Alexandre Baptista

Associate Professor of Finance

Contact:

Email: Alexandre Baptista

Office Phone: (202) 994-3309

2201 G Street NW, Suite 501-S Washington, DC 20052

Alexandre M. Baptista is an associate professor of finance in the School of Business at the George Washington University. He received his Licenciatura in Business Administration from ISCTE in Portugal (1995) and his Ph.D. in Finance from the University of Minnesota (2001).

His current research interests are in the areas of risk management, bank regulation, and portfolio theory. He has published articles in numerous academic journals including Economic Theory, Journal of Applied Finance, Journal of Banking and Finance, Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Journal of Economic Theory, Journal of Empirical Finance, Journal of Financial Intermediation, Journal of International Money and Finance, Journal of Monetary Economics, Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Journal of Portfolio Management, Management Science, and Mathematical Finance. He received best paper awards at the Financial Management Association Meeting, Southern Finance Association Meeting (twice), Australasian Finance and Banking Conference, and Southeastern Chapter of the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences Meeting. Additionally, he received the Dean’s Research Scholar award (three times). He is currently on the Editorial Board of European Journal of Finance.

His current teaching interests are in the areas of investments and risk management. He received teaching awards at the George Washington University, University of Arizona, and University of Minnesota. He currently teaches courses in Investments (undergraduate and graduate).

Distinctions

Best Paper Award, Southeastern Chapter of the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences Meeting (2024)
Best Submission Award in the Economics and Finance Track, Southeastern Chapter of the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences Meeting (2024)
Dean’s Excellence Award for Teaching, School of Business, The George Washington University (2020)
Nominated to GARP Risk Management Award, European Financial Management Association Meeting (2015)
Outstanding Paper Award in Financial Markets, Banking, and Institutions, Southern Finance Association Meeting (2013)
Best Paper Award in Banking, Australasian Finance and Banking Conference (2012)
Faculty Appreciation Lunch, Alpha Kappa Psi, the George Washington University (2012)
Dean’s Scholar Award, The George Washington University (2009-2011, 2007-2009, 2005-2006)
Nominated to Teaching Excellence Award, The George Washington University, School of Business (2008)
Best Paper Award in Investments, Southern Finance Association Meeting (2007)
Best Paper Award in Risk Management, Financial Management Association Meeting (2006)
Nominated to Best Conference Paper Award, Portuguese Finance Network Conference (2004)
Nominated to Don Wells Outstanding Faculty Mentor Award, University of Arizona (2003)
Teacher Appreciation Dinner, Gamma Phi Beta Sorority, University of Arizona (2002)
Teacher Appreciation Breakfast, Student Alumni Association, University of Arizona (2001)
Excellence in Teaching Award, University of Minnesota (1999)

Areas of Expertise

Risk management
Bank regulation
Portfolio management
Portfolio theory
Asset pricing

Current Research

My current working papers are in the areas of risk management, bank regulation, and portfolio theory.

One of these papers sheds light on the effectiveness (or lack thereof) of risk management systems and bank capital regulations in preventing banks from taking ‘excessive’ risks. Specifically, this paper examines regulatory changes in response to the 2007-09 crisis (i.e., the revised Basel framework and the Volcker Rule). Under certain conditions, the paper finds that such revisions are not a panacea.

Another paper assesses the performance of a portfolio selection model that incorporates mental accounting and estimation risk. Mental accounting arises when an investor divides his or her wealth among mental accounts. For each mental account, there is a unique motive (e.g., retirement and bequest) and optimal portfolio. Estimation risk is the risk of inaccurately estimating the optimization inputs for determining optimal portfolios. Under certain conditions, the paper finds that the model outperforms the traditional (mean-variance) portfolio selection model.

Education