Skip to main content
Arman Eshraghi

Professor Arman Eshraghi

Professor of Finance and Investment, Deputy Head of Section for Research, Impact and Innovation

Cardiff Business School

Email
EshraghiA@cardiff.ac.uk
Telephone
+44 29225 10880
Campuses
Aberconway Building, Room E42, Colum Road, Cathays, Cardiff, CF10 3EU
Users
Available for postgraduate supervision

Overview

Background

Arman Eshraghi holds the Chair of Finance and Investment at Cardiff Business School. He is a Shimomura Fellow of the Development Bank of Japan, Fellow of the UK Higher Education Academy and the Centre for Study of Decision-Making Uncertainty at UCL. At Cardiff, Arman directs the Fintech Research Group, and serves as Deputy Head of Section for Research, Impact and Innovation.

Formerly, Arman was at the University of Edinburgh, and has held visiting positions at the University of Manchester,  University College London, and University of Canterbury in New Zealand. Prior to academia, he was a management consultant in the banking and telecom sectors. Arman holds PhD in Finance from the University of Edinburgh, MBA with a finance concentration and BSc in Electrical Engineering, both from Sharif University in Tehran. His doctoral and post-doctoral research was highly commended by EFMD Global, Emerald Literati, SFE Rising Star, and EFG Young Scholar awards.

Research

Arman's academic research spans finance and accounting with broad interests including investment management, behavioural finance, financial technology, corporate governance, and critical accounting. Inter alia, his work is cited in the Financial Times, Washington Post, Harvard Business Review, Forbes, Bloomberg and the BBC, and has contributed to handbooks published by Cambridge University, Wiley, Springer, Emerald and Routledge.

His journal publications cover finance (Review of Financial Studies; Review of Finance; Journal of Empirical Finance; European Financial Management; Financial Review; Corporate Governance: An International Review; International Review of Financial Analysis; Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting; European Journal of Finance; Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions & Money; Finance Research Letters), accounting (Accounting, Organizations and Society; Accounting, Auditing and Accountability; Accounting and Business Research) and management (British Journal of Management). Arman also actively contributes to editing finance journals as Co-Editor of International Review of Economics and Finance (IF: 4.5), Senior Editor of Finance Research Letters (IF: 10.4) and the Global Finance Journal (IF: 5.2), and Special Issue Co-Editor of the European Journal of Finance. He has conducted paper reviews for the Review of Financial Studies, Journal of Corporate Finance; Journal of Banking and Finance; European Financial Management; Journal of Business Ethics; and Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization.

Beyond academia, Prof. Eshraghi engages with a range of organisations in the finance sector to offer bespoke research and training. He has given invited talks, among others, at the Federal Reserve Bank (New York), Centre for European Economic Research (Mannheim), National Institute of Securities Markets (Mumbai), and UK organisations such as the ONS, CFA UK Institute and CityUK. Arman sits on the Advisory Board of Fintech Wales, has advised a number of UK-based firms in the area of financial markets, and is a mentor at Fintech Wales Foundry

Teaching

Arman is highly passionate about teaching and education. Beyond Cardiff, he has taught diverse cohorts in the UK (Edinburgh, London, Manchester, Warwick), Europe (Belgium, Denmark, Netherland, Portugal) and Asia (China, India, Thailand). He is currently an external examiner of MSc Banking and International Finance at Bayes (formerly, Cass) Business School at City, University of London.

Typically, Arman's teaching includes MSc, MBA, PhD and executive courses in investment management, behavioural finance, corporate finance and fintech (a full list is available on the teaching tab above). He is passionate about teaching innovations, and his courses have won awards voted by students for Best Teaching Innovation, Best Postgraduate Course and Inspirational Teaching. 

Media Coverage

Public Speaking and Moderation

A full list of research seminars and conference presentations is available on the research tab above.

Consultancy and Contribution to Expert Panels

  • Welsh Government, member of 'Technology in Manufacturing' Consultation, Cardiff, 2020
  • Welsh Parliament, member of COVID-19 Expert Register, since 2020
  • Fintech Wales, member of Advisory Board, Cardiff, since 2019
  • Fintech Wales, member of Skills Working Group, Cardiff, since 2019
  • Research Council of Norway, member of Grant Referee Panel, Oslo, 2019
  • Fintech Scotland, University of Edinburgh delegate, Edinburgh, 2017-18
  • CFA Institute and CFA Society UK, member of Finance Talent Roundtable, Edinburgh, 2017-18
  • Scottish Financial Enterprise, member of Financial Services Strategy Project, Edinburgh, 2016
  • Research Council of Portugal, member of Grant Referee Panel, Lisbon, 2015

Publication

2023

2022

2021

2020

2019

2018

2017

2016

2015

2014

2012

Articles

Book sections

Research

Research Interests

  • Behavioural investing, fund management, behavioural corporate finance
  • Financial technology, big data, textual analysis in finance
  • Corporate governance, board structure, governance in banking
  • Interdisciplinary and critical accounting, discourse analysis, sensemaking

Selected Media Coverage

Invited Research Seminars

  • Aston University, UK, 2022
  • Trinity College Dublin, Ireland, 2022
  • University of Reading, UK, 2022
  • University of the North, Colombia, 2021
  • Queen Mary University, UK, 2021
  • University of Exeter, UK, 2020
  • Leeds University, UK, 2019
  • University of St Andrews, UK, 2019
  • University College Dublin, Ireland, 2019
  • Queen's University Belfast, UK, 2019
  • Open University, Milton Keynes, UK, 2019
  • University of Porto, Portugal, 2019
  • Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan, 2018
  • Hitotsubashi University, Tokyo, Japan, 2018
  • City University of London, UK, 2018
  • Swansea University, UK, 2018
  • University of Aarhus, Denmark, 2018
  • Frankfurt School of Finance and Management, Germany, 2018
  • Seoul National University, Seoul, South Korea, 2017
  • Sungkyunkwan University, Seoul, South Korea, 2017
  • Newcastle University, UK, 2017
  • San Diego State University, US, 2017
  • Glasgow University, UK, 2017
  • University of Leipzig, Germany, 2017
  • Bangor University, UK , 2017
  • University of Aarhus, Denmark, 2016
  • University of Algarve, Portugal, 2016
  • University of Stirling, UK, 2015
  • Heriot-Watt University, UK, 2015
  • University of Texas at Austin, US, 2014
  • University of Laval, Quebec, Canada, 2012
  • University of Maastricht, Netherlands, 2012

Conference Presentations 

'c' indicates presentation by co-author

  • Behavioural Finance Working Group Conference, Virtual, 2021, c
  • Boca Corporate Finance and Governance Conference, Virtual, 2020
  • BBS Conference on the Developments in Financial Technology, Virtual, 2020
  • Infiniti Conference on International Finance, Glasgow, 2019
  • European Financial Management Association Meeting, Azores, 2019, c
  • Financial Management Association European Conference, Glasgow, 2019, c
  • Summer Institute on Bounded Rationality, Max Planck Institute, Berlin, 2018
  • Harvard Behavioral Decision Research in Management Conference, Boston, 2018, c
  • Financial Management Association Global Conference, San Diego, 2018, c
  • Infiniti Conference on International Finance, Poznan, 2018
  • Global Finance Association Conference, Paris, 2018
  • Manchester Business School Conference on Hedge Funds, Manchester, 2017
  • Academy of Behavioral Finance Global Conference, Los Angeles, 2017
  • Harvard Business School BIG Ideas Doctoral Workshop, Boston, 2017, c
  • British Accounting and Finance Association Conference, Edinburgh, 2017
  • Research in Behavioural Finance Conference, Amsterdam, 2016
  • Financial Intermediation Research Society Conference, Lisbon, 2016, c
  • Financial Management Association Global Conference, Las Vegas, 2016
  • Behavioural Finance Working Group Conference, London, 2013-2017, Two Best Paper Awards 
  • Infiniti Conference on International Finance, Ljubljana, 2015
  • Consortium on Activist Investors and Corporate Governance, London 2015, c
  • CFA Institute Program Partner Conference, Edinburgh, 2015
  • Financial Management Association European Annual Meeting, Venice 2015, c, Best Paper Award Finalist
  • International Review of Financial Analysis Conference on Gold, Hamburg, 2015, Best Paper Award
  • European Financial Management Association Meeting, Amsterdam 2015, c
  • Australasian Finance and Banking Conference, Sydney, 2014
  • Financial Management Association Annual Meeting, Nashville 2014, c
  • Financial Management Association European Annual Meeting, Maastricht 2014, c
  • Conference on Discourse Approaches in Financial Communication, Locarno, 2014
  • Emerging Scholars in Banking and Finance Conference, London 2014, c
  • The Dutch Central Bank Workshop on Board Diversity, Amsterdam 2014, c
  • Asia Pacific Interdisciplinary Research in Accounting Conference, Kobe, 2013
  • British Accounting and Finance Association Conference, Newcastle, 2013
  • Eastern Finance Association Conference, Boston, 2012
  • Conference on the Role of Expectations in Financial Markets, Mannheim, 2012
  • Academy of Behavioral Finance Global Conference, Chicago, 2010

Teaching

Current and past teaching includes the courses below covering diverse class sizes and student backgrounds:

  • Financial Technology and Behaviour (MSc)
  • Finance and Investment (MSc/MBA)
  • Corporate Finance (MBA)
  • Behavioural Finance (MSc)
  • Equity Valuation (MSc)
  • Investment Management (MSc)
  • Digital Transformation, Organizations and Society (MBA)
  • Advanced Topics in Finance and Accounting (PhD)

My teaching philosophy seeks student-focused learning and initiating conceptual changes. I am passionate about teaching innovations and led a research project on transforming finance education using investment/trading simulation platforms. My teaching has won awards voted by students for Best Teaching Innovation in 2017, Best Postgraduate Course in 2016, Inspirational Teaching in 2015 and several other nominations.

Inter alia, I have delivered postgraduate and executive programmes in the UK (Edinburgh, Warwick, Cardiff, London), Europe (Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Portugal) and Asia (Iran, India, Thailand). I have also some experience teaching personal finance for Wallich, a homelessness charity, and primary school students from a deprived area of Wales.

Executive education and industry engagement are among my key interests. I designed a two-day executive masterclass in 2015 on 'Advances in Behavioural Finance' which has since been delivered to several British, American, Indian and Chinese organisations. Other bespoke training delivered in the UK and internationally includes:

  • Help to Grow Management                                   BEIS Department, UK government, 2021
  • Excellence in the Finance Function                      National Health Service Wales, UK, 2018-21
  • Finance for Non-financial Managers                     BECT Building Contractors, UK, 2020
  • Textual Analysis in Finance                                   Walter Scott & Partners, UK, 2019
  • Advances in Financial Technology                        Cohort of finance managers, UK, 2019
  • Finance, Behaviour and Sustainability Cohort of sustainability                 managers, UK, 2018
  • Applications of Behavioural Finance                     Aetna Inc (CVS Health), US, 2017
  • Finance for Media Companies                              Scottish Television plc, UK, 2016-17
  • Advances in Behavioural Finance                         Scottish Widows plc, UK, 2016
  • Advances in Behavioural Finance                         Huarong Asset Management, China, 2015
  • Applied Corporate Finance                                    Guangzhou CPA Association, China, 2014

Biography

Educational Background

PhD in Finance, University of Edinburgh, 2012
    Thesis: Professional Investor Psychology and Investment Performance
    Advisory committee: Richard Taffler, Seth Armitage

MBA, Sharif University of Technology, Tehran, 2005
    Concentration in finance; Thesis: Signalling with Stock Market Indices

BSc in Electrical Engineering, Sharif University of Technology, Tehran, 2003
    Concentration in telecommunications; Thesis: Essays on Visual Cryptography

Honours and awards

Research

Best Academic Programme finalist, Fintech Wales Awards, 2021
Scottish Crucible Fellowship, 2018
Shimomura Fellowship, Development Bank of Japan, 2018
Sustained Excellence Award, University of Edinburgh, 2017
Finalist, Scottish Financial Enterprise Rising Star Award sponsored by EY, 2017
Best Paper Award Finalist, Financial Management Association European Conference, Venice, 2015
Best Paper Award, International Review of Financial Analysis Conference on Gold, 2015
Best Paper Award (twice), Behavioural Finance Working Group Conference, London, 2014-15
Highly Commended PhD Research, European Foundation for Management Development, 2014
Young Scholar Award for Research in Financial Discourse, European Financial Group, 2014
Highly Commended, Emerald Literati Award for Research Excellence, 2013

Teaching 

Best Teaching Innovation Award, University of Edinburgh Business School, 2017
Selected in the University of Edinburgh Teaching Excellence Poster Campaign, 2017-18
Best Course Award, University of Edinburgh Business School, 2016
Inspirational Teaching Award, University of Edinburgh Business School, 2015
Nominated 14 times, University of Edinburgh Annual Teaching Awards, 2012-18
Best Postgraduate Tutor, Manchester Business School, 2010

Pre-academia

PhD scholarship at the University of Edinburgh, 2007-11
Third rank in the MBA graduating class of Iran's most selective business school, 2005
First rank in Iran's National Admissions Test for postgraduate business programmes, 2003
Admitted to Iran's most selective (top 0.02%) engineering programme, 1999

Professional memberships

Director, Cardiff Corporate Governance Research Group, Cardiff University
Co-director, Cardiff Fintech Research Group, Cardiff University
Fellow, Centre for Study of Decision-Making Uncertainty, UCL
Fellow, Development Bank of Japan
Fellow, Higher Education Academy
Former Member, Edinburgh Futures Institute, University of Edinburgh
Former Member, Academic Senate, University of Edinburgh

Academic positions

Professor of Finance and Investment, Cardiff University, 2018-present
Senior Lecturer (Associate Professor) in Finance and Accounting, University of Edinburgh, 2016-18
Lecturer (Assistant Professor) in Finance and Accounting, University of Edinburgh, 2013-16
Postdoctoral Fellow in Finance, University of Edinburgh, 2011-13
Visiting Doctoral Fellow, University of Manchester, 2010-11
Visiting Doctoral Fellow, University College London, 2008-09

Committees and reviewing

Co-Editor: International Review of Economics & Finance

Senior Editor: Finance Research Letters and Global Finance Journal

Special Issue Guest Editor: European Journal of Finance

Ad-hoc Reviewer: Journal of Corporate Finance; Journal of Banking and Finance; Journal of Business Ethics; Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization; British Accounting Review; European Journal of Finance; Finance Research Letters; Global Finance Journal; Multinational Finance Journal; Business Ethics: A European Review; Review of Behavioral Finance; Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance; Qualitative Research in Financial Markets

Member of Grant Review Panel: Research Council of Norway and Research Council of Portugal

Supervisions

I am interested in advising PhD projects in the following broad areas:

  • Behavioural investing, fund management, behavioural corporate finance
  • Financial technology, big data, textual analysis in finance
  • Corporate governance, board structure, governance in banking
  • Interdisciplinary and critical accounting, discourse analysis, sensemaking

Note to prospective doctoral applicants:

  • Please include in your introductory email a detailed research proposal, CV, motivation letter and references.
  • Read these helpful tips (here and here) about writing research proposals.
  • Review this information about our PhD programme and the research interests of my colleagues.