Professor Nicole Boyson has been at Northeastern University since 2004. Her teaching expertise is in Investments, Alternative Investments, and Fixed Income. Her research focuses on institutional investors, with a current interest in conflicts of interest among financial advisors. She also has a significant body of work related to hedge fund activism, regulatory arbitrage, financial crises, and mutual funds, much of it published in the elite finance journals.

She currently serves as a co-editor for Financial Analysts Journal and is on the board of directors for the Eastern Finance Association.

Boyson has served on several program committees of professional organizations such as the Western Finance Association and the Financial Management Association, has been a track chair for the Financial Management Association and the Eastern Finance Association, and acts as an ad-hoc referee for journals including The Journal of Finance, Review of Financial Studies, Journal of Financial Economics, and The Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis.

A CPA, her prior work experience includes 8 years in industry, at KPMG Peat Marwick, Third Federal Savings and Loan Association of Cleveland, Pension Consulting Services, and Ernst & Young.

Boyson has presented her work at prestigious academic and industry conferences, and is passionate about expanding the relation between academic work and industry practice. She regularly and frequently engages with the media (often via Twitter), and has been featured on Bloomberg television, NPR Marketplace, and numerous podcasts. She is also regularly cited in publications such as the Wall Street Journal and Barrons.

In her spare time, Boyson enjoys reading, tending to her flower garden, and spending time with her husband and children. She is a member of the Milton Library Foundation Board and the Board of Trustees for the First Congregational Church in Milton.

Education

  • PhD Finance, The Ohio State University
  • MBA Finance, Case Western Reserve University
  • BBA Accounting, Kent State University

Selected Publications

  • How Does Past Experience Impact Hedge Fund Activism?, 2021, with Linlin Ma and Robert Mooradian, forthcoming Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis
  • Hostile Resistance to Hedge Fund Activism with Pegaret Pichler, 2019, Review of Financial Studies 32(2), 771-817.
  • Activism Mergers, with Nickolay Gantchev and Anil Shivdasani, 2017, Journal of Financial Economics 126, 54-73.
  • Thawing Frozen Capital Markets and Backdoor Bailouts: Evidence from the Fed's Liquidity Programs, 2017, with Jean Helwege and Jan Jindra, Journal of Banking and Finance 83, 193-220.
  • Why Don't all Banks Practice Regulatory Arbitrage? Evidence from Usage of Trust Preferred Securities, 2016, with Rüdiger Fahlenbrach and René M. Stulz, Review of Financial Studies 29(7), 1821-1859.
  • The Performance of Female Hedge Fund Managers, 2016, with Rajesh Aggarwal, The Review of Financial Economics, 29, 23-36.
  • rises, Liquidity Shocks, and Fire Sales at Financial Institutions, 2014, with Jean Helwege and Jan Jindra, Financial Management 43(4), 857-884.
  • Liquidity Shocks and Hedge Fund Contagion, 2012, with René Stulz and Christof Stahel, Journal of Investment Management 10(2), 1-19.
  • Corporate Governance and Hedge Fund Activism, 2011, with Robert Mooradian, Review of Derivatives Research 14(2), 169-204.
  • Hedge Fund Contagion and Liquidity Shocks, 2010, with René M. Stulz and Christof W. Stahel, Journal of Finance 65(5), 1789-1816.

Selected Presentations

  • American Finance Association, 2022 Annual Meeting: Subsidizing Wealthy Schools: Unequal Access to Funding in Education Municipal Bonds, 2021, with Weiling Liu
  • Global ARC Conference, 2021: What we can learn from the latest academic research on hedge funds
  • Northfield 25th Annual Summer Conference, 2021: Subsidizing Wealthy Schools: Unequal Access to Funding in Education Municipal Bonds, 2021, with Weiling Liu
  • University of Texas, Austin, 2020: Regulation Best Interest Policy Series, panelist
  • University of Oregon Summer Finance Conference, 2019: The Worst of Both Worlds? Dual-registered Investment Advisers

Awards & Recognition

  • 2020 Poets and Quants Top 50 Undergraduate Business Professor
  • 2016 D'Amore-McKim Best Teacher Award