Todd Gormley

Professor of Finance; Vice Dean of Education

Todd Gormley

Todd Gormley

Todd Gormley originally joined Olin in 2006 before moving to The Wharton School in 2009. Todd returned to Olin in 2016. His research focuses on why managers sometimes fail to act in the best interest of shareholders and what governance arrangements mitigate these conflicts. His most recent research has analyzed the growing impact of indexed investment products on firms and markets.

Area of Expertise

Econometrics, Law and Economics, Corporate Finance, Corporate Governance, Finance/Investments, Financial Economics, Banking and Financial Institutions, Corporate Finance, Corporate Governance

Education

  • Ph D 2006, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
  • BA 2001, Michigan State University

Academic/Professional Activities

  • Editor, Associate Editor, Journal of Financial Economics
  • Member, European Corporate Governance Institute
  • Member, Society for Financial Studies
  • Member, American Economics Association
  • Member, American Finance Association
  • Member, Financial Intermediation Research Society
  • Member, Western Finance Association
  • Editor, Associate Editor, Review of Finance
  • Editor, Associate Editor, Review of Financial Studies

Awards/Honors

  • Master of Science in Corporate Finance Reid Teaching Award, Olin Business School, Washington University in St. Louis, 2018
  • Research Member, European Corporate Governance Institute, 2018
  • Best Paper Award, Investor Responsibility Research Center Institute, 2015
  • Best Paper Award, Investor Responsibility Research Center Institute, 2014
  • Distinguished Referee Award, Review of Financial Studies, 2014
  • Honorable Mention, Marshall Blume Prize in Financial Research, 2014
  • Honorable Mention, Marshall Blume Prize in Financial Research, 2012
  • Cynthia and Bennett Golub Endowed Faculty Scholar Award, 2011
  • Excellence in Teaching Award -- Wharton MBA Elective, 2011
  • Honorable Mention, Marshall Blume Prize in Financial Research, 2011
  • Most Significant Paper, Journal of Financial Intermediation, 2010
  • Best Paper in Corporate Finance, WFA Meeting, 2009
  • Best Teaching Assistant for Graduate Economics, MIT, 2005
  • Graduate Fellowship, National Science Foundation, 2001

Teaching Interests

Corporate Finance, Empirical Methodologies

Research Interests

Corporate Governance, Mutual Funds, Empirical Methods

Personal Interests

Todd Gormley enjoys spending time with his wife and three kids, Henry, Eleanor, and Madeline.

Selected Publications

  • "The Politicization of Social Responsibility", with Manish Jha, Meng Wang
  • "The Big Three and Board Gender Diversity: The Effectiveness of Shareholder Voice", Journal of Financial Economics, Issue 2, 323-348, with Vishal Gupta, David Matsa, Sandra Mortal, Lukai Yang, 2023
  • "Passive Investors, Not Passive Owners", Journal of Financial Economics, Issue 1, 111-141, with Ian Appel, Donald Keim, 2016
  • "Who's Paying Attention? Measuring Common Ownership and Its Impact on Managerial Incentives", Journal of Financial Economics, Issue 1, 152-178, with Erik Gilje, Doron Levit, 2020
  • "Standing on the Shoulders of Giants: The Effect of Passive Investors on Activism", Review of Financial Studies, Issue 7, 2720-2774, with Ian Appel, Donald Keim, 2019
  • "Playing it Safe? Managerial Preferences, Risk, and Agency Conflicts", Journal of Financial Economics, Issue 3, 431-455, with David Matsa, 2016
  • "Common Errors: How to (and Not to) Control for Unobserved Heterogeneity", Review of Financial Studies, Issue 2, 617-661, with David Matsa, 2014
  • "Growing Out of Trouble: Corporate Responses to Liability Risk", Review of Financial Studies, Issue 8, 2781-2821, with David Matsa, 2011
  • "Limited Participation and Consumption-Saving Puzzles: A Simple Explanation and the Role of Insurance", Journal of Financial Economics, Issue 2, 331-344, with Hong Liu, Guofu Zhou, 2010
  • "Costly Information, Entry, and Credit Access", Journal of Economic Theory, 633-667, 2014

Contact

Todd Gormley