Researchers at the ESADE Business & Law School — Ruth Aguilera, Vicente Bermejo and Javier Capapé — were awarded the prize for the ‘Best Paper on Regulation’ at the 15th edition of AEFIN’s annual forum. The subject of their research was “Too big to leave: the case of active owners”, which analysed the influence exerted by institutional investors (in particular Sovereign Funds), in the governance of the companies they invest in.

Leading international experts took part in the Financial Forum (the most important annual gathering in Spain in the finance research field). These experts included José A. Scheinkman, Professor of Economics at Columbia University, Laura T. Starks, Director of AIM Investment Center at McCombs Business School at Texas University in Austin. Furthermore, this year, the Forum featured representatives from universities from countries such as China, The United Kingdom, The United  States, Japan, Germany, Canada, Portugal, Italy, and the presence of Central Banks and other bodies, including The Federal Reserve Board[‘The Fed’], the Bundesbank, Banque de France, Banca d’Italia,  and The World Bank.

No fewer than 116 original research papers were presented during the 33 sessions, which focused on subjects such as corporate finances, asset pricing, financial broking, derivatives and raw materials, market micro-structure, and bank regulation.

Vicente Bermejo, an ESADE researcher and one of the authors of the prize-winning paper, highlighted the importance of the award “in an international financial research forum” that gives “a unique opportunity to pool knowledge with the financial and academic communities”.

ESADE, with 33 research studies in the various editions, is the business school that has presented the most papers in the history of this event, which celebrates its twenty-fifth anniversary.