Join us for the fourth annual UGA Fall Finance Conference
September 25–26, 2026
Conference sessions will be held throughout the day on Friday.
Dinner and social activities will be hosted on Friday night, followed by a tailgate hosted on Saturday prior to the Georgia football game against Oklahoma.
Keynote Speaker
- Martin J. Gruber Professor in Asset Management and Professor of Finance, New York University Stern School of Business
Congratulations to Matthew Denes (CMU) for winning the Best Discussant Prize
2026 Conference Schedule
September 25–26, 2026 | Terry College of Business, Athens, GA
Friday, September 25, 2026
Academic sessions will be in Correll 222, Terry College Business Learning Community
| Time | Event |
|---|---|
| 8:45 – 9:00 a.m. | Opening Remarks (Pastry/Coffee) |
| 9:00 – 9:50 a.m. | Isaac Hacamo, Indiana University Entrepreneurs and (Risky) Spouses Discussant: Matthew Denes, Carnegie Mellon University |
| 9:50 – 10:40 a.m. | Chen Wang, University of Notre Dame Learning from Prediction Markets: The Transmission of Information and Noise to Traditional Assets Discussant: Kenneth Ahern, University of Southern California |
| 10:40 – 10:55 a.m. | Break / Refreshments |
| 10:55 – 11:45 a.m. | Stefan Walz, Boston College The Declining Role of Deposits in Credit Creation Discussant: Manasa Gopal, Georgia Tech |
| 11:45 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. | Early Idea Rapid Session |
| 12:30 – 2:00 p.m. | Lunch Special Collections Library |
| 2:00 – 3:00 p.m. | Keynote Philipp Schnabl, New York University |
| 3:00 – 3:50 p.m. | Andrea Rossi, University of Arizona Subjective Beliefs and the Portfolio Allocations of Institutional Investors Discussant: Baolian Wang, University of Florida |
| 3:50 – 4:05 p.m. | Break / Refreshments |
| 4:05 – 4:55 p.m. | Susan Cherry, University of Texas at Austin The Information Cost of Debt Relief Discussant: Igor Livshits, Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia |
| 4:55 – 5:00 p.m. | Voting for Best Discussant |
| 5:00 – 6:00 p.m. | Free Time |
| 6:00 p.m. | Dinner Malcolm Wardlaw’s Residence – 594 Hill St. |
Saturday, September 26, 2026
| Time | Event |
|---|---|
| 12 p.m. (Noon) | Tailgate Reception at Terry BLC Foley Courtyard, Terry College Business Learning Community |
| 3:30 p.m. | Football Game vs. Oklahoma Sanford Stadium |
Organizers
Conference Information
Date:
September 25–26, 2026
Location:
Terry College of Business
Athens, GA
Travel Information
Transportation
Athens, Georgia is approximately 60–70 miles from Atlanta, Georgia. Groome Transportation provides a convenient shuttle service between Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and Athens. Uber and Lyft also provide car service from the airport to Athens.
Hotels
There is no official conference hotel, but a range of lodging options exist in Athens and the Athens-Atlanta corridor where cost is an issue.
Transportation to hotels in nearby towns can be arranged, and a number of additional options exist along US-29 and I-85. Please contact Vivian Brookshire or either of the conference organizers if you want help arranging transportation.
Previous Years
Friday, October 17, 2025
| Time | Event |
|---|---|
| 9:15 – 9:30 a.m. | Opening Remarks (Pastry/Coffee) |
| 9:30 – 10:30 a.m. | Spyridon Lagaras, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign The Great Reshuffling and Entrepreneurship Discussant: Ryan Israelsen (Michigan State) |
| 10:30 – 10:45 a.m. | Break |
| 10:45 – 11:45 a.m. | Cameron Ellis, University of Iowa Constructed Regressors and Overlapping Fixed Effects Discussant: Zack Liu (University of Houston) |
| 11:45 – 12:30 p.m. | Early Idea Rapid Session |
| 12:30 – 1:30 p.m. | Lunch Stelling Study, A220 Moore-Rooker Hall |
| 1:30 – 2:30 p.m. | Lauren Cohen, Harvard University |
| 2:30 – 2:45 p.m. | Break/Refreshments |
| 2:45 – 3:45 p.m. | Sean Myers, Wharton The Subjective Belief Factor Discussant: Aizhan Anarkulova (Emory) |
| 3:45 – 4:00 p.m. | Break |
| 4:00 – 5:00 p.m. | Nishant Vas, Washington University in St Louis Deposit Insurance and Portfolio Allocation Discussant: Sergio Correia (Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond) |
| 5:00 – 6:00 p.m. | Free time |
| 6:00 p.m. | Dinner Malcolm Wardlaw’s Residence |
Saturday, October 18, 2025
| Time | Event |
|---|---|
| 12:00 p.m. | Tailgate Reception at Terry BLC Foley Courtyard, Terry College Business Learning Community |
| 3:30 p.m | Football game vs. Ole Miss Sanford Stadium |
Friday
| Time | Event |
|---|---|
| 9:15 – 9:30 a.m. | Opening Remarks (Pastry/Coffee) |
| 9:30 – 10:30 a.m. | Kelly Shue, Yale University Categorical Thinking about Interest Rates Discussant: Justin Birru (Ohio State) |
| 10:30 – 10:45 a.m. | Break |
| 10:45 – 11:45 a.m. | Joseph Kalmenovitz, University of Rochester Much Ado About Nothing? Overreaction to Random Regulatory Audits Discussant: William Mann (Emory) |
| 11:45 – 12:20 a.m. | Early Idea Rapid Session |
| 12:20 – 1:30 p.m. | Lunch/Coffee Correll Hall, Room 214 |
| 1:30 – 2:30 p.m. | Alan Moreira, University of Rochester Asset Purchase Rules: How QE Transformed the Bond Market Discussant: Mehrdad Samadi (Federal Reserve) |
| 2:30 – 2:45 p.m. | Break/Refreshments |
| 2:45 – 3:45 p.m. | Rebecca De Simone, London Business School Opening the Brown Box: Production Responses to Environmental Regulation Discussant: Gonzalo Maturana (Emory) |
| 3:45 – 4:00 p.m. | Break |
| 4:00 – 5:00 p.m. | Alexander Zentefis, Stanford University (Hoover Institution) Bank Branch Access: Evidence from Geolocation Data Discussant: James Weston (Rice) |
| 5:00 – 6:00 p.m. | Free time |
| 6:00 p.m. | Dinner Malcolm Wardlaw’s Residence |
Saturday
| Time | Event |
|---|---|
| 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. | Tailgate Reception at Terry BLC |
| 2:00 p.m. | Football game vs. Tennessee Tech |
Friday
| Time | Event |
|---|---|
| 10:00–11:00 a.m. | Tony Cookson, University of Colorado Money to Burn: Wildfire Insurance via Social Networks Discussion: Mark Jansen, University of Utah |
| 11:00–11:15 a.m. | Break |
| 11:15 a.m.–12:15 p.m. | Sheridan Titman, University of Texas The Performance of Characteristic-Sorted Portfolios: Evaluating the Past and Predicting the Future Discussion: Xindi He, Georgia Tech |
| 12:15–1:30 p.m. | Lunch Correll Hall, Room 315 |
| 1:30–2:30 p.m. | Audra Boone, Texas Christian University Unravelling Bidding Strategies in M&A Transactions: Evidence from the Private Phase of the Deal Process Discussion: Christoph Herpfer, UVA Darden |
| 2:30–2:45 p.m. | Break/Refreshments |
| 2:45–3:45 p.m. | Daniel Bergstresser, Brandeis University Portfolio evolution Discussion: Steven Malliaris, UGA |
| 4:00–5:30 p.m. | Break |
| 5:30–7:00 p.m. | Dinner Malcolm Wardlaw’s Residence |
Saturday
| Time | Event |
|---|---|
| 11:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m. | Tailgate Reception at Terry BLC |
| 3:30 p.m. | Football game vs. South Carolina |