The Securities and Exchange Commission's investigative process remains opaque and challenging to study due to limited observability. Leveraging de-identified smartphone geolocation data, we provide new insights into the SEC's monitoring practices by tracking SEC-associated devices that visit...

The Securities and Exchange Commission's investigative process remains opaque and challenging to study due to limited observability. Leveraging de-identified smartphone geolocation data, we provide new insights into the SEC's monitoring practices by tracking SEC-associated devices that visit...

We examine the role of race and racial concordance between financial advisors and their local community. We document significant differences in stock market participation based on community racial composition as well as differences in the characteristics of communities served by minority...

We study whether private interactions between firms and mutual funds during non-deal roadshows (NDRs) influence governance behavior. Funds headquartered in the city where the firm conducts an NDR are more likely to download proxy statements. They are also more likely to vote with management on...

We study third party quality certification in the market for financial advice. Using the Barron's Top Financial Advisors rankings, we find evidence that being named a top advisor increases both assets under management and accounts for individuals and their firms. The effects increase sharply...

We examine the effects of broker geography, i.e., the location of a brokerage’s financial advisor workforce, on the geography of retail trading in the stocks that the broker’s analysts cover. We find that retail investors are significantly more likely to trade and own stocks that are covered...

We show that analysts incorporate geographically dispersed information about firms into individual forecasts and that limited analyst geographic diversity adversely affects consensus forecasts and firm liquidity. Using satellite imagery of U.S. retailers' parking lots, we find analysts shade...

We test whether personal real estate shocks affect professional misconduct by financial advisors. We use a panel of advisors' home addresses and examine within-advisor variation relative to other advisors who work at the same firm and live in the same ZIP code. We find a negative relation...