News and events

LSE Department of Finance

Professor Mike Burkart wins ECGI Finance Prize
LSE Professor of Finance Mike Burkart is the recipient of the ECGI Finance Prize 2025 (Best Finance Working Paper) for The Evolution of the Market for Corporate Control, with Samuel Lee and Paul Voss.
Read the paper on SSRN
LSE launches new Initiative in Sustainable Finance
LSE’s Global School of Sustainability has launched a new Initiative in Sustainable Finance, led by Professor Amil Dasgupta of the LSE Department of Finance and Tom Gosling, Professor in Practice in the Financial Markets Group. Read more.
Research Showcase: Subtle Discrimination - Daniel Ferreira
Economists usually classify discrimination based on its causes: it can arise from different preferences towards various groups or from different beliefs about the abilities of those groups. In joint research with Elena Pikulina, Professor Daniel Ferreira shifts the focus from causes to transparency: is discrimination subtle or overt? Watch now.
Could sustainable investing be the answer to the world's environmental problems?
Proponents of sustainable investing argue it could be key to helping the environment and lowering carbon emissions, but are they being too optimistic? New award-winning research by Dirk Jenter explores exactly how sustainable funds work and if they can encourage companies to engage in more green behaviour. Read more.
Research Showcase: Passive Investing and Mega-Firms - Dimitri Vayanos
Over the past three decades we have seen a huge increase in passive investing, so much so that it has overtaken active investing in an industry worth trillions of dollars. Professor Dimitri Vayanos is exploring the real-world effects of this shift, in research that has implications for policymakers, regulators, academia and the financial industry. Watch now.
LSE launches new MSc in Law and Finance
Exciting new interdisciplinary programme starting in 2025 will prepare students for leading professional roles at the intersection of law and finance. Read more.
LSE's Dimitri Vayanos wins Swiss Finance Institute Outstanding Paper Award 2024
The Swiss Finance Institute (SFI) has selected Passive Investing and the Rise of Mega-Firms by LSE's Professor Dimitri Vayanos (co-authored with Hao Jiang and Lu Zheng), for its Outstanding Paper Award 2024. Read more.
Professor David Webb receives the Denis Gromb Award for Outstanding Citizenship in Financial Economics
The award is given by the Financial Intermediation Research Society (FIRS) to recognise those who strive to make the profession better through their mentorship, leadership, dedication, and academic citizenship. Read more.
Research Showcase
Setting CEO Pay - Dirk Jenter
CEO pay is a hugely important and often controversial subject, with many factors influencing and constraining compensation packages. Professor Dirk Jenter is exploring new ways to- investigate the subject. Watch now.
Daniel Paravisini wins his second Brattle Group First Prize in corporate finance
Professor Daniel Paravisini has been awarded First Prize in the Brattle Group Prizes in Corporate Finance at the American Finance Association Annual Meeting for Specialization in Bank Lending: Evidence from Exporting Firms, co-authored with Veronica Rappoport and Philipp Schnabl. Read more.

Department of Finance Prize Winners 2023
Congratulations to the all of our students graduating this year, and well done to the winners of the Department Prizes, awarded annually for the best overall performance in each degree programme. Read more.
MSc Finance & Economics end of year trip to Morocco
Our MSc Finance and Economics students have returned from their end of year trip, and Student Reps Judy Jiang and Richard Adkins have sent us a summary of what they got up to. Read more.
EVENT SERIES: Entrepreneurial Finance Stories
Associate Professor of Finance Dr Juanita González-Uribe initiated an exciting series of fireside chats with some of entrepreneurial finance's most in-demand names. See full listing and watch event videos.
Research Showcase
Demystifying Cryptocurrency - Igor Makarov
Cryptocurrency has developed from a niche concept into something relatively mainstream - and it offers unique opportunities for Finance researchers. Dr Igor Makarov of the LSE Department of Finance discusses his world-leading work in the field. Watch now.

Research Showcase
Business Accelerators and Seed Funds: How can entrepreneurs get an edge? - Juanita González-Uribe
Dr Juanita Gonzalez-Uribe examines the true importance of Business Accelerators and Seed Funds in screening and training in business, as well as their wider effects on the entrepreneurial environment. Watch now.
LSE research student scoops Finance Theory Group award for Job Market paper
Joanne Chen has been awarded the Financial Theory Group's runner up prize for the best paper in finance theory on the job market 2022, for her work on Optimal Managerial Authority. Read more.
Professor Mike Burkart receives honorary doctorate from HSG
The University of St Gallen recognised Professor Burkart for his 'trailblazing work on the influence of shareholder activism and corporate takeovers on a company’s value'. Read more.
New Faculty members to join the LSE Department of Finance
We are delighted to welcome two outstanding young academics to the Faculty. Kim Fe Cramer and Linyan Zhu will join the LSE Department of Finance in Autumn 2022 as Assistant Professors. Read more.
Professor Dimitri Vayanos awarded ERC Advanced Grant
Professor Dimitri Vayanos of the LSE Department of Finance has been awarded an ERC Advanced Grant for his research proposal 'Inefficient Capital Markets and the Macroeconomy'. The proposed research will develop theoretical models of inefficient capital markets and use them to understand how the inefficiencies affect the financial sector and the real economy. Read more.
Assistant Professor Liliana Varela awarded ERC Starting Grant
Liliana Varela of the LSE Department of Finance has been awarded an ERC Starting Grant for her research proposal 'A Micro to Macro Approach to International Capital Flows'. ERC Starting Grants are open to researchers with a scientific track record showing great promise, and an excellent research proposal. Read more.
Research Showcase
Improving Socially Responsible Investment - Martin Oehmke
Socially responsible investing aims to change a company's behaviour and deliver real-world benefits for people and the planet - but have we been doing it right? Professor Martin Oehmke discusses a new approach, based on his award-winning work 'A Theory of Socially Responsible Investment'. Watch now.

MSc Finance & Economics student wins major market-making competition
Finance and Economics master’s student Sylvain Girard has won the 2021 ReadyTraderGo EU/UK competition, organised by global firm Optiver. The prize (shared with his teammate) is €30,000, as well as recruitment opportunities at the firm. The competition involved over 500 students from across Europe. Read more.
Superstar firms and below-average wages: the pitfalls of wanting a career at a top firm
What to study at university is a key decision, and one that can be influenced by the desire to work in a specific firm on graduation. But aiming to work at a superstar firm may not bring the wealth one might imagine, finds research by Dr Dong Lou. Read more.
Department of Finance Prize Winners 2021
Congratulations to the all of our students graduating this year, and well done to the winners of the Department Prizes, awarded annually for the best overall performance in each degree programme. Read more.
Department of Finance alumnus named on Forbes' European 30 under 30 list
Elliott Aeschlimann Perales, who graduated from the MSc Finance and Private Equity in 2016, has been named on Forbes' 30 under 30 list for 2021 in the Retail and Ecommerce category. Read more.
Bo Tang (PhD Candidate in Finance) on Solving Real World Problems by Going Beyond the Library
Find out how his collaboration with Pantheon has exposed Bo to new ways of doing embedded research, provided him with access to new datasets and enabled him to expand his network. Read More.

Robert Rogers (MSc Finance & Economics) is Awarded WCIB Dissertation Prize
The Department of Finance is pleased to announce that Robert Rogers, an MSc Finance & Economics graduate, has been awarded with the WCIB prize for his dissertation entitled "Bank vs dealer capital as a priced risk". The Worshipful Company of International Bankers (WCIB) awards prizes each year to a number of participating institutions. Read more.
The Pissarides Committee, of which Professor Dimitri Vayanos is a member, presented its Growth Plan for Greece to the Greek Prime Minister
In December, the Pissarides Committee presented its 244-page Growth Plan for Greece to the Greek Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis. Read more.
Professor Martin Oehmke wins EFA Best Paper Prize in Responsible Finance
The Department of Finance is proud to congratulate Professor Martin Oehmke for winning the Best Paper Prize in Responsible Finance by the European Finance Association. Read more.
Congratulations to the Department of Finance Prize Winners for 2020
The Department of Finance would like to congratulate all our graduating students and particularly the winners of the Antoine Faure-Grimaud Prizes, awarded for the best overall performance in each of our Postgraduate programmes. Read More.
LSE Class Teacher Awards 2020
This year's winners of the LSE Class Teacher Awards include Zhongchen Hu, Debapriya Jojo Paul, Alberto Pellicioli, and Marco Pelosi from the Department of Finance. Read More.
Professor Ian Martin wins Dimensional Fund Advisors Prize by the AFA

Professor Ian Martin's paper 'What is the Expected Return on a Stock?'was awarded a Distinguished Paper Prizeby the American Finance Association as one of the top three published papers of 2019. Read More.
Congratulations to Karamfil Todorov, Winner of the 2019 BlackRock Applied Research Prize
Karamfil Todorov, PhD candidate in the LSE Department of Finance was awarded the prestigious prize for 2019. His winning job market paper - Passive Funds Actively Affect Prices: Evidence from the Largest ETF Markets - also won Best Paper in the 7th SUERF Research Prize. Read More.
Janan Neirami (MSc Risk & Finance) is Awarded WCIB Dissertation Prize
The Department of Finance is pleased to announce that Janan Neirami, an MSc Risk & Finance graduate, has been awarded with the WCIB prize for her dissertation titled 'On the Wrong Side of the Line? Narrowly Tailored Credit Events and Regulating the CDS Market'. The Worshipful Company of International Bankers (WCIB) awards prizes each year to a number of participating institutions. Read more.

Congratulations to the Department of Finance Prize Winners for 2019
The Department of Finance would like to congratulate all our graduating students and particularly the winners of the Antoine Faure-Grimaud Prizes, awarded for the best overall performance in each of our Postgraduate programmes.
We are also pleased to announce the winners of the Prize for Outstanding Performance in each year of the BSc Finance. Read More.
Ashwini Agrawal brings home the 4 Nations Cup
The Department of Finance is delighted to congratulate Dr Ashwini Agrawal for his victory in the 4 Nations Cup: a competition that brings together the most promising young scholars in financial economics. His paper "Takeovers and Endogenous Labor reallocation" was one of the papers that brought about the UK team’s victory. Read more.
Christopher Polk awarded JFE Paper of the Year
Head of Department, Professor Christoper Polk's co-authored paper, 'An intertemporal CAPM with stochastic volatility', has been awarded the Capital Markets and Asset Pricing paper of the year by the Journal of Financial Economics. Read more.
Martin Oehmke appointed to ESRB Advisory Committee
The General Board of the European Systemic Risk Board has appointed Associate Professor Martin Oehmke as a member of the European Systemic Risk Board Advisory Scientific Committee (ASC) for a four-year renewable term. Read more.
Navigating a Career in Finance: A Journey with Women in ETFs
On the 31st January 2019, the Department of Finance held its third annual 'Women in Finance' event which had a particular focus on ‘Women in Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs)’. Read more.
Student blog: MSc Finance & Economics graduation trip to Sardinia
Enrico Calabresi (MSc Finance & Economics, 2018-19) blogs about the class graduation trip to Sardinia this summer. Read more.
Student blog: Sharpe House heads to Amsterdam
BSc Finance students Arthur Boscher, Felix Oblin and Mateo Simon blog about the Sharpe House annual trip. Destination: Amsterdam! Read more.

Congratulations to the Department of Finance Prize Winners for 2018
The Department of Finance would like to congratulate all our graduating students and particularly the winners of the Antoine Faure-Grimaud Prizes, awarded for the best overall performance in each of our Postgraduate programmes.
We are also pleased to announce the winners of our Prize for Outstanding Performance in the 1st year of BSc Finance. Read More.
BSc Finance: schnitzels, snow and sightseeing in Vienna
Students on the BSc Finance have a house system, where each student is allocated into a house on arrival at LSE. Each house has a budget for events and activities. This January, House Sharpe, made up of first and second year BSc Finance students, organised a trip to Vienna. Read more.
Start-ups meet investors at Pitch Day
The Department of Finance hosted a venture capital 'Pitch Day' which saw eight start-up companies pitch to a panel of four renowned investors from venture firms Accel, DN Capital, LocalGlobe and Bessemer.
The event was also a chance for theory to meet practice for students who were tasked with grading these real-life company pitches as part of their final course assessment. Read more.
Department of Finance Student Launches LSE Venture Capital Society
MSc Finance & Private Equity student, Isaac Haq, has launched LSE’s first and only Venture Capital Society. The 22-year-old already has a medical degree from the University of Cambridge, co-founded two health-focussed non-profit organisations, and worked in business development for a biotechnology firm. Read more.
MSc Finance alumnus named one of Forbes' 30 under 30
Christian Arnstedt (MSc Finance 2010) has been named one of Forbes’ 30 under 30 for Europe in 2018. Christian was awarded his place on the list due to his role as co-founder of Blazar Capital, a company developing ideas for new global businesses. Read more.

Pathways to Banking and Finance Programme Launch
Programme launch for two-year access programme for studying Finance.
The Department of Finance is pleased to announce the Pathways to Banking and Finance programme which launched on Wednesday 15th November 2017. Read more.
Women in Finance & the City
BSc Finance students encourage secondary school pupils towards careers in Finance.
The Department of Finance is proud to have supported an event at Blackheath High School aimed at encouraging young women and girls in pursuing careers in finance. Read more.
Department of Finance faculty honoured by King Felipe VI of Spain
Professor Daniel Paravisini and Dr Juanita Gonzalez-Uribe were awarded the Seventh Jaime Fernandez de Araoz Award for Corporate Finance at a ceremony in Madrid on 19th September 2017 for their co-authored paper How Sensitive is Young Firm Investment to the Cost of Outside Equity? Evidence from UK Tax Relief’ Read more.
International Research Awards for Professor Ian Martin
The Department of Finance is pleased to announce that Professor Ian Martin has recently been honoured with two prestigious international research awards.
Professor Ian Martin's paper "What is the Expected Return on a Stock?" (co-authored with Christian Wagner) won the Wharton School-WRDS Best Paper Award in Empirical Finance at the 2017 annual conference of the Western Finance Association. The paper was also awarded an Honourable Mention at the AQR Insight Award 2017. Read more.
Department tops worldwide rankings for graduate job placement
The Department of Finance has once again come first in the global list of the top 30 Master's in Finance programmes.
The MSc Finance (full-time) programme has topped the list of Master's in Finance programmes for getting a job in investment banking for the second year running, after also taking the top spot in 2016.
Congratulations to the Department of Finance Prize Winners for 2017
The Department of Finance would like to congratulate all our graduating students and particularly the winners of the Antoine Faure-Grimaud Prizes, awarded for the best overall performance in each of our Postgraduate programmes.
We are also pleased to announce the winners of our inaugural Prize for Outstanding Performance in the 1st year of BSc Finance. Read More.
Congratulations to our Faculty for their awards in this year's LSE SU Teaching Excellence Awards
Marking a new Department record, Professor Daniel Ferreira, Dr Dirk Jenter and Dr Ashwini Agarwal were all Highly Commended for Inspirational Teaching at this year’s LSE SU Teaching Excellence Awards.
Dr Dirk Jenter on inaugural LSE IQ Podcast: Why is CEO pay so high?
Featuring in the very first new monthly podcast from LSE, Dr Dirk Jenter contributes to the discussion of how big company bosses continue to command ever increasing salaries despite shareholder rebellions, government intervention and public criticism. Listen here.
VIDEO & PODCAST: Culture, Discrimination, and Economic Exchange
- March
In his inaugural LSE public lecture, Professor Daniel Paravisini discusses the challenges in establishing whether, and through what mechanism, culture may affect economic exchange. Watch now.
Second annual Women in Finance event takes place at LSE
- February
On 23rd February the Department of Finance held its Second Annual Women in Finance event. A panel of five outstanding women with successful careers in finance shared stories and gave advice on career progression, maintaining a work-life balance and the importance of finding your mentor. Read more.

MSc Finance Graduate wins WCIB Dissertation Prize
- December 2016
The Department of Finance is pleased to announce that Thomas Raoux, an MSc Finance alumnus, has won the annual WCIB prize for his dissertation entitled "Determinants of the Method of Payment in U.S Mergers and Acquisitions". The Worshipful Company of International Bankers (WCIB) offers the prize each year to students from a number of participating institutions. Thomas received a certificate of merit and a cheque for £300 during a ceremony at LSE on 1 December. Read more.
Even Before Brexit, London Lost Its Status as Derivatives Center
- Bloomberg.com, December 2016
As London’s financial sector prepares for Brexit, a new report shows the capital has already been overtaken by New York as the biggest center for off-exchange derivatives trading. LSE's Andrea Vedolin explains the reason for this change. Read more.
MSc Finance Students Come Top in UK Investment Banking M&A Competition
- November 2016
In the Grand Final of the Investment Banking Series M&A Challenge 2016, the largest and most recognised student competition on investment banking in the UK, three of the nine final teams were LSE MSc Finance and MSc Finance & Private Equity students. They faced a panel of investment banker judges from Evercore, Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan - and the LSE students eventually came out on top. Read more.
How to Fix Wall Street’s Flawed System of Compensation
- July 2016
The New York Times has reported on a recent speech by Emeritus Professor Charles Goodhart, who argues that transformation of the old partnership culture into a bonus culture where bankers, traders and executives have minimal accountability, has resulted in a marked increase in the frequency and intensity of financial crises. Read more.
MSc Risk & Finance Graduate is Awarded WCIB Dissertation Prize
- May 2016
The Department of Finance is pleased to announce that Jamie Reid, an MSc Risk & Finance alumnus, has won the annual WCIB prize for his dissertation. A small award ceremony attended by staff and faculty from the Department of Finance and a WCIB representative was held at LSE on Tuesday 24 May, where the winner was presented with his certificate of merit and a cheque for £300. Read more.
Inaugural Women in Finance event takes place at LSE
- February 2016
The Department of Finance has hosted its first annual Women in Finance event, organised by Janet Bacastow, Andrea Vedolin, Michela Verardo and Kathy Yuan.
A panel of seven outstanding women with successful careers in finance shared stories and gave advice on career progression, maintaining a work-life balance and the importance of mentors. Read more.
LSE Finance Graduate features on Forbes 30 Under 30 - Europe Finance list
- January 2016
Lauren Hurwitz, who graduated from LSE’s MSc Finance (Part-time) in 2010, has been selected as one of the brightest young Finance professionals in Europe by leading business magazine Forbes.
The '30 Under 30 Europe Finance' list aims to highlight the top emerging talent in the field. Read more.
Ulf Axelson receives Brattle Group Distinguished Paper Prize for second year running
- January 2016
The Department of Finance is pleased to announce that for the second year running Ulf Axelson has been awarded the Brattle Group Distinguished Paper Prize at the AFA annual meeting in San Francisco.
Ulf’s paper, 'Wall Street Occupations', was co-authored with Philip Bond (Foster School of Business). Read more.