Marina Niessner

« Initial Coin Offerings: Financing Growth with Cryptocurrency Token Sales », with Sabrina Howell and David Yermack, Lead article and Editor’s Choice, The Review of Financial Studies, Issue ​33 (9) 2020, pp 3925–3974

« Why Don’t We Agree? Evidence from a Social Network of Investors », with Anthony Cookson, Journal of Finance Vol 75, No 1 (February 2020), pp. 173-228

« Is Investor Attention for Sale? The Role of Advertising in Financial Markets », with Joshua Madsen, Journal of Accounting Research Vol 57, Issue 3 (June 2019), pp. 763-795

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• Marius Guenzel, Shimon Kogan, Marina Niessner, Kelly Shue, AI Personality Extraction from Faces: Labor Market Implications.

Past Courses

• FNCE2190 - Intl Financial Markets/Crypto

  Major topics include foreign exchange rates, international money markets, currency and interest rate derivatives, international stock and bond portfolios, and cryptocurrencies. Students learn about the features of financial instruments and the motivations of market participants. The class focuses on risk management, investing, and arbitrage in these markets. In addition to course prerequisites, FNCE 1010 is recommended but not required.

• FNCE3990 - Independent Study

  Integrates the work of the various courses and familiarizes the student with the tools and techniques of research.

• FNCE7190 - Intl Financial Markets/Crypto

  Major topics include foreign exchange rates, international money markets, currency and interest rate derivatives, international stock and bond portfolios, and cryptocurrencies. Students learn about the features of financial instruments and the motivations of market participants. The class focuses on risk management, investing, and arbitrage in these markets. In addition to course prerequisites, FNCE 6130 is recommended but not required.

• FNCE7390 - Behavioral Finance

  There is an abundance of evidence suggesting that the standard economic paradigm - rational agents in an efficient market - does not adequately describe behavior in financial markets. In this course, we will survey the evidence and use psychology to guide alternative theories of financial markets. Along the way, we will address the standard argument that smart, profit-seeing agents can correct any distortions caused by irrational investors. Further, we will examine more closely the preferences and trading decisions of individual investors. We will argue that their systematic biases can aggregate into observed market inefficiencies, thus giving rise to apparently profitable trading strategies. The latter part of the course extends the analysis to corporate decision making. We then explore the evidence for both views in the context of capital structure, investment, dividend, and merger decisions. In addition to prerequisites, FNCE 7050 is highly recommended but not required.

Knowledge @ Wharton

• Damian Valdes, Spotify’s Global Consumer Product Marketing Lead, Knowledge @ Wharton - 07/03/2025
• The Hiring Trade-off Behind Startup Growth, Knowledge @ Wharton - 07/02/2025
• How the First Sale Rule Helps Offset Tariff Costs, Knowledge @ Wharton - 07/02/2025
• Using Data to Model NBA Performance With Seth Partnow, Knowledge @ Wharton - 07/02/2025
• Why Women Are Leaving Male-dominated STEM, Knowledge @ Wharton - 07/01/2025
• Does AI Limit Our Creativity?, Knowledge @ Wharton - 07/01/2025
• Visual Marketing | Barbara Kahn and Zab Johnson, Knowledge @ Wharton - 07/01/2025
• Markets Brace for Tariffs and Look to AI for Relief, Knowledge @ Wharton - 06/27/2025
• The New Science of Pitching and Hitting With Travis Sawchik, Knowledge @ Wharton - 06/25/2025
• How AI Is Reshaping Customer Experience and Expectations, Knowledge @ Wharton - 06/25/2025