Jonathan B. Berk
The A.P. Giannini Professor of Finance
I never provide investment advice over the internet or in chat groups. If somebody or some entity is claiming that I do, they are scamming you.
Academic Area:
Bio
Jonathan Berk is The A.P. Giannini Professor of Finance at Stanford Graduate School of Business. His research covers a broad range of topics in finance, including delegated money management; the pricing of financial assets; valuing a firm’s growth potential; the capital structure decision; the interaction between labor markets and financial markets; impact investing and professional regulation . He has published articles in the American Economic Review, Journal of Finance, Journal of Political Economy, the Review of Financial Studies and other journals. His work is internationally recognized and has won numerous awards, including the Stephen A. Ross Price, TIAA-CREF Paul A. Samuelson Award, the Smith Breeden Prize, Best Paper of the Year in the Review of Financial Studies, and the FAME Research Prize. His article, “A Critique of Size-Related Anomalies,” was selected as one of the two best papers ever published in the Review of Financial Studies, and was also honored as one of the 100 seminal papers published by Oxford University Press. In recognition of his influence on the practice of finance, he has received the Graham and Dodd Award of Excellence, the Roger F. Murray Prize, and the Bernstein Fabozzi/Jacobs Levy Award. Professor Berk has also co-authored two finance textbooks: Corporate Finance and Fundamentals in Finance.
Professor Berk served as an associate editor of the Journal of Finance from 2000–2008, is currently an associate editor of the Journal of Portfolio Management, and is a research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research. He has served on the board of directors of the American Finance Association and the Financial Management Association. He received his PhD in finance from Yale University. Before joining Stanford he was the Sylvan Coleman Professor of Finance at Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley.
Academic Degrees
- PhD, Yale University, 1990
- MA, MPhil, Yale University, 1989
- BA in Physics, Rice University, 1984
Awards and Honors
- Amman Mineral Faculty Fellow, 2022–23
- Stephen A. Ross Prize in Financial Economics, 2017 (“Mutual Fund Flows and Performance in Rational Markets”)
- Fellow, Financial Management Association
- “A Critique of Size Related Anomalies” selected as one of 100 seminal papers published in the history of Oxford University Press
- “A Critique of Size Related Anomalies” selected as one of the two best papers ever published in The Review of Financial Studies
- Bernstein Fabozzi/Jacobs Levy Award, Journal of Portfolio Management, 2006 (“Five Myths of Active Portfolio Management”)
- TIAA-CREF Paul A. Samuelson Award, 2005 (“Mutual Fund Flows and Performance in Rational Markets”)
- FAME Research Prize, 2003 (“Mutual Fund Flows and Performance in Rational Markets”)
- Roger F. Murray Prize (3rd Place), The Institute for Quantitative Research in Finance, 2003 (“Mutual Fund Flows and Performance in Rational Markets”)
- Best Paper, Utah Winter Finance Conference, 2003 (“Mutual Fund Flows and Performance in Rational Markets”)
- Honorable Mention (Teaching), Evening MBA program, 2000–01
- Honorable Mention (Teaching), Evening MBA program, 1999–2000
- Smith Breeden Prize (Distinguished Paper), Journal of Finance, 1999 (“Optimal Investment, Growth Options and Security Returns”)
- Graham and Dodd Award of Excellence, Financial Analysts Journal, 1997 (“Does Size Really Matter?”)
- Best Paper, Review of Financial Studies, 1995 (“A Critique of Size Related Anomalies”)
- First Prize, 1996 Roger F. Murray Prize Competition, The Institute for Quantitative Research in Finance (“Does Size Really Matter?”)
- Second Prize, Chicago Quantitative Alliance Third Annual Academic Competition, 1996 (“Optimal Investment, Growth Options and Security Returns”)
- Richard D. Irwin Doctoral Fellowship, 1990
Service to the Profession
- Director, American Finance Association, 2013-2016
- Director, Western Finance Association, 2014-2016
- Academic Director, Financial Management Association, 2010-2013
- Advisory Board, The Journal of Portfolio Management, 2009-present
Research Statement
Jonathan Berk’s research is primarily theoretical in nature and covers a broad range of topics in finance including delegated money management; asset pricing (the relation between stock returns and characteristics of the firm, such as accounting numbers, investment, firm size, etc.); valuing the firm’s growth potential, the firm’s capital structure decision, and the interaction between labor markets and financial markets. He has also explored individual rationality in an experimental setting.
Journal Articles
Working Papers
Books
Degree Courses
Cases
In the Media
Join finance professors Jonathan Berk and Jules van Binsbergen as they explore the science and strategy of making better decisions. In conversations with prominent business leaders, they draw upon their research to discuss common flaws in the decision-making process — and what to do about them. Each episode provides key insights for leaders into making better decisions.
Learn more: stanford.io/allelse
#allelseequal
Learn more: stanford.io/allelse
#allelseequal
Insights by Stanford Business
School News
Faculty Voices
Videos and Podcasts
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In this episode, we take a plunge into the world of financial markets with experts Jules van Binsbergen and Jonathan Berk. Jules is a professor of finance at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and Jonathan is a professor of finance at Stanford Graduate School of Business. They also host a popular podcast called All Else Equal, which explores the science and strategy of making better financial decisions, and have written several academic papers that challenge the status quo.
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Jonathan Berk turns the efficient market hypothesis, which popularized the belief that mutual fund managers were “monkey investors” who consistently perform worse than the overall market, on its head to prove that mutual fund managers are in fact highly skilled investors.
All Else Equal: Making Better Decisions
Make better decisions and avoid common mistakes in business. Podcast featuring Stanford GSB Professor Jonathan Berk and Wharton Professor Jules van Binsbergen in conversation with business leaders.