This paper extends the Lucas (1978) model to a setting in which investors have heterogeneous beliefs about the structure of a dividend process. By assuming that all investors have logarithmic preferences and different subjective discount rates, we can obtain a closed-form representation of the...

I utilize the recursive partitioning method to extract analysts' weight of forecasts assigned in their stock recommendation decisions. My findings suggest that in addition to analysts' earnings forecasts, the non-earnings forecasts, such as sales forecasts and net income forecasts, also play an...

The optimal contracts in portfolio delegation under general preferences are characterized when the underlying state variable is not contractible, and the principal must rely on the final returns of portfolios to design the compensation schemes for the fund manager. We show that the optimal...

This study explores whether firms with powerful CEOs tend to invest (more) in corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities as the over-investment hypothesis based on classical agency theory predicts. In addition, this paper tests an alternative hypothesis that if CSR investment is indeed an...

In an "activist risk arbitrage," a shareholder attempts to reshape an announced M&A through public campaigns, profi ting from improved terms. Activists target deals with low premiums, and those susceptible to managerial conflicts of interest, including going-private deals and deals upon which...

We analyze dynamic trading by an activist investor who can expend costly effort to affect firm value. We obtain the equilibrium in closed form for a general activism technology, including both binary and continuous outcomes. Variation in parameters can produce either positive or negative...

Two duration factors that arise from the downward-sloping term structure of equity returns explain the value, profitability, and investment premiums. One duration-factor captures the spread of returns between short and long durations, and the other duration-factor {measures the difference in...

Pump-and-dump schemes (P&Ds) are pervasive in the cryptocurrency market. We find that P&Ds lead to short-term bubbles featuring dramatic increases in prices, volume, and volatility. Prices peak within minutes and quick reversals follow. The evidence we document, including price run-ups before...

We estimate institutional investor preferences from proxy voting records. The W-NOMINATE method maps investors onto a left-right dimension based on votes for fiscal year 2012. Public pension funds and other investors on the left support a more social and environment-friendly orientation of the...

This is the first comprehensive study of mutual fund voting in proxy contests. Mutual funds tend to vote for dissident nominees at firms with weak operating and financial performance, and when dissidents are hedge funds. Notably, passive funds are more likely to support incumbent management than...