Xuemin (Sterling) Yan

Dr. Yan is a Perella Chair and Professor of Finance at Lehigh University. He obtained a B.A. in finance from Renmin University of China in 1991 and a Ph.D. in finance from the University of Iowa in 2001. Before joining Lehigh University in 2019, Dr. Yan spent 18 years at the University of Missouri, as an assistant, associate, and full professor of finance. He was the Richard G. Miller Professor of Finance from 2008 to 2019. Dr. Yan’s main research interests include asset pricing, institutional investors, mutual funds, hedge funds, short selling, and liquidity. Dr. Yan has published extensively in top academic journals including the Journal of Finance, Journal of Financial Economics, Review of Financial Studies, Management Science, Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, and Journal of Accounting Research. He is an associate editor of the Journal of Financial Research and the Asia-Pacific Journal of Financial Studies. Dr. Yan’s research has been cited in Business Week, The Economist, Financial Times, and The Wall Street Journal.

Education

• Renmin University of China, B.A. in Finance
• University of Iowa, Ph.D. in Finance

Research Interests

• Asset Pricing
• Institutional Investors
• Mutual Funds and Hedge Funds
• Short Selling
• Liquidity

• On the Performance of Volatility Managed Portfolios (with Scott Cederburg, Mike O’Doherty and Feifei Wang), forthcoming in Journal of Financial Economics.
• Wang, X., X. Yan, and L. Zheng, Shorting Flows, Public Disclosure, and Market Efficiency, forthcoming in Journal of Financial Economics.
• Nikolic, B., and X. Yan, Investor Overconfidence, Firm Valuation, and Corporate Decisions, Management Science 64, 2018, 5349-5369.
• Yan, X., and L. Zheng, Fundamental Analysis and the Cross-section of Stock Returns: A Data-mining Approach, Review of Financial Studies 30, 2017, 1382-1423.
• Nikolic, B., and X. Yan, Momentum, Reversal, and Fund Manager Overconfidence, Financial Management 45, 2016, 609-639.
• Brockman, P., B. Nikolic, and X. Yan, Anticipating the 2007-2008 Financial Crisis: Who Knew What and When Did They Know It? Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis50, 2015, 647-669.
• Lynch, A., A. Puckett, and X. Yan, Institutions and the Turn-of-the-Year Effect? Evidence from Actual Institutional Trades, Journal of Banking and Finance 49, 2014, 56-68.
• Lynch, A. B. Nikolic, X. Yan, and H. Yu, Aggregate Short Selling, Commonality, and Stock Market Returns, Journal of Financial Markets 17, 2014, 199-229.
• Hao, Q., and X. Yan, The Performance of Investment Bank Affiliated Mutual Funds: Conflicts of Interest or Informational Advantage? Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis 47, 2012, 537-565.
• French, D., A. Lynch, and X. Yan, Are Short Sellers Informed? Evidence from REITs, Financial Review 47, 2012, 145-170.
• Puckett, A., and X. Yan, The Interim Trading Skills of Institutional Investors, Journal of Finance 66, 2011, 601-633.
• Brockman, P., D. Chung, and X. Yan, Block Ownership, Trading Activity, and Market Liquidity, Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis 44, 2009, 1403-1426.
• Ferris, S., and X. Yan, Agency Costs, Governance, and Organizational Forms: Evidence from the Mutual Fund Industry, Journal of Banking and Finance 33, 2009, 619-626.
• Howe, J., E. Unlu, and X. Yan, The Predictive Content of Aggregate Analyst Recommendations, Journal of Accounting Research 47, 2009, 799-821.
• Brockman, P., and X. Yan, Blockholders and Firm-Specific Information, Journal of Banking and Finance 33, 2009, 308-316.
• Yan, X., and Z. Zhang, Institutional Investors and Equity Returns: Are Short-term Institutions Better Informed? Review of Financial Studies 22, 2009, 893-924.
• Arena, M., S. Haggard, and X. Yan, Price Momentum and Idiosyncratic Volatility, Financial Review 43, 2008, 159-190.
• Sapp, T., and X. Yan, Security Concentration and Active Fund Management: Do Focused Funds Offer Superior Performance? Financial Review 43, 2008, 27-49.
• Yan, X., Liquidity, Investment Style, and the Relation between Fund Size and Fund Performance, Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis 43, 2008, 741-768.
• Ferris, S., and X. Yan, Agency Conflicts in Delegated Portfolio Management: Evidence from Namesake Mutual Funds, Journal of Financial Research 30, 2007, 473-494.
• Ferris, S., and X. Yan, Do Independent Directors and Chairmen Matter? The Role of Boards of Directors in Mutual Fund Governance, Journal of Corporate Finance 13, 2007, 392-420.
• Yan, X., The Determinants and Implications of Mutual Fund Cash Holdings: Theory and Evidence, Financial Management 35 (2), 2006, 67-91.
• Bali, T., N. Cakici, X. Yan, and Z. Zhang, Does Idiosyncratic Risk Really Matter? Journal of Finance 60, 2005, 905-929.
• Sapp, T., and X. Yan, The NASDAQ-Amex Merger, NASDAQ Reforms, and the Liquidity of Small Firms, Journal of Financial Research 26, 2003, 225-242.
• Yan, X., Valuation of Commodity Derivatives in a New Multi-factor Model, Review of Derivatives Research 5, 2002, 251-271.
• Houge, T., T. Loughran, G. Suchanek, and X. Yan, Divergence of Opinion, Uncertainty and the Quality of Initial Public Offerings, Financial Management 30 (4), 2001, 5-23.