We show that the personal traits of analysts, as revealed by their political donations, influence their forecasting behavior and stock prices. Analysts who contribute primarily to the Republican Party adopt a more conservative forecasting style. Their earnings forecast revisions are less likely...

This study shows that corporate bankruptcy events affect the investment and financing policies of geographically proximate firms. Following the bankruptcy of a local peer, non-filing local firms significantly reduce investment expenditures, reduce capital structure leverage, and hold more cash....

Using multiple U.S. and European data sources, we show that observed physical attributes are related to participation in financial markets. Specifically, we find that individuals who are relatively tall and of normal weight are more likely to hold stocks in their financial portfolios. We...

This study shows that shifts in political climate influence stock prices. As the party in power changes, there are systematic changes in the industry-level composition of investor portfolios, which weaken arbitrage forces and generate predictable patterns in industry returns. A trading strategy...

We examine the impact of culture on portfolio decisions and asset returns, focusing on the large and growing Hispanic population in the United States. We find that both retail and institutional investors in high Hispanic neighborhoods overweight local, lottery-type, and high-momentum stocks and...

We examine whether corporate bankruptcies influence bank loan characteristics of geographically proximate firms. Controlling for industry contagion and local economic conditions, firms headquartered near a bankruptcy event experience a seven basis point increase in loan spreads. The effect is...

We propose a theoretical measure of income hedging demand and show that it affects asset prices. We focus on the value factor and first demonstrate that our demand estimates are correlated with the actual demands of retail and mutual fund investors. Then, we show that the aggregate HML demand...