Costello Research Risk Management

The economic data on climate and business outcomes paints a picture of profound disruption beneath a placid-seeming surface.

You can tell a lot about a hedge fund’s quality—and long-term performance—from the market climate in which it was launched.
Lin Sun, assistant professor of finance, recently published a paper in Review of Finance that compares hedge funds formed in high-demand, or “hot,” markets to those produced in a “cold” market climate.

The SEC’s unique treatment of companies that opt into public reporting shows that lighter-touch regulation can sometimes be just as effective. Associate professor of accounting Bret Johnson’s recent paper looks at how the SEC handles the added responsibility of reviewing voluntary filings.

Bo Hu, an assistant professor of finance at Mason, is developing new research methods to better capture the intricate, interlinked dynamics of financial markets.

Measuring risk in private equity is notoriously difficult. New research by Mason assistant professor of accounting, Mariia Nykyforovych, suggests that metric-based myopia, and the distorted incentives it creates, are partly responsible. 

Mason finance professor Lei Gao, finds a “precautionary effect” at work in the minds of Republican-supporting CEOs, leading to more frequent and accurate earnings forecasts. 

Despite the fears of regulators and skittish investors, clear and accurate signals of cryptocurrency quality may be hidden in plain sight.

Financially troubled U.S. hospitals are petitioning for more support from the federal government, but handouts won’t fix the underlying problem.

In business, a specialist strategy can sometimes be riskier than a generalist one. Competing in only one industry leaves firms highly vulnerable to heightened income volatility, with extreme gains and losses, often alternating in quick succession. Innovative firms, whose business models are based on heavy R&D investments with uncertain returns, are especially affected by these fluctuations. Kelly Wentland, assistant professor of accounting, discusses this issue.

Kelly Wentland, an accounting professor at the George Mason University School of Business, recently published a paper in Management Science that further specifies and quantifies firm response to tax uncertainty.