Marketwatch Cites Research by Eller Finance Department Head

Research completed by Finance Department Head and Tyler Family Endowed Chair in Finance, Richard Sias, was referenced in a February 15 Marketwatch article on political leanings and their correlation with stock market investments.

The column explains how most investors tend to keep their personal political biases when they start buying and selling stocks, citing the 2017 study published in the Journal of Banking and Finance, “Hedge Fund Politics and Portfolios,” co-authored by Sias and Luke DeVault of Clemson University.

“They [Sias and DeVault] found that the political affiliation ‘can influence the portfolio decisions of even those at the very top of the financial sophistication ladder,’” the article’s author Mark Hulbert writes. “For example, the professors found hedge-fund managers who favor Democrats are more inclined to invest in smaller companies and those that don’t pay dividends than Republican-leaning managers.”

Richard Sias has been with the Eller College of Management since 2011. Before joining Eller, he was a professor at Washington State University. His areas of expertise include investments, asset pricing, investor behavior and valuation.