Babcock professor makes presentation at Asian Finance Association

Frederick H. de B. Harris made an invited presentation “The Current State of Financial Market Microstructure Research” to the Asian Finance Association, meeting jointly with the Nippon Finance Association, in Yokohama, Japan, July 6-8.

Harris’ presentation was made before the opening of the Asian Finance Association in the Pan-Pacific Convention Center, which was reserved for a doctoral consortium of doctoral candidates from 10 countries and eight faculty presenters from the U.S., Hong Kong, China, the U.K. and Australia. Each presented research reviews in their areas of expertise. Harris’ review was on Financial Market Microstructure, the study of trade-to-trade execution strategy, and security market design.

Harris also presented a paper entitled “The Changing Role of the Lead Syndicate Member in Australian and Japanese IPOs: Fixed Price versus Book Builds” at the conference. Harris’ paper “Financial Analysts and Price Discovery” has been published as the lead article in Accounting and Finance, vol 48, March 2008, 1-24.

While in Japan, Harris called on two securities firms – Mizuho Securities and Macquarie Capital Partners – and the JASDAQ new issues stock exchange in Tokyo to jumpstart some research he is doing on the lack of a quiet period, the prosecution of price stabilization, and the small modal size of IPOs in Japan versus the U.S.

Harris also had the opportunity to visit the Shinto shrine to the first emperor of modern Japan and Happo-en, a shogun’s estate in the middle of Tokyo.

Harris is the Babcock School’s John B. McKinnon Professor of Managerial Economics and Finance.