Finance Panel

The Clark Center for Global Markets explores finance professors’ views on vital policy issues via our Finance Panel.  We regularly poll over 40 individuals on a range of timely and relevant topics.  Panelists not only have the opportunity to respond to a poll’s statements, but an opportunity to comment and provide additional resources, if they wish. The Clark Center then shares the results with the public in a straightforward and concise format.

Please note that from September 2022, the language in our polls will use just two modifiers to refer to the size of an effect:

  • ‘Substantial’: when an effect is large enough that it would make a difference that matters for the behavior involved.
  • ‘Measurable’: when the direction of the effect is clear, but perhaps experts would differ as to whether it is substantial.
Finance

Long-Term Capital Management

Question A:

September 2023 was the 25th anniversary of the collapse of Long-Term Capital Management (LTCM). In response to LTCM's troubles, the Federal Reserve orchestrated a multi-billion dollar rescue package by a consortium of banks and it cut the Federal funds rate target by 75 basis points within six weeks.

The hedge fund sector's contribution to systemic risk is substantially lower today than at the time of LTCM.

Responses

Source: Clark Center Economic Experts Panel
Methodology
Question B:

Financial market participants' expectation that the Fed will aggressively ease monetary policy in response to financial market dislocations is a substantial source of financial instability.

Responses

Source: Clark Center Economic Experts Panel
Methodology
 
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Financial Crises
Finance

Enhanced Regulation of Private Fund Advisers

Question A:

SEC Announcement: https://www.sec.gov/news/press-release/2023-155

The benefits of the new SEC rules on private funds - which require private funds to provide transparency to their investors regarding the fees and expenses and other terms of their relationship with private fund advisers and the performance of such private funds - substantially exceed their costs.

Responses

Source: Clark Center Economic Experts Panel
Methodology
Question B:

The new SEC rules will have a substantially negative impact on the industry by stifling capital formation and reducing competition.

Responses

Source: Clark Center Economic Experts Panel
Methodology
Question C:

It is appropriate policy for the SEC to impose such rules on private funds even though the investors (limited partners) are sophisticated entities.

Responses

Source: Clark Center Economic Experts Panel
Methodology
 
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Financial Regulation
Finance

ESG Factors

This Finance survey examines (a) Regulation that allows state pension funds to consider environmental, social, and governance factors in investment decisions only if these factors are material for risk and expected return would make retirees measurably worse off; (b) Regulation that prevents state pension funds from considering environmental, social, and governance factors in investment decisions even if these factors are material for risk and expected return would make retirees measurably worse off 
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Financial Regulation
Finance

Banks’ Business Model

This Finance survey examines (a) Since maturity transformation is an inherent feature of commercial banks' business model, some duration mismatch between assets and liabilities is unavoidable; (b) For the purposes of capital regulation, banks should be required to mark their holdings of Treasury and Agency securities to market at all times (even though their loans are not marked to market)

 

  
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Banking
Finance

Discount Rates

This Finance survey examines (a) Despite the empirical failures of the Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) in explaining expected stock returns, a shareholder-value maximizing publicly-traded firm should still use the CAPM to calculate the cost of equity in capital budgeting; (b) The equity risk premium that U.S. publicly traded firms should use in cost of equity calculations in April 2023 is above 6% 
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Business, Management, & Corporate Performance
Finance

Banking Crisis

This Finance survey examines (a) Financial regulators in the US and Europe lack the tools and authority to deter runs on banks by uninsured depositors; (b) Not guaranteeing uninsured deposits at Silicon Valley Bank in full would have created substantial damage to the US economy; (c) Fully guaranteeing uninsured deposits at Silicon Valley Bank substantially increases banks’ incentives to engage in excessive risk-taking 
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Banking
Finance

Taxing Stock Buybacks

This Finance survey examines (a) Large-scale stock buybacks by public corporations provide short-term rewards for shareholders and senior executives at the expense of potentially higher-return corporate investments; (b) The proposed higher tax on corporate stock buybacks (an increase from 1% to 4%) would generate substantial public revenues; (c) The proposed higher tax on corporate stock buybacks would generate a substantial increase in corporate investment 
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Business, Management, & Corporate Performance
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