Alexander F. Wagner
SFI Senior Chair, Professor of Finance, University of Zurich
Alexander F. Wagner is Professor of Finance at the University of Zurich. Professor Wagner's research has been published in leading academic journals and professional reviews.
Expertise
Professor Wagner is researching sustainable finance and how financial markets process crises and other big events. Recently he has focused on the Russia–Ukraine war and on the COVID-19 pandemic as well as on elections. In his analysis of stock price reactions to the Russia–Ukraine war, he has discovered an expected international divergence in the pace of the energy transition, with geopolitical tensions thus threatening the gains made so far in combating the global problem of climate change. His work on mutual funds and sustainable investments indicates that fund managers are mindful of the loss of diversification when investing too heavily in low-carbon assets. His analysis of the COVID-19 crisis suggests that institutional ownership did not work as a stabilizing force but indeed was associated with stronger stock price declines, whereas retail investors acted as liquidity providers. Institutional investors prioritized corporate financial strength over "soft" environmental and social performance. These results illustrate how markets—even and especially in crisis periods—can provide important signals to policy makers. Professor Wagner actively participates in SFI Knowledge Exchange activities that focus on corporate ethics and corporate governance.
Expertise Fields
- Financial Markets
- Information and Market Efficiency
- Portfolio Management and Asset Classes
- Behavioral Finance and Neurofinance
- Equities
- Financial Institutions
- Banks
- Institutional Investors and Funds
- Corporate Finance and Governance
- Corporate Governance and Managerial Compensation
- Mergers and Acquisitions
- Frontier Topics
- Sustainable Finance