Dr Patrick Herbst

I am an economist by education with a doctorate in Economics from the University of Tuebingen, Germany, and an MSc in Economics from the London School of Economics. After two years in equity portfolio management, I have rejoined academia, with a research focus in Finance and Economics. Prior to joining the University of Stirling in 2010, I worked at the Department of Management and Applied Microeconomics at Goethe University Frankfurt.

At the University of Stirling, I am a member of the General University Ethics Panel (GUEP)  as well as Chief Examiner for Accounting and Finance, and I have previously held roles such as Programme Director for the MSc International Accounting and Finance as well as Undergraduate Honours Year Coordinator. I am also a member of the Research programme Contextual Learning in Humans and Machines, as part of which I was collaborating with a FinTech company in Singapore (focussing on robo-advisory solutions). I am also working with a Scottish foundation and a team of colleagues from Accounting and Computing Science to develop a social capital FinTech platform that recognises and rewards stakeholders' contributions to society.

My current research focuses on two different areas, asset management and R&D management. This split in my research is due to my initial research interests and education (applied microeconomics / industrial organization) and my professional experience in asset management. Having worked in the mutual fund industry, I am leveraging my experience in order to analyze aspects neglected in the analysis of investment decisions by money managers. The common element in all my research is the role played by incentives and individuals’ or firms’ decisions.

Two of my current projects explore the impact equity research analysts have on investor attention as well as on firms‘ R&D decisions. A current project on long-run developments in asset management has been awarded a BA/Leverhulme Small Research Grant.

In a recently developed research area, I am part of the interdisciplinary Research programme Contextual Learning in Humans and Machines with a focus on potential applications in Finance. Within this programme, we are collaborating with FinTech company Bambu, a Singapore-based robo-advisory solutions provider.

Programme Director MSc International Accounting and Finance

My current and past teaching at Stirling includes

• Research Methods in Accounting and Finance (UG)
• Financial Statement Analysis (UG and PG)
• International Finance (UG and PG)
• Investments and Portfolio Management (PG)
• Investments: Fixed Income and Alternative Investments (PG)
• Behavioural Finance (PG)
• Empirical Methods in Accounting and Finance (PG)