Susan White

Memorial’s business faculty has deepened its research and teaching expertise in finance by adding to its faculty component in the discipline.

Dr. Yang Xu began her new role as assistant professor in January.

Dr. Xu is originally from Changchun, China, where the study of mathematics was woven into her familial culture, she says. Her father often played games that incorporated mathematical concepts, helping to create enthusiasm for the subject.

“[He] felt like if you can do math very well, you can do anything very well.”

Early education

Dr. Xu participated in math competitions while in primary and middle school, and determined she would like to use those skills as she continued in her education.

Around the time she was graduating from high school, China was also being affected by the 2008 global financial crisis. As a result, the study of finance became “super popular” in that country.

Dr. Xu found the combination of finance and math intriguing, and entered Renmin University of China in Beijing to complete an undergraduate degree in financial engineering.

She then earned a master of science in financial mathematics from the University of Chicago and a PhD in business from City University of New York.

Following graduation, she worked at a hedge fund in New York City.

‘Deep reputation for excellence’

“As a business school, we have a deep reputation for excellence in financial management education and research,” said Dr. Travor Brown, interim dean of the Faculty of Business Administration. “We’re pleased to welcome Dr. Xu to our faculty. In particular, her industry experience aligns with our strategic priority to ensure our curricula aligns with current practices in the real world of business. We look forward to the valuable insights she will bring to our classrooms and to our research activity.”

Dr. Xu is currently teaching BUSI 3550: Financial Management 1 and BUSI 4540/BUSI 9320: Investments.

The position’s dual focus on teaching and research was part of its appeal, she says.

“I’m still very interested in doing research,” she said, adding that while teaching during her PhD, “I quite enjoyed the exchange of ideas with students and helping them to get more information and knowledge about the finance area and the current financial world. I feel quite satisfied, achieved, in that part. So I was hoping to find a job that combined both an educational role and also where I can continue to do my research.”

Practitioner perspective

Dr. Xu’s research focuses on investment and risk management, an interest that stems from her time at the hedge fund.

This birds-eye view of the practitioner perspective inspired her to use interdisciplinary approaches to examine risk, specifically how different types of risk considerations impact corporate financing and market investment decisions as well as security return behaviours.

Working with her PhD supervisor, Dr. Liuren Wu, Dr. Xu has presented their research at several international conferences.

They’re currently working on papers that she hopes will provide a new way of thinking about capital structure, one which borrows ideas from asset pricing theory, an area of finance typically considered separately from capital structure.

“In capital structure, there is a lot that is not explained well. A fundamental part is missed because of this separation,” she said. “By combining the two, we can explain the missing part [of capital structure] very well.”

Read more about Dr. Xu here.