This study examines the impact of shared analyst coverage on the comparability of financial statements. Analysts form information expectations based on the portfolio of firms they follow. I document that managers cater to analyst information expectations by increasing the comparability of their...

We model financial innovations such as Exchange-Traded Funds, smart beta products, and many index-based vehicles as composite securities that facilitate trading common factors in assets' liquidation values. Through accessing a larger basket of assets in endogenously-chosen proportions, composite...

Abstract: Finanzanalysten zählen mit zu den schillernsten Figuren auf den Kapitalmärkten. Durch ihre Empfehlungen können sie Aktienkurse in die Höhe treiben bzw. zum Abstürzen bringen. Hier eröffnet sich ein weites Feld denkbarer Interessenkonflikte, die sich negativ auf die Qualität des...

Amendments to NASD Rule 2711 and NYSE Rule 472, enacted in May 2002, mandate that sell-side analysts disclose the distribution of their security recommendations by category of buy, hold, and sell. This regulation enhances the transparency of analysts' information and mitigates the...

In this study, we examine whether sell-side security analysts gain access to value relevant information through political connections. We measure analysts' political connections based on political contributions at the brokerage house level. We argue that if brokerages are able to obtain private...

Using data from the Stockholm Stock Exchange we study the value added by (as distinct from the abnormal returns to) analysts' recommendations. Recommending brokers' clients trade profitably around positive recommendations at the expense of other brokers' clients. Significant profits come from...

Using a model without conflicts of interest and with identical information available to equity analysts, we show that bias and herding in their stock recommendations occur due to incentives provided by relative performance evaluation and top awards. Furthermore, these incentives also lead to...

This study examines the responses of investor sentiment and stock market returns to announcements of changes in analyst recommendation as well as the effect of these announcements on the relationship between sentiment and stock returns. Investor sentiment is more sensitive to upgrade...