Ashish Tiwari

Research Interests

My research sits at the intersection of asset pricing, delegated portfolio management, and financial econometrics, with a particular focus on how institutional investors—mutual funds, hedge funds, and money market funds—deliver (and sometimes fail to deliver) value to investors. Across this work I am drawn to problems where the right answer requires careful modeling of the data-generating process: how to evaluate performance when the relevant benchmark is imperfect, how to separate signal from noise in a high-dimensional cross section of returns, and how contracting frictions shape the incentives of the fund managers.

My current research agenda develops these themes in several directions. In work with Tengjia Shu, I am pursuing two machine-learning–driven projects: Evaluating Hedge Funds with Machine Learning-Based Benchmarks, which builds a flexible framework for measuring hedge-fund alpha in the presence of nonlinear, time-varying factor exposures, and Uncovering Sparsity in the Stochastic Discount Factor, which employs a Bayesian ensemble-of-trees (BART) framework to examine how many factors are truly needed to price the cross section of returns. A companion working paper, Avoiding False Positives in the Search for Alpha: A Bayesian Perspective, offers a decision-theoretic lens on multiple testing in performance evaluation.

A second strand of current work centers on the design and fragility of asset management products. In Chasing Yields Behind the Liquidity Curtain (with Lorenzo Casavecchia), we decompose the returns of money market funds into contributions from liquid and non-liquid assets, asking how funds reach for yield in environments where disclosure and liquidity regulation are in flux. In Portfolio Opacity, Imperfect Benchmark, and the Use of Option-like Compensation Contracts (with Wei Li and Yitao Zhong), we study how the observability of a manager’s portfolio and the quality of available benchmarks jointly shape the optimal structure of managerial pay in the context of delegated portfolio management when the agent’s effort endogenously determines the informativeness of the performance evaluation environment.

Academic Positions

2020 – present

Henry B. Tippie Research Professor of Finance, University of Iowa

2007 – 2015; 2023 – 2026

Director, Finance Ph.D. Program, University of Iowa

2017 – present

Professor of Finance, University of Iowa

2006 – 2017

Associate Professor of Finance, University of Iowa

1999 – 2006

Assistant Professor of Finance, University of Iowa

1997 – 1999

Visiting Assistant Professor of Finance, University of Iowa

1994 – 1997

Assistant Professor of Finance, Augustana College, Rock Island, IL

May – Aug 1995

Visiting Senior Lecturer, University of Auckland, New Zealand

Honorary (Short-term) Appointments

Nov/Dec 2017

Visiting Professor, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia

Jun 2010, 2011

Visiting Fellow, University of Technology Sydney, Australia

Education

Ph.D.

Finance, University of Iowa, Iowa City

MBA

Finance, University of Windsor, Windsor, Canada

MBA

Finance and MIS, Panjab University, Chandigarh, India

Awards and Honors

• Distinguished Faculty Mentor Award, 2024.
• Chicago Quantitative Alliance Academic Paper Competition, 3rd prize (2021), for “Identifying Signals of the Cross Section of Stock Returns” (with Tengjia Shu).
• European Finance Association Annual Meeting runner-up (Best Paper award), 2012, for “Contracting in Delegated Portfolio Management: The Case of Alternative Assets” (with Wei Li).
• Best Paper Award (Funds Management), 2011 Finance & Corporate Governance Conference, Melbourne, for “Cross Trading and the Cost of Conflicts of Interest of Mutual Fund Advisers” (with Lorenzo Casavecchia).
• Henry B. Tippie Research Fellowship, 2013 – 2020.
• Michael Sandler Research Fellowship, 2009 – 2013.
• Matthew Bucksbaum Research Fellowship, University of Iowa, 2004 – 2009.
• Tippie College of Business Dean’s Teaching Award, 2007.
• MBA Finance Elective Faculty of the Year, 2006.
• Outstanding Derivatives Paper Award, 2001 Midwest Finance Association Meetings.
• Best paper prize and cash award, Conference on Organization and Quality of Equity Markets, Paris, 1996.

Refereed Publications

1. Prime Time for Prime Funds: Floating NAV, Intraday Redemptions and Liquidity Risk During Crises (with Lorenzo Casavecchia, Georgina Ge, and Wei Li), Review of Asset Pricing Studies, forthcoming. Forthcoming
2. Fund Flow Diversification: Implications for Asset Stability, Fee Setting and Performance (with Lorenzo Casavecchia), International Review of Financial Analysis, 95, 103360, 2024.
3. Mutual Fund Tournaments and Fund Active Share (with Wei Li and Lin Tong), Journal of Financial Stability, 63, 101083, 2022.
4. Conditional Benchmarks and the Predictors of Mutual Fund Performance (with Scott Cederburg, Michael O’Doherty, and Gene Savin), Critical Finance Review, 7, 331–372, 2018.
5. Hedge Fund Replication: A Model Combination Approach (with Michael O’Doherty and Gene Savin), Review of Finance, 21(4), 1767–1804, 2017.
6. Investment Decisions under Ambiguity: Evidence from Mutual Fund Investor Behavior (with Wei Li and Lin Tong), Management Science, 63(8), 2509–2528, 2017.
7. Cross Trading and the Cost of Conflicts of Interest of Mutual Fund Advisers (with Lorenzo Casavecchia), Journal of Financial Intermediation, 25, 99–130, 2016.
8. Evaluating Hedge Funds with Pooled Benchmarks (with Michael O’Doherty and Gene Savin), Management Science, 62(1), 69–89, 2016.
9. Modeling the Cross Section of Stock Returns: A Model Pooling Approach (with Michael O’Doherty and Gene Savin), Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, 47, 1331–1360, 2012.
10. On the Portfolio Properties of Real Estate During Good Times and Bad Times (with J. Sa-Aadu and Jim Shilling), Real Estate Economics, 38(3), 529–565, 2010.
11. Incentive Contracts in Delegated Portfolio Management (with Wei Li), Review of Financial Studies, 22(11), 4681–4714, 2009.
12. Testing the CAPM Revisited (with Surajit Ray and Gene Savin), Journal of Empirical Finance, 16(5), 721–733, 2009.
13. Does Stock Return Predictability Imply Improved Asset Allocation and Performance? Evidence from the U.S. Stock Market (1954–2002) (with Puneet Handa), Journal of Business, 79(5), 2423–2468, 2006.
14. Stock Return Momentum and Investor Fund Choice (with Travis Sapp), Journal of Investment Management, 4(3), 73–85, 2006.
15. Does Stock Return Momentum Explain the “Smart Money” Effect? (with Travis Sapp), Journal of Finance, 59, 2605–2622, 2004. Abstracted in The CFA Digest, 35(2), 76–77, May 2005.
16. The Economic Value of a Trading Floor: Evidence from the American Stock Exchange (with Puneet Handa and Robert Schwartz), Journal of Business, 77(2), 331–355, 2004.
17. Quote Setting and Price Formation in an Order Driven Market (with Puneet Handa and Robert Schwartz), Journal of Financial Markets (lead article), 6, 461–489, 2003.
18. Binomial Option Pricing Biases and Inconsistent Implied Volatilities (with Brent Lekvin), European Financial Management, 7, 543–562, 2001.
19. Price Improvement and Price Discovery on a Primary Market: Evidence from the American Stock Exchange (with Puneet Handa and Robert Schwartz), Journal of Portfolio Management, 25(3), 55–64, Spring 1999.
20. The Ecology of an Order-Driven Market (with Puneet Handa and Robert Schwartz), Journal of Portfolio Management, 47–55, Winter 1998. French translation in Organization and Quality of Equity Markets; Spanish translation in Bolsa de Madrid; abstracted in The CFA Digest.
21. Business Cycles and Stock Market Returns: Evidence Using Industry-Based Portfolios (with Venkat Eleswarapu), Journal of Financial Research, 19, 121–134, 1996.

Working Papers

• Evaluating Hedge Funds with Machine Learning-Based Benchmarks (with Tengjia Shu).
• Uncovering Sparsity in the Stochastic Discount Factor (with Tengjia Shu).
• Avoiding False Positives in the Search for Alpha: A Bayesian Perspective.
• Chasing Yields Behind the Liquidity Curtain: Decomposing Liquid and Non-Liquid Asset Contributions in Money Market Funds (with Lorenzo Casavecchia).
• Portfolio Opacity, Imperfect Benchmark, and the Use of Option-like Compensation Contracts (with Wei Li and Yitao Zhong).

Abstracts & Proceedings

• A Tale of Two Trading Venues: Electronically Delivered Orders Vs. Floor Brokered Orders on the American Stock Exchange (with Puneet Handa and Robert Schwartz), Proceedings of the 32nd Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS).

Teaching

Ph.D.

Advanced Empirical Finance (University of Iowa, 2008 – 2026).

MBA / MFin

Portfolio Management; Wealth Management; Alternative Investments and Portfolio Strategies; Investment Management; Real Estate Finance and Investments.

Undergraduate

Corporate Finance; Real Estate Process; Investment Management; Intermediate Financial Management; International Financial Management.

Executive / Visiting

Property Finance (University of Auckland); Asset Pricing and Market Microstructure research seminar (University of Auckland).

Doctoral Dissertation Committees

Professional Service

Department

• Director, Finance Ph.D. Program (2007 – 2015; 2023 – present).
• Member, Ph.D. Admissions Committee (1999 – 2004, 2006 – 2017; 2023 – present).
• Member, Ph.D. Examination Committee (1999 – 2004, 2006 – present).
• Member, DEI Committee (2021 – 2023).
• Member, Recruiting Committee, Economics Department (2019 – 2021).
• Member, Curriculum Committee, MFin Program (2018 – 2024).
• Member, Peer Review Committee (2015, 2018 – 2020, 2022 – present).
• Chair, Department (P&T) Review Committee (2011).
• Chair, Faculty Recruiting Committee (2016); member in multiple earlier years.

University and College

• Retirement Funds Investment Committee, University of Iowa (2025 – present).
• Ad hoc (Investment) Advisory role, University of Iowa and Iowa BOR (2019 – present).
• Member, University Investment Advisory Committee (2008 – 2018).
• Member, Tippie College Elected Faculty Council (2018 – 2019).
• Member, College Performance Dashboard Taskforce (2014 – 2015).
• Member, College Educational Excellence Taskforce (2013 – 2014).
• Member, College Diversity Committee (2008 – 2014).
• Member, University Faculty Development Advisory Council (2008 – 2009).
• Member, University Academic Technologies Advisory Council (2002 – 2004).

Other Professional Activities

Referee for American Economic Review, Journal of Finance, Review of Financial Studies, Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Management Science, Review of Finance, Journal of Financial Markets, Journal of Banking and Finance, and many others.

Program committees include: Berlin Asset Management Conference; Professional Asset Management Conference (Erasmus University); Financial Management Association Annual Meeting; Midwest Finance Association Annual Meeting.

Session chair / discussant at WFA, FIRS, AEA, NBER Market Microstructure group, and FMA annual meetings.

Affiliations: American Finance Association; European Finance Association; Financial Management Association; The Econometric Society; Western Finance Association.