Associate Professor in Finance
Director of the MPhil in Finance Programme
Co-Director of the Centre for Endowment Asset Management (CEAM)
BS (Middle East Technical University), MSE (Princeton University), PhD (London Business School)
My research interests include corporate governance, ownership and control, corporate social responsibility, private equity, and dynamic investment strategies. I have served as a part-time consultant to a hedge fund on establishing trading strategies. I was previously an Assistant Professor of Finance at the Carroll School of Management at Boston College.
I’m a member of the Finance subject group at Cambridge Judge Business School, which focuses on the investment and financial decisions of firms and institutions.
Corporate engagement and voting are critical elements for effective and good environmental, social and governance (ESG) policies in firms.
Professional experience
Oğuzhan Karakaş has served as a part-time consultant to a hedge fund on establishing trading strategies. He is a member of the Cambridge Corporate Governance Network (CCGN).
Previous appointments
Oğuzhan Karakaş was an Assistant Professor of Finance at the Carroll School of Management at Boston College prior to joining Cambridge Judge Business School.
Selected publications
- Karakaş, O. and Mohseni, M. (2021) “Staggered boards and the value of voting rights.” Review of Corporate Finance Studies, 10(3): 513-550 (DOI: 10.1093/rcfs/cfab004)
- Dimson, E., Karakaş, O. and Li, X. (2017) “Local leads, backed by global scale: the drivers of successful engagement.” PRI: Principles for Responsible Investment, 19 September 2017
- Feldhütter, P., Hotchkiss, E. and Karakaş, O. (2016) “The value of creditor control in corporate bonds.” Journal of Financial Economics, 121(1): 1-27 (DOI: 10.1016/j.jfineco.2016.03.007)
- Dimson, E., Karakaş, O. and Li, X. (2015) “Active ownership.” Review of Financial Studies, 28(12): 3225-3268 (DOI: 10.1093/rfs/hhv044)
- Kalay, A., Karakaş, O. and Pant, S. (2014) “The market value of corporate votes: theory and evidence from option prices.” Journal of Finance, 69(3): 1235-1271 (DOI: 10.1111/jofi.12132)
Awards and honours
- Best Published Research Article, FIR-PRI Finance and Sustainability European Research Award, 2016
- Honorable Mention, IRRCi Research Award, 2015
- All Star Teachers, The Carroll School of Management – Boston College, 2014
- Moskowitz Prize for the Best Paper in Socially Responsible Investing (SRI), Berkeley-Haas and US SIF, 2012
News and insights
Finance and accounting
Natural, social and financial capitals
Explore the impact of financial development on biodiversity loss in Italy and learn how social capital influences financial growth.
ESG and sustainability
Do short sellers care about Environment, Social and Governance?
CERF Fellow Oğuzhan Karakaş, and research collaborators Pedro Saffi (a former CERF fellow) and Mehrshad Motahari (a former CERF Research Associate), analyse whether the short sellers can anticipate negative ESG incidences of firms, and make money from the negative price reactions to the news announcement of such incidences.
Insight
Staggering findings
Companies with staggered boards have a higher 'voting premium' that reflects managerial inefficiencies, especially in mature firms and those in noncompetitive industries, finds a new study co-authored by Dr Oğuzhan Karakaş of Cambridge Judge Business School.
Media coverage
Cambridge Independent | 30 June 2021
From AI dysfunctions to privatisation debate
A recent summary of Cambridge Judge Business School research include studies on AI at workplace by Dr Stella Pachidi, privatisation and efficiency by Dr Kamal Munir, the concept of craft by Dr Jochem Kroezen, predicting energy use by Dr David Reiner, and staggered boards by Dr Oğuzhan Karakaş.
Bloomberg | 28 June 2021
Investors will buy anything now
A paper on short-selling of exchange-traded funds co-authored by Dr Oğuzhan Karakaş, University Senior Lecturer in Finance at Cambridge Judge Business School, featured in Bloomberg. The study titled “Phantom of the Opera: ETF Shorting and Shareholder Voting,” argues that “this dynamic means “that phantom shares, stemming from short-selling of ETF shares (for ETF market making, directional, or hedging purposes), lead to sidelined votes during the proxy voting process.”
Your Money | 23 October 2020
How to use your savings to make a positive change in the world
A study by Dr Oğuzhan Karakaş and Professor Elroy Dimson on coordinated engagements is featured in the article. The study found that “engagement is much more likely to be successful if investors – and large investors in particular – coordinate their efforts.” When a company responds to engagement they get better returns – “on average by 8.6 per cent for corporate governance issues and 10.3 per cent for climate change matters.”
Forbes, 8 September 2020
Inside the big threat to sustainable investing
Financial Times, 1 April 2020
Are ESG and sustainability the new alpha mantra?
Funds Europe, 17 September 2019
Inside view: Do investors have to sacrifice returns to invest responsibly?