Headshot of Adam Aiken

Adam Aiken

Wesley R. Elingburg Professor in Business and Associate Professor of Finance

Department: Finance

Office and address: Koury Business Center, Office 216 2075 Campus Box Elon, NC 27244

Phone number: (336) 278-5762

Brief Biography

My research interests include financial institutions and performance measurement, with a particular focus on hedge funds. My co-authors and I have a paper on hedge fund reporting biases that was published in the Review of Financial Studies. Another paper on the use of discretionary liquidity restrictions by hedge funds was recently published in the Journal of Financial Economics. Our work on how funds-of-hedge-funds form their portfolios is published in Management Science. Recent work on the influence of ideology on the investment decisions of members of Congress has been accepted for publication by Management Science. 

Our research has been featured by The Economist, The Financial Times, Alpha, and Reuters.

Links

News & Notes

Education

I received a Ph.D. in Finance from Arizona State University (2010), a Masters in Economics from Duke University (2005), and a B.S. in Business Administration (Finance) from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (2000).

Employment History

After graduating from UNC, I worked for the UNC Management Company, the endowment arm of the university. I have been a CFA Charterholder since 2003.

I have been teaching at the university-level since 2010.

 

Courses Taught

While at Elon, I have taught Introduction to Finance, Principles of Finance, Security Analysis and Portfolio Management, Financial Modeling, Investments, Advanced Managerial Finance, Data Analysis in Finance, Trading and Markets, Advanced Investments (2 credit), a CFA Review (2 credit), and the Business Fellows Portfolio Class, which manages a portion of the university endowment. At the MBA-level, I have taught our Finance Foundations, as well as our second finance course, Financial Management. I have taught online versions of several courses.

I also taught the applied portfolio management sequence at Quinnipiac University, where students managed an equity portfolio with roughly $1.7 million in assets under management. 

Research

Published and Accepted Papers

Side-by-Side Management of Mutual Funds and Actively Managed Exchange Traded Funds

The Financial Review, 2022
with Eli Sherrill and Kate Upton

Funding Liquidty Risk and the Dynamics of Hedge Fund Lockups

Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, 2021
with Christopher Clifford, Jesse Ellis, Qiping Huang

Let's talk sooner rather than later: The Strategic Communication Decisions of Activist Investors

Journal of Corporate Finance, 2020
with Choonisk Lee

Do Politicians “Put Their Money Where Their Mouth Is”? Ideology and Portfolio Choice.

Management Science, 2020
with Jesse Ellis and Minjeong Kang

Awarded Best Paper in Investments at 2016 SFA Meetings

Can Hedge Funds Time Global Equity Markets? Evidence from Emerging Markets

Review of Financial Economics, 2016
with Osman Kilic and Sean Reid

Hedge Funds and Discretionary Liquidity Restrictions

Journal of Financial Economics, 2015
with Christopher Clifford and Jesse Ellis

Awarded Best Paper in Investments at 2013 FMA Meetings

The Value of Funds of Hedge Funds: Evidence From Their Holdings

Management Science, 2015
with Christopher Clifford and Jesse Ellis

Out of the Dark: Hedge fund Reporting Biases and Commercial Databases

Review of Financial Studies, 2013
with Christopher Clifford and Jesse Ellis

Semi-Finalist for Best Paper in Investments (Top 10%) at 2010 FMA Meetings Summarized by CFA Digest in February 2013

Working Papers

Attention to Detail: Learning About Mergers 

with Choonsik Lee

Hedge Fund Manager Timing and Selectivity Skill Over Time. A Holdings-Based Estimate.

with Minjeong Kang

 

Presentations

(* by co-author; scheduled presentations in italics)

Let’s Talk Sooner Rather Than Later: The Strategic Communication Decisions of Activist Blockholders

  • KAFA-KCMI Joint Symposium, 2018* (Seoul, South Korea)

Side-by-Side Management of Mutual Funds and Actively Managed Exchange Traded Funds

  • Southern Finance Association Meetings, 2018* (Asheville, NC)

Do Politicians "Put Their Money Where Their Mouth Is"? Ideology and Portfolio Choice

Funding Liquidity Risk and the Dynamics of Hedge Fund Lockups

Hedge funds and discretionary liquidity restrictions

The value of funds of hedge funds: Evidence from their holdings  Out of the dark: Hedge fund reporting biases and commercial databases
  • Financial Management Association European Meetings, 2012 (Istanbul, Turkey)
  • Financial Management Association Meetings, 2010 (New York, NY). Semi-Finalist for Best Paper in Investments (Top 10%). 
  • Financial Intermediation Research Society (FIRS) Conference, 2010* (Florence, Italy)
  • The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), 2010*

Conference discussant

  • Southern Finance Association Meetings, 2018 (Asheville, NC)
  • Southern Financial Association Meetings, 2016 (Sandestin, FL)
  • Mid-Atlantic Research Conference, 2015 (hosted by Villanova University)
  • Financial Management Association Meetings, 2014 (Nashville, TN)
  • Financial Management Association European Meetings, 2013 (Luxembourg City, Luxembourg)
  • Financial Management Association Meetings, 2012 (Atlanta, GA)
  • Financial Management Association European Meetings, 2012 (Istanbul, Turkey)
  • Financial Management Association Meetings, 2010 (New York, NY)

Invited speaker/panel discussant

  • Hedge Fund Investors Conference , ZHAW School of Management and Law/Swiss Council of Hedge Funds, 2013 (Zurich, Switzerland)