Adam Aiken
Wesley R. Elingburg Professor in Business and Associate Professor of Finance
Department: Finance
Email: aaiken2@elon.edu
Phone number: (336) 278-5762
Brief Biography
My research interests include financial institutions and performance measurement, with a particular focus on hedge funds. My co-authors and I have a paper on hedge fund reporting biases that was published in the . Another paper on the use of discretionary liquidity restrictions by hedge funds was recently published in the . Our work on how funds-of-hedge-funds form their portfolios is published in . Recent work on the influence of ideology on the investment decisions of members of Congress has been accepted for publication by Management Science.
Our research has been featured by The Economist, The Financial Times, Alpha, and Reuters.
LSB Faculty Administrative Fellow, 51±¬ÁÏÍø, 2025—2026
Poets and Quants "Top 50 Undergraduate Professor"
2020 LSB Beta Gamma Sigma Professor of the Year
2020 Love School of Business Research Award
2020 Love School of Business Research Award, 2019
Links
News & Notes
Education
Employment History
After graduating from UNC, I worked for the , the endowment arm of the university. I have been a CFA Charterholder since 2003.
I have been teaching at the university-level since 2010.
Courses Taught
While at Elon, I have taught Introduction to Finance, Principles of Finance, Security Analysis and Portfolio Management, Financial Modeling, Investments, Advanced Managerial Finance, Data Analysis in Finance, Trading and Markets, Advanced Investments (2 credit), a CFA Review (2 credit), and the Business Fellows Portfolio Class, which manages a portion of the university endowment. At the MBA-level, I have taught our Finance Foundations, as well as our second finance course, Financial Management. I have taught online versions of several courses.
I also taught the applied portfolio management sequence at Quinnipiac University, where students managed an equity portfolio with roughly $1.7 million in assets under management.
Research
Published and Accepted Papers
Attention to Detail: Learning 51±¬ÁÏÍø Mergers
Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance, 2026
with Choonsik Lee
Hedge Fund Manager Timing and Selectivity Skill Over Time: A Holdings-Based Estimate
Finance Research Letters, 2023
with Minjeong Kang
Side-by-Side Management of Mutual Funds and Actively Managed Exchange Traded Funds
The Financial Review, 2022
with Eli Sherrill and Kate Upton
Funding Liquidity Risk and the Dynamics of Hedge Fund Lockups
Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, 2021
with Christopher Clifford, Jesse Ellis, Qiping Huang
Let's talk sooner rather than later: The Strategic Communication Decisions of Activist Investors
Journal of Corporate Finance, 2020
with Choonisk Lee
Do Politicians “Put Their Money Where Their Mouth Is”? Ideology and Portfolio Choice.
Management Science, 2020
with Jesse Ellis and Minjeong Kang
Awarded Best Paper in Investments at 2016 SFA Meetings
Can Hedge Funds Time Global Equity Markets? Evidence from Emerging Markets
Review of Financial Economics, 2016
with Osman Kilic and Sean Reid
Hedge Funds and Discretionary Liquidity Restrictions
Journal of Financial Economics, 2015
with Christopher Clifford and Jesse Ellis
Awarded Best Paper in Investments at 2013 FMA Meetings
The Value of Funds of Hedge Funds: Evidence From Their Holdings
Management Science, 2015
with Christopher Clifford and Jesse Ellis
Out of the Dark: Hedge fund Reporting Biases and Commercial Databases
Review of Financial Studies, 2013
with Christopher Clifford and Jesse Ellis
Semi-Finalist for Best Paper in Investments (Top 10%) at 2010 FMA Meetings
Summarized by CFA Digest in February 2013
Presentations
Conferences and Presentations
(* by co-author; scheduled presentations in italics)
Attention to Detail: Learning 51±¬ÁÏÍø Mergers Financial Management Association Asia/Pacific Meetings*, 2024 (Seoul, South Korea) Joint Conference with the Allied Korea Finance Associations (AKFA), 2023 Joint Conference with the Korea Institute of Finance, the Korea-America Economic Association, and the Korea-America Finance Association, 2023 Financial Management Association European Meetings, 2022 (Lyon, France) 16th Conference on Asia-Pacific Financial Markets*, 2021 (Seoul, South Korea) 2nd Boca Corporate Finance and Governance Conference*, 2021 (Boca Raton (FAU), Florida) Financial Management Association Meetings "New Ideas" Session*, 2021 (Denver, CO)
Let's Talk Sooner Rather Than Later: The Strategic Communication Decisions of Activist Blockholders Southern Finance Association Meetings*, 2019 (Orlando, FL) Financial Management Association European Meetings, 2019 (Glasgow, Scotland) KAFA-KCMI Joint Symposium*, 2018 (Seoul, South Korea)
Side-by-Side Management of Mutual Funds and Actively Managed Exchange Traded Funds Financial Management Association Meetings*, 2019 (New Orleans, LA) Southern Finance Association Meetings*, 2018 (Asheville, NC)
Do Politicians "Put Their Money Where Their Mouth Is"? Ideology and Portfolio Choice Southern Finance Association Meetings, 2016 (San Destin, FL) Financial Management Association Meetings, 2016 (Las Vegas, NV) North Carolina State University, 2016 (Raleigh, NC)
Funding Liquidity Risk and the Dynamics of Hedge Fund Lockups Southern Finance Association Meetings, 2018 (Asheville, NC) Financial Management Association Meetings*, 2016 (Las Vegas, NV) Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 2016 (Troy, NY) 9th Financial Risks International Forum*, 2016 (Paris, France) 8th Annual Hedge Fund Research Conference: Liquidity, Risk, and Performance*, 2016 (Paris, France) University of Melbourne*, 2015 (Melbourne, Australia) University of Technology Sydney*, 2015 (Sydney, Australia)
Hedge Funds and Discretionary Liquidity Restrictions Financial Intermediation Research Society (FIRS), 2014 (Quebec City, Canada) Financial Management Association Meetings, 2013 (Chicago, IL) University of Oregon Conference on Institutional Investors and the Asset Management Industry, 2013 (Eugene, OR) Western Finance Association Meetings*, 2013 (Lake Tahoe, NV) 6th Financial Risks International Forum on Liquidity Risk*, 2013 (Paris, France) Mid-Atlantic Research Conference, 2013 (hosted by Villanova University) Arizona State University Sonoran Winter Finance Conference*, 2013 (Scottsdale, AZ) University of Florida*, 2013 North Carolina State University*, 2013
The Value of Funds of Hedge Funds: Evidence from Their Holdings Financial Management Association European Meetings, 2013 (Luxembourg City, Luxembourg) Financial Management Association Meetings*, 2012 (Atlanta, GA) University of Binghamton, 2012
Out of the Dark: Hedge Fund Reporting Biases and Commercial Databases Financial Management Association European Meetings, 2012 (Istanbul, Turkey) Financial Management Association Meetings, 2010 (New York, NY) Financial Intermediation Research Society (FIRS) Conference*, 2010 (Florence, Italy) The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)*, 2010
(* by co-author; scheduled presentations in italics)