Henry L
- Research Program Mentor
Industry expert at Middlebury College
Expertise
Investing, Stock Market, Behavioral Finance, other Finance or Economics, etc.
Bio
I spent most of my upbringing in Crested Butte, Colorado, a small ski town in the Rocky Mountains known for its back country skiing & trout fishing. I graduated from Middlebury College with an Economics & Mathematics degree & a focus in Behavioral Finance (essentially a cross between Finance & Psychology). I wrote my dissertation on how framing & other "nudges" can affect decision-making in stock trading & gambling environments. I moved to London in 2016 to work for Hanover Investors, a UK & Nordics-focused Private Equity firm, where I remain today. As one of a 4-person investment team, I focus on sourcing and developing new investment opportunities for the firm. My interests are far ranging, and include fly fishing, skiing, and recently horticulture (although admittedly, I only know the names of about half the things I'm planting). As a mentor, I look forward to connecting with my mentee at a personal level, as well as providing some real life insight into the field of Finance/Economics.Project ideas
1. Stock Picking.
Essential for anyone interested in business, finance, or for those who want to just understand the stock market a bit better. The class can easily be tailored to the student's existing knowledge & interest, and will cover topics including: - How the stock market works (stocks, trading, etc.) - Fundamental company analysis (how to tell if it’s a good or bad company) - Valuation techniques (is a company cheap or expensive, and why) - Risk vs returns (how to invest responsibly) At the end of the project, the student will pick 3-5 stocks to potentially invest in, and justify his/her choices in a paper or presentation.
2. Economics Experiment.
People make irrational choices all the time. You see it in "bubbles" in the market, intense recessions (i.e. the 2020 COVID-19 Crisis), and everywhere in between. Some of this irrationality can be explained, but the science behind it is very young & rapidly evolving. This science is called Behavioral Finance, which is essentially the mix between Finance & Psychology. In this project, students will get a background to Behavioral Finance and have the opportunity to design and conduct their own mini-experiments. The course will include the following topics: - Background to Behavioural Finance (what is it, why does it exist, why is it important) - Why do people act irrationally and how to resist it (emotional vs practical decision-making) - How we can predict irrational decision-making (phenomena including herd behavior, loss aversion, framing, etc.) At the end of the project, the student will design their own experiment to test an irrational phenomenon. The student will write up a questionnaire, then an analysis of the results in either a paper or a presentation.