Yr Athro Arman Eshraghi

Professor of Finance and Investment, Deputy Head of Section for Research, Impact and Innovation

: eshraghia@cardiff.ac.uk
: +44 (0)29 2251 0880
: E42, Adeilad Aberconwy, Rhodfa Colum, Cathays, Caerdydd, CF10 3EU

Background

Arman Eshraghi is Chair of Finance and Investment at Cardiff Business School. Formerly, he was an Associate Professor of Finance at the University of Edinburgh, and has held visiting positions at the University of Manchester and University College London. Prior to academia, Arman was a management consultant in the banking and telecom sectors. He holds PhD in Finance from the University of Edinburgh, MBA with a finance concentration and BSc in Electrical Engineering, the latter two from Sharif University in Tehran. His doctoral research was Highly Commended by EFMD Global and the Emerald Literati Award for Research Excellence.

Prof. Eshraghi is a Shimomura Fellow of the Development Bank of Japan, Fellow of the Centre for Study of Decision-Making Uncertainty at UCL and the UK Higher Education Academy. At Cardiff, he is the director of Corporate Governance Research Group, co-director of Fintech Research Group, and serves as Deputy Head of Section for Research, Impact and Innovation.

Research and Teaching

Arman’s academic research spans finance, accounting and psychology with broad interests including behavioural finance, financial technology, corporate governance, investment management and critical accounting. Inter alia, his work is cited in the Financial Times, Washington Post, Harvard Business Review, Forbes, Bloomberg and the BBC, and has contributed to handbooks published by Cambridge University, Wiley, Springer and Routledge. His journal publications cover finance (Review of Financial Studies; Review of Finance; European Financial Management; Corporate Governance: An International Review; International Review of Financial Analysis), accounting (Accounting, Organizations and Society; Accounting, Auditing and Accountability; Accounting and Business Research) and management (British Journal of Management). He is a Senior Editor of Finance Research Letters and the Global Finance Journal, and regularly reviews for other journals including JCF, JBF, JBE and JEBO.

Beyond academia, Arman engages with a range of organisations in the finance sector to offer bespoke research and training. He has given invited talks, among others, at the Federal Reserve Bank (New York), Centre for European Economic Research (Mannheim), National Institute of Securities Markets (Mumbai), and UK organisations such as the ONS, CFA UK Institute and CityUK. Prof. Eshraghi sits on the Advisory Board of Fintech Wales, has advised a few UK-based startups in the area of financial markets, and is a mentor at Fintech Wales Foundry. He was a Scottish Financial Enterprise Rising Star Award finalist and won the Young Scholar Award by the European Financial Group.

Arman is highly passionate about teaching and education. In the past 10 years, he has taught diverse student and executive cohorts in the UK (Edinburgh, Warwick, Cardiff, London), Europe (Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Portugal) and Asia (India, Iran, Thailand). Typically, his teaching includes MSc, MBA, PhD and executive courses - please see the teaching tab for a list.

Selected Media Coverage

“Tech unlocks the door to corporate fundraising for retail investors”, Financial Times, 2020
“Neurofinance and why some people make money more easily than others”, BBC World, 2020
"How to be more disciplined about retirement saving", YouTube, 2019
“New study links a CEO’s cultural heritage with corporate performance”, Forbes, 2018
“A CEO’s decision making is shaped by immigration”, Harvard Business Review, 2018
“Dealing with big egos in the office”, Ignites Europe (Financial Times), 2018
“Bank performance and the cultural DNA”, Harvard Law School Corporate Governance, 2018
“High active share may lead to poorer returns”, Ignites Europe (Financial Times), 2018
“Cultural heritage affects bank performance under competition”, Vox CEPR, 2017
“When bank boards get too cozy, expect misconduct”, Vox CEPR, 2016
“Alan Greenspan’s tone of voice moved gold prices”, Financial Times, 2013
“It’s not what Fed chairmen say, it’s the way they say it”, Washington Post, 2013
“How Alan Greenspan’s ‘tone’ moved gold and silver”, Globe and Mail, 2013
"No 1997 Asian Crisis Return as China Trembles", Bloomberg, 2013
“Beware the dangers of overinflated egos”, Financial Times (FTfm), 2012

Public Speaking and Moderation

Keynote, We Need to Talk About Bitcoin, Wales Tech Week, Virtual, 2021
Panel talk, Wealth Management in the Digital Age, Future of Finance, Virtual, 2021
Moderator, Public lecture by Jonathan Hall, Bank of England, Virtual, 2021
Keynote, Economic Times Innovation Tribe Summit and Awards, Virtual, 2020
Keynote, ‘AI and the Future of Finance’ Summit, University of Waikato, 2020
Keynote, Fintech Wales Conference on ‘Artificial Intelligence and Finance’, Cardiff, 2020
Panel talk, Office for National Statistics Workshop on ‘COVID-19 and its Impact’, Virtual, 2020
TEDx Talk, Fintech and the Future of Finance, Cardiff University, 2019 (100,000+ YouTube views)
Panel talk, ESRC Sparking Impact Workshop on Blockchain Technology, Cardiff, 2019
Panel talk, CityUK National Conference in partnership with PwC, Cardiff, 2019
Panel talk, Advances in Behavioural Finance, Level 39, London, 2018
Moderator, Public lecture by Alistair Darling, former Chancellor of the Exchequer, Edinburgh, 2018
Keynote, German Society of Investment Professionals Conference on Neurofinance, Frankfurt, 2017
Keynote, National Institute of Securities Markets Behavioural Finance Workshop, Mumbai, 2016
Panel talk, CFA Society of the UK Behavioural Finance Conference, London, 2015
Panel talk, Federal Reserve Bank of New York Conference on 'Culture in Finance', NYC, 2015
Panel talk, Leibniz Center for European Economic Research Behavioural Finance Workshop, Mannheim, 2014

Please see the research tab for a list of research seminars and conference presentations.

Consultancy and Contribution to Expert Panels

Welsh Government, member of 'Technology in Manufacturing' Consultation, Cardiff, 2020
Welsh Parliament, member of COVID-19 Expert Register, since 2020
Fintech Wales, member of Advisory Board, Cardiff, since 2019
Fintech Wales, member of Skills Working Group, Cardiff, since 2019
Research Council of Norway, member of Grant Referee Panel, Oslo, 2019
Fintech Scotland, University of Edinburgh delegate, Edinburgh, 2017-18
CFA Institute and CFA Society UK, member of Finance Talent Roundtable, Edinburgh, 2017-18
Scottish Financial Enterprise, member of Financial Services Strategy Project, Edinburgh, 2016
Research Council of Portugal, member of Grant Referee Panel, Lisbon, 2015

Recent Videos

Fintech and the Future of Finance, TEDx Cardiff University https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DiWyf_RtIYM

Applications AI in Finance https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5otsKSRmDZA

Educational Background

PhD in Finance, University of Edinburgh, 2012
Thesis: Professional Investor Psychology and Investment Performance
Advisory Panel: Richard Taffler (Warwick), Seth Armitage (Edinburgh), David Tuckett (UCL)

MBA, Sharif University of Technology, Tehran, 2005
Concentration in finance; Thesis: Signalling with Stock Market Indices

BSc in Electrical Engineering, Sharif University of Technology, Tehran, 2003
Concentration in telecommunications; Thesis: Essays on Visual Cryptography

Anrhydeddau a Dyfarniadau

Research

Scottish Crucible Fellowship, 2018
Shimomura Fellowship, Development Bank of Japan, 2018
Sustained Excellence Award, University of Edinburgh, 2017
Finalist, Scottish Financial Enterprise Rising Star Award sponsored by EY, 2017
Best Paper Award Finalist, Financial Management Association European Conference, Venice, 2015
Best Paper Award, International Review of Financial Analysis Conference on Gold, 2015
Best Paper Award (twice), Behavioural Finance Working Group Conference, London, 2014-15
Highly Commended PhD Research, European Foundation for Management Development, 2014
Young Scholar Award for Research in Financial Discourse, European Financial Group, 2014
Highly Commended, Emerald Literati Award for Research Excellence, 2013

Teaching

Best Teaching Innovation Award, University of Edinburgh Business School, 2017
Selected in the University of Edinburgh Teaching Excellence Poster Campaign, 2017-18
Best Course Award, University of Edinburgh Business School, 2016
Inspirational Teaching Award, University of Edinburgh Business School, 2015
Nominated 14 times, University of Edinburgh Annual Teaching Awards, 2012-18
Best Postgraduate Tutor, Manchester Business School, 2010

Pre-academia

PhD scholarship at the University of Edinburgh, 2007-11
Third rank in the MBA graduating class of Iran’s most selective business school, 2005
First rank in Iran's National Admissions Test for postgraduate business programmes, 2003
Admitted to Iran’s most selective (top 0.02%) engineering programme, 1999

Aelodaethau proffesiynol

Director, Cardiff Corporate Governance Research Group, Cardiff University
Co-director, Cardiff Fintech Research Group, Cardiff University
Fellow, Centre for Study of Decision-Making Uncertainty, UCL
Fellow, Development Bank of Japan
Fellow, Higher Education Academy
Former Member, Edinburgh Futures Institute, University of Edinburgh
Former Member, Academic Senate, University of Edinburgh

Safleoedd academaidd blaenorol

Professor of Finance and Investment, Cardiff University, 2018-present
Senior Lecturer (Associate Professor) in Finance and Accounting, University of Edinburgh, 2016-18
Lecturer (Assistant Professor) in Finance and Accounting, University of Edinburgh, 2013-16
Postdoctoral Fellow in Finance, University of Edinburgh, 2011-13
Visiting Doctoral Fellow, University of Manchester, 2010-11
Visiting Doctoral Fellow, University College London, 2008-09

Pwyllgorau ac adolygu

Co-Editor: International Review of Economics & Finance

Senior Editor: Finance Research Letters and Global Finance Journal

Ad-hoc Reviewer: Journal of Corporate Finance; Journal of Banking and Finance; Journal of Business Ethics; Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization; British Accounting Review; European Journal of Finance; Finance Research Letters; Global Finance Journal; Multinational Finance Journal; Business Ethics: A European Review; Review of Behavioral Finance; Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance; Qualitative Research in Financial Markets

Member of Grant Review Panel: Research Council of Norway and Research Council of Portugal

2021

Danbolt, J., Eshraghi, A. and Lukas, M. 2021. Investment transparency and the disposition effect. European Financial Management (10.1111/eufm.12329)
Tosun, O. K., Eshraghi, A. and Muradoglu, G. 2021. Staring death in the face: the financial impact of corporate exposure to prior disasters. British Journal of Management (10.1111/1467-8551.12539)

2020

Jin, L.et al. 2020. Fund manager conviction and investment performance. International Review of Financial Analysis 71, article number: 101550. (10.1016/j.irfa.2020.101550)

2019

Nguyen, D. D., Hagendorff, J. and Eshraghi, A. 2019. Misconduct in banking: Governance and the board of directors. In: Alexander, C. and Cumming, D. eds. Corruption and Fraud in Financial Markets: Malpractice, Misconduct and Manipulation. Wiley

2018

Taffler, R. and Eshraghi, A. 2018. Hedge funds as phantastic objects: a psychoanalytic perspective on financial innovations. In: Garvey, P. and Long, K. eds. The Klein Tradition: Lines of Development. Abingdon, UK: Routledge, pp. 391-410.
Nguyen, D. . D., Hagendorff, J. and Eshraghi, A. 2018. Does a CEO's cultural heritage affect performance under competitive pressure?. Review of Financial Studies 31(1), pp. 97-141. (10.1093/rfs/hhx046)

2017

Taffler, R. J., Spence, C. and Eshraghi, A. 2017. Emotional economic man: Calculation and anxiety in fund management. Accounting, Organizations and Society 61, pp. 53-67. (10.1016/j.aos.2017.07.003)

2016

Nguyen, D., Hagendorff, J. and Eshraghi, A. 2016. Can bank boards prevent misconduct?. Review of Finance 20(1), pp. 1-36. (10.1093/rof/rfv011)
Nguyen, D. D., Hagendorff, J. and Eshraghi, A. 2016. Value effects of bank executives. In: Rossi, S. P. S. and Malavasi, R. eds. Financial Crisis, Bank Behaviour and Credit Crunch. Contributions to Economics Springer

2015

Eshraghi, A. and Taffler, R. 2015. Heroes and victims: fund manager sensemaking, self-legitimation and storytelling. Accounting and Business Research 45(6-7), pp. 691-714. (10.1080/00014788.2015.1081556)
Nguyen, D. D. L., Hagendorff, J. and Eshraghi, A. 2015. Which executive characteristics create value in banking? Evidence from appointment announcements. Corporate Governance 23(2), pp. 112-128. (10.1111/corg.12084)

2014

Eshraghi, A. and Taffler, R. 2014. Emotional finance and fiduciary responsibility. In: Hawley, J. P. et al. eds. Cambridge Handbook of Institutional Investment and Fiduciary Duty. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 254-264.
Eshraghi, A. 2014. Fund manager overconfidence and investment narratives. In: Hart, R. P. ed. Communication and Language Analysis in the Corporate World. IGI Global, pp. 1-20.

2012

Eshraghi, A. and Taffler, R. 2012. Hedge funds and unconscious fantasy. Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal 25(8), pp. 1244. (10.1108/09513571211275461)

Current and past teaching includes the courses below covering diverse class sizes and student backgrounds:

Finance and Investment (MSc/MBA)
Corporate Finance (MBA)
Behavioural Finance (MSc)
Financial Technology and Behaviour (MSc)
Equity Valuation (MSc)
Investment Management (MSc)
Digital Transformation, Organizations and Society (MBA)
Advanced Topics in Finance and Accounting (PhD)

My teaching philosophy seeks student-focused learning and initiating conceptual changes. I am passionate about teaching innovations and led a research project on transforming finance education using investment/trading simulation platforms. My teaching has won awards voted by students for Best Teaching Innovation in 2017, Best Postgraduate Course in 2016, Inspirational Teaching in 2015 and several other nominations.

Inter alia, I have delivered postgraduate and executive programmes in the UK (Edinburgh, Warwick, Cardiff, London), Europe (Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Portugal) and Asia (Iran, India, Thailand). I have also some experience teaching personal finance for Wallich, a homelessness charity, and primary school students from a deprived area of Wales.

Executive education and industry engagement are among my key interests. I designed a two-day executive masterclass in 2015 on 'Advances in Behavioural Finance' which has since been delivered to several British, American, Indian and Chinese organisations. Other bespoke training delivered in the UK and internationally includes:

Excellence in the Finance Function National Health Service Wales, UK, 2018-21
Finance for Non-financial Managers BECT Building Contractors, UK, 2020
Applications of Textual Analysis in Finance Walter Scott & Partners, UK, 2019
Advances in Financial Technology Cohort of finance managers, UK, 2019
Finance, Behaviour and Sustainability Cohort of sustainability managers, UK, 2018
Applications of Behavioural Finance Aetna Inc (CVS Health), US, 2017
Finance for Media Companies Scottish Television plc, UK, 2016-17
Advances in Behavioural Finance Scottish Widows plc, UK, 2016
Advances in Behavioural Finance Huarong Asset Management, China, 2015
Applied Corporate Finance Guangzhou CPA Association, China, 2014

Research Interests

Behavioural investing, fund management, behavioural corporate finance
Financial technology, big data, textual analysis in finance
Corporate governance, board structure, governance in banking
Interdisciplinary and critical accounting, discourse analysis, sensemaking

Selected Media Coverage

“Tech unlocks the door to corporate fundraising for retail investors”, Financial Times, 2020
“Neurofinance and why some people make money more easily than others”, BBC World, 2020
"How to be more disciplined about retirement saving", YouTube, 2019
“New study links a CEO’s cultural heritage with corporate performance”, Forbes, 2018
“A CEO’s decision making is shaped by immigration”, Harvard Business Review, 2018
“Dealing with big egos in the office”, Ignites Europe (Financial Times), 2018
“Bank performance and the cultural DNA”, Harvard Law School Corporate Governance, 2018
“High active share may lead to poorer returns”, Ignites Europe (Financial Times), 2018
“Cultural heritage affects bank performance under competition”, Vox CEPR, 2017
“When bank boards get too cozy, expect misconduct”, Vox CEPR, 2016
“Alan Greenspan’s tone of voice moved gold prices”, Financial Times, 2013
“It’s not what Fed chairmen say, it’s the way they say it”, Washington Post, 2013
“How Alan Greenspan’s ‘tone’ moved gold and silver”, Globe and Mail, 2013
"No 1997 Asian Crisis Return as China Trembles", Bloomberg, 2013
“Beware the dangers of overinflated egos”, Financial Times (FTfm), 2012

Invited Research Seminars

Trinity College Dublin, Ireland, 2021
University of Reading, UK, 2021
Queen Mary University, UK, 2020
University of Exeter, UK, 2020
Leeds University, UK, 2019
University of St Andrews, UK, 2019
University College Dublin, Ireland, 2019
Queen’s University Belfast, UK, 2019
Open University, Milton Keynes, UK, 2019
University of Porto, Portugal, 2019
Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan, 2018
Hitotsubashi University, Tokyo, Japan, 2018
City University of London, UK, 2018
Swansea University, UK, 2018
University of Aarhus, Denmark, 2018
Frankfurt School of Finance and Management, Germany, 2018
Seoul National University, Seoul, South Korea, 2017
Sungkyunkwan University, Seoul, South Korea, 2017
Newcastle University, UK, 2017
San Diego State University, US, 2017
Glasgow University, UK, 2017
University of Leipzig, Germany, 2017
Bangor University, UK , 2017
University of Aarhus, Denmark, 2016
University of Algarve, Portugal, 2016
University of Stirling, UK, 2015
Heriot-Watt University, UK, 2015
University of Texas at Austin, US, 2014
University of Laval, Quebec, Canada, 2012
University of Maastricht, Netherlands, 2012

Conference Presentations

‘c’ indicates presentation by co-author

Behavioural Finance Working Group Conference, Virtual, 2021, c
Boca Corporate Finance and Governance Conference, Virtual, 2020
BBS Conference on the Developments in Financial Technology, Virtual, 2020
Infiniti Conference on International Finance, Glasgow, 2019
European Financial Management Association Meeting, Azores, 2019, c
Financial Management Association European Conference, Glasgow, 2019, c
Summer Institute on Bounded Rationality, Max Planck Institute, Berlin, 2018
Harvard Behavioral Decision Research in Management Conference, Boston, 2018, c
Financial Management Association Global Conference, San Diego, 2018, c
Infiniti Conference on International Finance, Poznan, 2018
Global Finance Association Conference, Paris, 2018
Manchester Business School Conference on Hedge Funds, Manchester, 2017
Academy of Behavioral Finance Global Conference, Los Angeles, 2017
Harvard Business School BIG Ideas Doctoral Workshop, Boston, 2017, c
British Accounting and Finance Association Conference, Edinburgh, 2017
Research in Behavioural Finance Conference, Amsterdam, 2016
Financial Intermediation Research Society Conference, Lisbon, 2016, c
Financial Management Association Global Conference, Las Vegas, 2016
Behavioural Finance Working Group Conference, London, 2013-2017, Two Best Paper Awards
Infiniti Conference on International Finance, Ljubljana, 2015
Consortium on Activist Investors and Corporate Governance, London 2015, c
CFA Institute Program Partner Conference, Edinburgh, 2015
Financial Management Association European Annual Meeting, Venice 2015, c, Best Paper Award Finalist
International Review of Financial Analysis Conference on Gold, Hamburg, 2015, Best Paper Award
European Financial Management Association Meeting, Amsterdam 2015, c
Australasian Finance and Banking Conference, Sydney, 2014
Financial Management Association Annual Meeting, Nashville 2014, c
Financial Management Association European Annual Meeting, Maastricht 2014, c
Conference on Discourse Approaches in Financial Communication, Locarno, 2014
Emerging Scholars in Banking and Finance Conference, London 2014, c
The Dutch Central Bank Workshop on Board Diversity, Amsterdam 2014, c
Asia Pacific Interdisciplinary Research in Accounting Conference, Kobe, 2013
British Accounting and Finance Association Conference, Newcastle, 2013
Eastern Finance Association Conference, Boston, 2012
Conference on the Role of Expectations in Financial Markets, Mannheim, 2012
Academy of Behavioral Finance Global Conference, Chicago, 2010

I am interested in advising PhD projects in the following broad areas:

Behavioural investing, fund management, behavioural corporate finance
Financial technology, big data, textual analysis in finance
Corporate governance, board structure, governance in banking
Interdisciplinary and critical accounting, discourse analysis, sensemaking

Note to prospective doctoral applicants:

Please include in your introductory email a detailed research proposal, CV, motivation letter and references.
Read these helpful tips (here and here) about writing research proposals.
Review this information about our PhD programme and the research interests of my colleagues.

Past projects

Current and past PhD students

Weijian Liang, Cardiff University, 2020-
Topic: Real Estate Finance

Yanchen Dai, Cardiff University, 2020-
Topic: Social Effects in Fintech

Pengfei Gao, Cardiff University, 2019-
Topic: Market Reaction to Financial Disclosures

Arbab Cheema, Cardiff University, 2018-
Topic: Financial Market Anomalies

Xiao Han, University of Edinburgh, 2017-21
Topic: Persistence of Market Sentiment

Marcel Lukas, University of Edinburgh, 2015-19
Topic: Financial Decision-Making and the role of Financial Technology

Alistair Haig, University of Edinburgh, 2015-19
Topic: Market for Investment Research

Louis Nguyen, University of Edinburgh, 2012-15
Topic: Corporate Governance in Banking

PhD examinations

Internal examiner, Cardiff University, 2021
Thesis: Applications of State Dependent Models in Finance

External examiner, University of Glasgow, 2019
Thesis: Determinants M&A Acquirer Performance

External examiner, King’s College London, 2018
Thesis: Heterogeneity and Skill in the Forex Market

External examiner, Trinity College Dublin, 2017
Thesis: Financial Implications of Gold and Silver

Internal examiner, University of Edinburgh, 2013
Thesis: CEO Inside Debt and Bank Risk-Taking