.
Cotton Games Spur Landmark Study
Wall Street traders play for higher stakes than Monopoly rivals collecting plastic houses and fake money. But finance professor Albert “Pete” Kyle, author of landmark research on market microstructure, sees both activities as examples of games. As a child growing up in Memphis, Tenn., Kyle enjoyed strategy games like checkers, chess, poker and bridge — especially when winning required a degree of speculation. He also enjoyed market simulations like Monopoly.
Summertime, But Dressing Isn’t Easy
Standing in front of the closet figuring out what to wear in the morning doesn't get any easier just because it's summer. If anything, it's harder.