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Behavioral Finance

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• Pedro Manuel Nogueira Reis 7 &
• António Pedro Soares Pinto 7  

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Behavioural finance ; Investor sentiment

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The holy grail of academic finance is to identify those factors that are best able to explain expected returns. The capital asset pricing model (CAPM) proposed by Sharpe ( 1964 ) and Lintner ( 1965 ) sought to calculate the risk premia inherent to financial assets. Researchers correspondingly study a variety of risk factors to best explain and predict the expected returns, including works by Fama and French ( 2016 , 2018 ), and Barillas and Shanken ( 2018 ) among many others. In addition to company fundamentals and the macroeconomic environment, a new branch of finance has emerged for forecasting expected returns based on investor sentiment as one of the main drivers inducing return co-movements. Optimism or pessimism may drive investor behaviors that condition their interactions with the markets and therefore impacting on stock returns. This investor sentiment can derive from their belief or otherwise in the future...

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Baker, M., & Wurgler, J. (2006). Investor sentiment and the cross – Section of stock returns. The Journal of Finance, 61 (4), 1645–1680.

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Zhou, G. (2018). Measuring investor sentiment. Annual Review of Finance Economics, 10 , 239–259. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-financial-110217-022725 .

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Pedro Manuel Nogueira Reis & António Pedro Soares Pinto

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Samuel O. Idowu

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René Schmidpeter

College of Business, Loyola University New Orleans, New Orleans, LA, USA

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International Training Centre of the IL, International Labor Organization, Turin, Italy

Liangrong Zu

Department of Economics, Society and Politics, University of Urbino Carlo Bo, Urbino, Italy

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Instituto Politécnico da Guarda, Guarda, Portugal

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Reis, P.M.N., Pinto, A.P.S. (2023). Behavioral Finance. In: Idowu, S.O., Schmidpeter, R., Capaldi, N., Zu, L., Del Baldo, M., Abreu, R. (eds) Encyclopedia of Sustainable Management. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-25984-5_985

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Behavioral Finance: Biases, Emotions and Financial Behavior

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What Is Behavioral Finance?

Understanding behavioral finance, behavioral finance concepts.

• Biases Studied
• The Stock Market
• Behavioral Finance FAQs

The Bottom Line

Adam Hayes, Ph.D., CFA, is a financial writer with 15+ years Wall Street experience as a derivatives trader. Besides his extensive derivative trading expertise, Adam is an expert in economics and behavioral finance. Adam received his master's in economics from The New School for Social Research and his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in sociology. He is a CFA charterholder as well as holding FINRA Series 7, 55 & 63 licenses. He currently researches and teaches economic sociology and the social studies of finance at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.

Yarilet Perez is an experienced multimedia journalist and fact-checker with a Master of Science in Journalism. She has worked in multiple cities covering breaking news, politics, education, and more. Her expertise is in personal finance and investing, and real estate.

• Behavioral Finance: Biases, Emotions and Financial Behavior CURRENT ARTICLE
• Introduction to Behavioral Finance
• Understanding Investor Behavior
• Market Psychology
• Power of the Masses Drives the Market
• Read the Market's Psychological State
• Herd Instinct
• When Fear and Greed Take Over
• Behavioral Biases and How to Avoid Them
• How to Avoid Emotional Investing
• Psychological Traps Investors Should Avoid
• Psychological Quirks That Affect Your Trading
• Removing the Barriers to Successful Investing
• Break Bad Trading Habits and Follow Your Rules
• Random Reinforcement: Why Most Traders Fail
• How to Develop a Trading Brain
• Let Your Profits Run
• The Art of Cutting Your Losses
• Positive Feedback
• Loss Psychology
• Psychological Coping Strategies for Handling Losses
• Regret Avoidance
• Technical Analysis That Indicates Market Psychology
• Psychology of Support and Resistance Zones
• Investing vs. Gambling
• The Downward Spiral of Trading Addiction
• The Casino Mentality In Trading

Behavioral finance is an economic theory that ascribes the irrational behavior of individuals making financial choices to psychological factors or biases.

Behavioral finance, a subfield of behavioral economics , proposes that psychological influences and biases affect the financial behaviors of investors and financial practitioners. Moreover, influences and biases can be the source for the explanation of all types of market anomalies and specifically market anomalies in the stock market, such as severe rises or falls in stock price. As behavioral finance is such an integral part of investing, the Securities and Exchange Commission has staff specifically focused on behavioral finance.

Key Takeaways

• Behavioral finance is an area of study focused on how psychological influences can affect market outcomes.
• Behavioral finance can be analyzed to understand different outcomes across a variety of sectors and industries.
• One of the key aspects of behavioral finance studies is the influence of psychological biases.
• Some common behavioral financial aspects include loss aversion, consensus bias, and familiarity tendencies.
• The efficient market theory which states all equities are priced fairly based on all available public information is often debunked for not incorporating irrational emotional behavior.

Behavioral finance can be analyzed from a variety of perspectives. Stock market returns are one area of finance where psychological behaviors are often assumed to influence market outcomes and returns but there are also many different angles for observation. The purpose of the classification of behavioral finance is to help understand why people make certain financial choices and how those choices can affect markets.

Within behavioral finance, it is assumed that financial participants are not perfectly rational and self-controlled but rather psychologically influential with somewhat normal and self-controlling tendencies. Financial decision-making often relies on the investor's mental and physical health. As an investor's overall health improves or worsens, their mental state often changes. This impacts their decision-making and rationality towards all real-world problems, including those specific to finance.

One of the key aspects of behavioral finance studies is the influence of biases. Biases can occur for a variety of reasons. Biases can usually be classified into one of five key concepts. Understanding and classifying different types of behavioral finance biases can be very important when narrowing in on the study or analysis of industry or sector outcomes and results.

Read about Investopedia's 10 Rules of Investing by picking up a copy of our special issue print edition.

Behavioral finance typically encompasses five main concepts:

• Mental accounting : Mental accounting refers to the propensity for people to allocate money for specific purposes.
• Herd behavior : Herd behavior states that people tend to mimic the financial behaviors of the majority of the herd. Herding is notorious in the  stock market  as the cause behind dramatic rallies and sell-offs.
• Emotional gap : The emotional gap refers to decision-making based on extreme emotions or emotional strains such as anxiety, anger, fear, or excitement. Oftentimes, emotions are a key reason why people do not make rational choices.
• Anchoring : Anchoring refers to attaching a spending level to a certain reference. Examples may include spending consistently based on a budget level or rationalizing spending based on different satisfaction utilities. 
• Self-attribution : Self-attribution refers to a tendency to make choices based on overconfidence in one's own knowledge or skill. Self-attribution usually stems from an intrinsic knack in a particular area. Within this category, individuals tend to rank their knowledge higher than others, even when it objectively falls short.

Behavioral finance is exploited through credit card rewards, as consumers are more likely to be willing to spend points, rewards, or miles as opposed to paying for transactions with direct cash.

Some Biases Revealed by Behavioral Finance

Breaking down biases further, many individual biases and tendencies have been identified for behavioral finance analysis. Some of these include:

Confirmation Bias

Confirmation bias  is when investors have a bias toward accepting information that confirms their already-held belief in an investment. If information surfaces, investors accept it readily to confirm that they're correct about their investment decision—even if the information is flawed.

Experiential Bias

An experiential bias occurs when investors' memory of recent events makes them biased or leads them to believe that the event is far more likely to occur again. For this reason, it is also known as recency bias or availability bias.

For example, the financial crisis in 2008 and 2009 led many investors to exit the stock market. Many had a dismal view of the markets and likely expected more economic hardship in the coming years. The experience of having gone through such a negative event increased their bias or likelihood that the event could reoccur. In reality, the economy recovered, and the market bounced back in the years to follow.

Loss Aversion

Loss aversion occurs when investors place a greater weighting on the concern for losses than the pleasure from market gains. In other words, they're far more likely to try to assign a higher priority to avoiding losses than making investment gains.

As a result, some investors might want a higher payout to compensate for losses. If the high payout isn't likely, they might try to avoid losses altogether even if the investment's risk is acceptable from a rational standpoint.

Applying loss aversion to investing, the so-called disposition effect occurs when investors sell their winners and hang onto their losers. Investors' thinking is that they want to realize gains quickly. However, when an investment is losing money, they'll hold onto it because they want to get back to even or their initial price. Investors tend to admit they are correct about an investment quickly (when there's a gain).

However, investors are reluctant to admit when they made an investment mistake (when there's a loss). The flaw in disposition bias is that the performance of the investment is often tied to the entry price for the investor. In other words, investors gauge the performance of their investment based on their individual entry price disregarding fundamentals or attributes of the investment that may have changed.

Familiarity Bias

The familiarity bias is when investors tend to invest in what they know , such as domestic companies or locally owned investments. As a result, investors are not diversified across multiple sectors and types of investments, which can reduce risk. Investors tend to go with investments that they have a history or have familiarity with.

Familiarity bias can occur in so many ways. You may resist investing in a specific company because of what industry it is in, where it operates, what products it sells, who oversees the management of the company, who its clientele base is, how it performs its marketing, and how complex its accounting is.

Behavioral Finance in the Stock Market

The  efficient market hypothesis (EMH) says that at any given time in a highly  liquid market , stock prices are efficiently valued to reflect all the available information. However, many studies have documented long-term historical phenomena in securities markets that contradict the efficient market hypothesis and cannot be captured plausibly in models based on perfect investor rationality.

The EMH is generally based on the belief that market participants view stock prices rationally based on all current and future intrinsic and external factors. When studying the stock market, behavioral finance takes the view that markets are not fully efficient. This allows for the observation of how psychological and social factors can influence the buying and selling of stocks.

The understanding and usage of behavioral finance biases can be applied to stock and other trading market movements on a daily basis. Broadly, behavioral finance theories have also been used to provide clearer explanations of substantial market anomalies like bubbles and deep recessions. While not a part of EMH, investors and portfolio managers have a vested interest in understanding behavioral finance trends. These trends can be used to help analyze market price levels and fluctuations for speculation as well as decision-making purposes. 

What Does Behavioral Finance Tell Us?

Behavioral finance helps us understand how financial decisions around things like investments, payments, risk, and personal debt, are greatly influenced by human emotion, biases, and cognitive limitations of the mind in processing and responding to information.

How Does Behavioral Finance Differ From Mainstream Financial Theory?

Mainstream theory, on the other hand, makes the assumptions in its models that people are rational actors, that they are free from emotion or the effects of culture and social relations, and that people are self-interested utility maximizers. It also assumes, by extension, that markets are efficient and firms are rational profit-maximizing organizations. Behavioral finance counters each of these assumptions.

How Does Knowing About Behavioral Finance Help?

By understanding how and when people deviate from rational expectations, behavioral finance provides a blueprint to help us make better, more rational decisions when it comes to financial matters.

What Is an Example of a Finding in Behavioral Finance?

Investors are found to systematically hold on to losing investments far too long than rational expectations would predict, and they also sell winners too early. This is known as the disposition effect, and is an extension of the concept of loss aversion to the domain of investing. Rather than locking in a paper loss, investors holding lose positions may even double down and take on greater risk in hopes of breaking even.

Behavioral finance is an area of economics that fuses with psychology. It ascribes the often irrational behavior of individuals when faced with financial choices to a variety of biases and heuristics. Often, individuals are unaware of the underlying biases at work that can underlie bad decision-making. A study of this area of finance is essential to anyone who wants to master the art of trading and investing.

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Behavioral Finance Research

The International Center for Finance is a leading center for research in behavioral science – specifically, research in the fields of behavioral decision-making, behavioral economics, and behavioral finance. Behavioral decision-making studies the basic psychology of decision-making, while behavioral economics and behavioral finance study the role of irrational thinking in economic and financial decision-making, respectively. Yale’s research efforts in these fields have been helped immeasurably by the generous support of the Lynne & Andrew Redleaf Foundation (formerly Whitebox Advisors).

Yale Summer School in Behavioral Finance

The Yale Summer School in Behavioral Finance, which has been led since its inception in 2009 by Nicholas Barberis with support from the ICF’s outstanding staff members, is a one-week intensive course in behavioral finance for PhD students.

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Since 2005, the annual Lynne & Andrew Redleaf Foundation Graduate Student Conference (formerly the Whitebox Advisors Graduate Student Conference) , held in conjunction with the Behavioral Science Conference, draws top doctoral students from around the world to present their research in the fields of behavioral economics, behavioral finance and behavioral marketing. The goal of the conference is to foster an environment to promote interaction amongst doctoral student researchers, and to provide feedback for students presenting their work in these fields.

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STUDY ON BEHAVIORAL FINANCE, BEHAVIORAL BIASES, AND INVESTMENT DECISIONS

Behavioral finance is an open-minded finance which includes the study of psychology, sociology, and finance. Behavioral finance micro examines behavior or biases of investors and behavioral finance macro describe anomalies in the efficient market. Nowadays, behavioral finance is not a new concept, the existence, and impact of behavioral biases in investor's behavior and human judgment are huge. In this paper, we will review various studies in this area so as to have a clear understanding of the behavioral finance and its significance in the financial decision making of investors. JEL CLASSIFICATION: G11, G14

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Essays on behavioral finance and corporate finance

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T1 - Essays on behavioral finance and corporate finance

AU - Shen, Lingbo

N2 - This Ph.D. dissertation consists of three independent chapters in behavioral finance and corporate finance. The first chapter examines whether and how ethnicity similarity between analysts and executives affect their interactions in conference calls. The second chapter investigates firms' demand for inventor executives, executives with innovation experience, around firms' IPOs. The last chapter studies teams and individual analysts performance differences during the COVID-19 pandemic crisis time.

AB - This Ph.D. dissertation consists of three independent chapters in behavioral finance and corporate finance. The first chapter examines whether and how ethnicity similarity between analysts and executives affect their interactions in conference calls. The second chapter investigates firms' demand for inventor executives, executives with innovation experience, around firms' IPOs. The last chapter studies teams and individual analysts performance differences during the COVID-19 pandemic crisis time.

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Overview: Finance Research Topics

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Corporate Finance

These research topic ideas explore a breadth of issues ranging from the examination of capital structure to the exploration of financial strategies in mergers and acquisitions.

• Evaluating the impact of capital structure on firm performance across different industries
• Assessing the effectiveness of financial management practices in emerging markets
• A comparative analysis of the cost of capital and financial structure in multinational corporations across different regulatory environments
• Examining how integrating sustainability and CSR initiatives affect a corporation’s financial performance and brand reputation
• Analysing how rigorous financial analysis informs strategic decisions and contributes to corporate growth
• Examining the relationship between corporate governance structures and financial performance
• A comparative analysis of financing strategies among mergers and acquisitions
• Evaluating the importance of financial transparency and its impact on investor relations and trust
• Investigating the role of financial flexibility in strategic investment decisions during economic downturns
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The list below presents a series of research topics exploring the multifaceted dimensions of investment banking, with a particular focus on its evolution following the 2008 financial crisis.

• Analysing the evolution and impact of regulatory frameworks in investment banking post-2008 financial crisis
• Investigating the challenges and opportunities associated with cross-border M&As facilitated by investment banks.
• Evaluating the role of investment banks in facilitating mergers and acquisitions in emerging markets
• Analysing the transformation brought about by digital technologies in the delivery of investment banking services and its effects on efficiency and client satisfaction.
• Evaluating the role of investment banks in promoting sustainable finance and the integration of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) criteria in investment decisions.
• Assessing the impact of technology on the efficiency and effectiveness of investment banking services
• Examining the effectiveness of investment banks in pricing and marketing IPOs, and the subsequent performance of these IPOs in the stock market.
• A comparative analysis of different risk management strategies employed by investment banks
• Examining the relationship between investment banking fees and corporate performance
• A comparative analysis of competitive strategies employed by leading investment banks and their impact on market share and profitability

Private Equity & Venture Capital (VC)

These research topic ideas are centred on venture capital and private equity investments, with a focus on their impact on technological startups, emerging technologies, and broader economic ecosystems.

• Investigating the determinants of successful venture capital investments in tech startups
• Analysing the trends and outcomes of venture capital funding in emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, blockchain, or clean energy
• Assessing the performance and return on investment of different exit strategies employed by venture capital firms
• Assessing the impact of private equity investments on the financial performance of SMEs
• Analysing the role of venture capital in fostering innovation and entrepreneurship
• Evaluating the exit strategies of private equity firms: A comparative analysis
• Exploring the ethical considerations in private equity and venture capital financing
• Investigating how private equity ownership influences operational efficiency and overall business performance
• Evaluating the effectiveness of corporate governance structures in companies backed by private equity investments
• Examining how the regulatory environment in different regions affects the operations, investments and performance of private equity and venture capital firms

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Asset Management

This list includes a range of research topic ideas focused on asset management, probing into the effectiveness of various strategies, the integration of technology, and the alignment with ethical principles among other key dimensions.

• Analysing the effectiveness of different asset allocation strategies in diverse economic environments
• Analysing the methodologies and effectiveness of performance attribution in asset management firms
• Assessing the impact of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) criteria on fund performance
• Examining the role of robo-advisors in modern asset management
• Evaluating how advancements in technology are reshaping portfolio management strategies within asset management firms
• Evaluating the performance persistence of mutual funds and hedge funds
• Investigating the long-term performance of portfolios managed with ethical or socially responsible investing principles
• Investigating the behavioural biases in individual and institutional investment decisions
• Examining the asset allocation strategies employed by pension funds and their impact on long-term fund performance
• Assessing the operational efficiency of asset management firms and its correlation with fund performance

Hedge Funds

Here we explore research topics related to hedge fund operations and strategies, including their implications on corporate governance, financial market stability, and regulatory compliance among other critical facets.

• Assessing the impact of hedge fund activism on corporate governance and financial performance
• Analysing the effectiveness and implications of market-neutral strategies employed by hedge funds
• Investigating how different fee structures impact the performance and investor attraction to hedge funds
• Evaluating the contribution of hedge funds to financial market liquidity and the implications for market stability
• Analysing the risk-return profile of hedge fund strategies during financial crises
• Evaluating the influence of regulatory changes on hedge fund operations and performance
• Examining the level of transparency and disclosure practices in the hedge fund industry and its impact on investor trust and regulatory compliance
• Assessing the contribution of hedge funds to systemic risk in financial markets, and the effectiveness of regulatory measures in mitigating such risks
• Examining the role of hedge funds in financial market stability
• Investigating the determinants of hedge fund success: A comparative analysis

Financial Planning and Advisory

This list explores various research topic ideas related to financial planning, focusing on the effects of financial literacy, the adoption of digital tools, taxation policies, and the role of financial advisors.

• Evaluating the impact of financial literacy on individual financial planning effectiveness
• Analysing how different taxation policies influence financial planning strategies among individuals and businesses
• Evaluating the effectiveness and user adoption of digital tools in modern financial planning practices
• Investigating the adequacy of long-term financial planning strategies in ensuring retirement security
• Assessing the role of financial education in shaping financial planning behaviour among different demographic groups
• Examining the impact of psychological biases on financial planning and decision-making, and strategies to mitigate these biases
• Assessing the behavioural factors influencing financial planning decisions
• Examining the role of financial advisors in managing retirement savings
• A comparative analysis of traditional versus robo-advisory in financial planning
• Investigating the ethics of financial advisory practices

The following list delves into research topics within the insurance sector, touching on the technological transformations, regulatory shifts, and evolving consumer behaviours among other pivotal aspects.

• Analysing the impact of technology adoption on insurance pricing and risk management
• Analysing the influence of Insurtech innovations on the competitive dynamics and consumer choices in insurance markets
• Investigating the factors affecting consumer behaviour in insurance product selection and the role of digital channels in influencing decisions
• Assessing the effect of regulatory changes on insurance product offerings
• Examining the determinants of insurance penetration in emerging markets
• Evaluating the operational efficiency of claims management processes in insurance companies and its impact on customer satisfaction
• Examining the evolution and effectiveness of risk assessment models used in insurance underwriting and their impact on pricing and coverage
• Evaluating the role of insurance in financial stability and economic development
• Investigating the impact of climate change on insurance models and products
• Exploring the challenges and opportunities in underwriting cyber insurance in the face of evolving cyber threats and regulations

Quantitative Finance

These topic ideas span the development of asset pricing models, evaluation of machine learning algorithms, and the exploration of ethical implications among other pivotal areas.

• Developing and testing new quantitative models for asset pricing
• Analysing the effectiveness and limitations of machine learning algorithms in predicting financial market movements
• Assessing the effectiveness of various risk management techniques in quantitative finance
• Evaluating the advancements in portfolio optimisation techniques and their impact on risk-adjusted returns
• Evaluating the impact of high-frequency trading on market efficiency and stability
• Investigating the influence of algorithmic trading strategies on market efficiency and liquidity
• Examining the risk parity approach in asset allocation and its effectiveness in different market conditions
• Examining the application of machine learning and artificial intelligence in quantitative financial analysis
• Investigating the ethical implications of quantitative financial innovations
• Assessing the profitability and market impact of statistical arbitrage strategies considering different market microstructures

Treasury Management

The following topic ideas explore treasury management, focusing on modernisation through technological advancements, the impact on firm liquidity, and the intertwined relationship with corporate governance among other crucial areas.

• Analysing the impact of treasury management practices on firm liquidity and profitability
• Analysing the role of automation in enhancing operational efficiency and strategic decision-making in treasury management
• Evaluating the effectiveness of various cash management strategies in multinational corporations
• Investigating the potential of blockchain technology in streamlining treasury operations and enhancing transparency
• Examining the role of treasury management in mitigating financial risks
• Evaluating the accuracy and effectiveness of various cash flow forecasting techniques employed in treasury management
• Assessing the impact of technological advancements on treasury management operations
• Examining the effectiveness of different foreign exchange risk management strategies employed by treasury managers in multinational corporations
• Assessing the impact of regulatory compliance requirements on the operational and strategic aspects of treasury management
• Investigating the relationship between treasury management and corporate governance

Financial Technology (FinTech)

The following research topic ideas explore the transformative potential of blockchain, the rise of open banking, and the burgeoning landscape of peer-to-peer lending among other focal areas.

• Evaluating the impact of blockchain technology on financial services
• Investigating the implications of open banking on consumer data privacy and financial services competition
• Assessing the role of FinTech in financial inclusion in emerging markets
• Analysing the role of peer-to-peer lending platforms in promoting financial inclusion and their impact on traditional banking systems
• Examining the cybersecurity challenges faced by FinTech firms and the regulatory measures to ensure data protection and financial stability
• Examining the regulatory challenges and opportunities in the FinTech ecosystem
• Assessing the impact of artificial intelligence on the delivery of financial services, customer experience, and operational efficiency within FinTech firms
• Analysing the adoption and impact of cryptocurrencies on traditional financial systems
• Investigating the determinants of success for FinTech startups

Commercial Banking

These topic ideas span commercial banking, encompassing digital transformation, support for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and the evolving regulatory and competitive landscape among other key themes.

• Assessing the impact of digital transformation on commercial banking services and competitiveness
• Analysing the impact of digital transformation on customer experience and operational efficiency in commercial banking
• Evaluating the role of commercial banks in supporting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)
• Investigating the effectiveness of credit risk management practices and their impact on bank profitability and financial stability
• Examining the relationship between commercial banking practices and financial stability
• Evaluating the implications of open banking frameworks on the competitive landscape and service innovation in commercial banking
• Assessing how regulatory changes affect lending practices and risk appetite of commercial banks
• Examining how commercial banks are adapting their strategies in response to competition from FinTech firms and changing consumer preferences
• Analysing the impact of regulatory compliance on commercial banking operations
• Investigating the determinants of customer satisfaction and loyalty in commercial banking

International Finance

The folowing research topic ideas are centred around international finance and global economic dynamics, delving into aspects like exchange rate fluctuations, international financial regulations, and the role of international financial institutions among other pivotal areas.

• Analysing the determinants of exchange rate fluctuations and their impact on international trade
• Analysing the influence of global trade agreements on international financial flows and foreign direct investments
• Evaluating the effectiveness of international portfolio diversification strategies in mitigating risks and enhancing returns
• Evaluating the role of international financial institutions in global financial stability
• Investigating the role and implications of offshore financial centres on international financial stability and regulatory harmonisation
• Examining the impact of global financial crises on emerging market economies
• Examining the challenges and regulatory frameworks associated with cross-border banking operations
• Assessing the effectiveness of international financial regulations
• Investigating the challenges and opportunities of cross-border mergers and acquisitions

Choosing A Research Topic

These finance-related research topic ideas are starting points to guide your thinking. They are intentionally very broad and open-ended. By engaging with the currently literature in your field of interest, you’ll be able to narrow down your focus to a specific research gap .

When choosing a topic , you’ll need to take into account its originality, relevance, feasibility, and the resources you have at your disposal. Make sure to align your interest and expertise in the subject with your university program’s specific requirements. Always consult your academic advisor to ensure that your chosen topic not only meets the academic criteria but also provides a valuable contribution to the field. 

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thank you for suggest those topic, I want to ask you about the subjects related to the fintech, can i measure it and how?

Please guide me on selecting research titles

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I’m studying Banking and finance (MBA) please guide me on to choose a good research topic.

I am studying finance (MBA) please guide me to choose a good research topic.

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Prize-Winning Thesis and Dissertation Examples

Published on September 9, 2022 by Tegan George . Revised on July 18, 2023.

It can be difficult to know where to start when writing your thesis or dissertation . One way to come up with some ideas or maybe even combat writer’s block is to check out previous work done by other students on a similar thesis or dissertation topic to yours.

This article collects a list of undergraduate, master’s, and PhD theses and dissertations that have won prizes for their high-quality research.

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Award-winning undergraduate theses, award-winning master’s theses, award-winning ph.d. dissertations, other interesting articles.

University : University of Pennsylvania Faculty : History Author : Suchait Kahlon Award : 2021 Hilary Conroy Prize for Best Honors Thesis in World History Title : “Abolition, Africans, and Abstraction: the Influence of the “Noble Savage” on British and French Antislavery Thought, 1787-1807”

University : Columbia University Faculty : History Author : Julien Saint Reiman Award : 2018 Charles A. Beard Senior Thesis Prize Title : “A Starving Man Helping Another Starving Man”: UNRRA, India, and the Genesis of Global Relief, 1943-1947

University: University College London Faculty: Geography Author: Anna Knowles-Smith Award:  2017 Royal Geographical Society Undergraduate Dissertation Prize Title:  Refugees and theatre: an exploration of the basis of self-representation

University: University of Washington Faculty:  Computer Science & Engineering Author: Nick J. Martindell Award: 2014 Best Senior Thesis Award Title:  DCDN: Distributed content delivery for the modern web

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University:  University of Edinburgh Faculty:  Informatics Author:  Christopher Sipola Award:  2018 Social Responsibility & Sustainability Dissertation Prize Title:  Summarizing electricity usage with a neural network

University:  University of Ottawa Faculty:  Education Author:  Matthew Brillinger Award:  2017 Commission on Graduate Studies in the Humanities Prize Title:  Educational Park Planning in Berkeley, California, 1965-1968

University:  University of Ottawa Faculty: Social Sciences Author:  Heather Martin Award:  2015 Joseph De Koninck Prize Title:  An Analysis of Sexual Assault Support Services for Women who have a Developmental Disability

University : University of Ottawa Faculty : Physics Author : Guillaume Thekkadath Award : 2017 Commission on Graduate Studies in the Sciences Prize Title : Joint measurements of complementary properties of quantum systems

University:  London School of Economics Faculty: International Development Author: Lajos Kossuth Award:  2016 Winner of the Prize for Best Overall Performance Title:  Shiny Happy People: A study of the effects income relative to a reference group exerts on life satisfaction

University : Stanford University Faculty : English Author : Nathan Wainstein Award : 2021 Alden Prize Title : “Unformed Art: Bad Writing in the Modernist Novel”

University : University of Massachusetts at Amherst Faculty : Molecular and Cellular Biology Author : Nils Pilotte Award : 2021 Byron Prize for Best Ph.D. Dissertation Title : “Improved Molecular Diagnostics for Soil-Transmitted Molecular Diagnostics for Soil-Transmitted Helminths”

University:  Utrecht University Faculty:  Linguistics Author:  Hans Rutger Bosker Award: 2014 AVT/Anéla Dissertation Prize Title:  The processing and evaluation of fluency in native and non-native speech

University: California Institute of Technology Faculty: Physics Author: Michael P. Mendenhall Award: 2015 Dissertation Award in Nuclear Physics Title: Measurement of the neutron beta decay asymmetry using ultracold neutrons

University:  Stanford University Faculty: Management Science and Engineering Author:  Shayan O. Gharan Award:  Doctoral Dissertation Award 2013 Title:   New Rounding Techniques for the Design and Analysis of Approximation Algorithms

University: University of Minnesota Faculty: Chemical Engineering Author: Eric A. Vandre Award:  2014 Andreas Acrivos Dissertation Award in Fluid Dynamics Title: Onset of Dynamics Wetting Failure: The Mechanics of High-speed Fluid Displacement

University: Erasmus University Rotterdam Faculty: Marketing Author: Ezgi Akpinar Award: McKinsey Marketing Dissertation Award 2014 Title: Consumer Information Sharing: Understanding Psychological Drivers of Social Transmission

University: University of Washington Faculty: Computer Science & Engineering Author: Keith N. Snavely Award:  2009 Doctoral Dissertation Award Title: Scene Reconstruction and Visualization from Internet Photo Collections

University:  University of Ottawa Faculty:  Social Work Author:  Susannah Taylor Award: 2018 Joseph De Koninck Prize Title:  Effacing and Obscuring Autonomy: the Effects of Structural Violence on the Transition to Adulthood of Street Involved Youth

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