Teaching Interest
Financial Technology (FinTech), Corporate Finance, Asset Pricing (Investment, Fixed-Income, & Derivatives), Financial Institutions (Banking & Crisis), Empirical Methods (Identification & Econometrics), Real Estate, Household Finance
Current Teaching
MGT 4074 Fintech & Crypto Tokens
Georgia Tech, Spring 2025, Section B (Tu&Th)
Topics:
- Part I. Overview: Technology and Finance, Current Finance Industry, How Technology Transformed Finance Industry.
- Part II. Technology: Blockchain, Cryptocurrencies, Smart Contracts, Tokens, Decentralized Finance, Risk, Frauds, and Government Regulation.
- Part III. How Has Technology Transformed Financial Sectors: Payment System, Credit & Lending, Trading & Capital Markets, Insurance, and Digital Banking.
Office Hours:
- Friday Afternoon: 3 pm - 10 pm
- On-site & Online Meeting for All: Friday 3 pm - 7 pm. I will open Zoom and Piazza (in Canvas) simultaneously.
- Location: mostly on Zoom and Piazza (in Canvas). If you need to meet me in my office, send an email (bli96@gatech.edu), and we can schedule the meeting between 3 pm - 7 pm.
- Individual Appointment (via Zoom): please try to book a half-hour session between 7 pm and 10 pm on Friday via this Calendly link.
- Suggestion: Start by selecting later slots to avoid potential time conflicts in case 3 pm - 7 pm office hours need an extension.
- Class Piazza Platform:
- Piazza is a Platform designed for Questions & Answers in classes. Each question will be traced and marked as “unresolved” before a good answer. I will check the Piazza Platform every Tuesday night and Friday during office hours.
- Suggestion: Save snapshots when you answer others’ questions. Five snapshots can add 1 point (maximum allowed) for participation.
- Note: I will buy my dinner during idle time around 7 pm (takes 15 minutes). I will leave a message on Piazza.
- TA Office Hour: Tu 3:30 pm - 5 pm on Zoom in Canva.
Teaching Experience
FIN 361 Advanced Managerial Finance
- 2021 Summer, Arizona State University
- B.S. in Finance Core Curriculum
- Mode: Hybrid (in-person & remote via Zoom)
- Evaluation: 6.4/7.0 (29 responses out of 47 students) Link to Evaluation 6.4/7.0
- Teaching Philosophy: Cater to Diverse Needs, Student Participation, and Real-World Applications
- Note: Teaching Statement is available upon request.
- “Being a summer semester I think that Prof. Li developed a well structured class so that all his students can complete it successfully.”
- “keep being attentive to students’ needs. i think the professor does a good job at accommodating to everyone’s needs and responds in short times.”
- “The study sessions and office hours most definitely should continue because they really helped me thoroughly understand the mathematical questions while applying the formulas we learn during lecture.”
- “Professor Li is very intelligent and very knowledgeable. He did everything in his power to accommodate the classroom and help student succeed.”
- “I liked how Professor Li distributed the week. Mondays were homework review. From Tuesday to Thursday the weekly lectures and on Fridays office hours. By distributing time effectively, it gave the students the option of preparing their questions and succeeding in his class.”
Sample Teaching Materials:
Design for Course Projects and Student Theses
Note: my 21-page design is available upon request.
Investments, Portfolio Management, and Financial Markets
Link to A Sample Version of Design
- HW1: Replication Fama-French Six Factors (Mkt, Size, Value, Investment, Profitability, & Momentum)
- HW2: Fama-MacBeth Regression: are risk factors priced?
- HW3: Portfolio Performance Benchmarks: DGTW (1997).
- HW4: Changes in Institutional Investors and Their Holdings across time.
- Thesis 1: Global Risk Factor: Replication and Revision (based on HW1 & HW2)
- Thesis 2: Mutual Funds: Are Past Winners/Losers Future Winners/Losers? (based on HW3 & HW4)
- Thesis 3: Smart Short-Term Adjustment: Which Mutual Fund Outperforms Its Quarterly Holding Benchmark? (based on HW3 & HW4)
- Thesis 4: Stocks: The Surprising Small Number of Long-Term Winners.
Corporate Finance and Managerial Finance
- HW1: The declining number of public corporations and increasing industry concentration 1975-2020.
- HW2: The surprising declining dividends and rising share repurchase.
- HW3: The rising executive compensation in U.S. public corporations.
- Thesis 1: Can international trade explain the reducing number of public corporations and the increasing industry concentration? (based on HW1)
- Thesis 2: Can earning volatility explain the rising share repurchase? (based on HW 2)
- Thesis 3: Can information asymmetry explain rising executive compensation? (based on HW3)
Real Estate, Banking, and Financial Crisis
- HW 1: Mortgage and House Price Dynamics across ZIPs within Metros during the 1999-2009 boom-bust cycle.
- HW 2: Mortgage and House Price Dynamics across Metros during the 1999-2009 boom-bust cycle.
- HW 3: The impact of laws on mortgage expansion 1999-2009: recourse laws, foreclosure laws, and state capital gain tax.
- Thesis 1: Impact of Credit Deregulation on Mortgages and House Prices. (based on HW 1 &HW 2)
- Thesis 2: Mortgage Mkt: Rise of Mortgage Companies and Credit Unions. (based on HW 1 & HW 2)
- Thesis 3: Pandemic-Induced House Price Change: Metro Centers vs Outskirts. (based on HW 1 & HW 2)
Financial Derivatives: Theory and Numerical Methods
- HW1: Binomial Tree: European option, up-and-in option, and American option.
- HW2: Simulation: Euro/Ame options and trenched mortgage-backed securities.
- HW3: Calibration: calibrate volatility smile for call and apply to puts.
- HW4: Estimation: MLE and GMM for Vasicek interest rate model.
- Thesis 1: Whether CEO’s holdings in corporate stocks and stock options indicate superior information or overconfidence?
- Thesis 2: Can Executive Compensation Predict Stock Returns?
- Thesis 3: Can Institutional Investor Holding Predict Stock Future Performance?
Teaching Assistance Experience
Arizona State University
- FIN 781 Theory of Finance (Asset Pricing)
- Ph.D. in Finance Core Curriculum
- FIN 421 Security Analysis and Portfolio Management
- B.S. in Finance Core Curriculum
- FIN 361 Advanced Managerial Finance
- B.S. in Finance Core Curriculum
- FIN 302 Managerial Finance
- B.S. in Finance Core Curriculum
Fordham University
- QFGB 8926 Finance Theory (Continuous-Time Asset Pricing)
- M.S. in Quantitative Finance Core Curriculum
- QFGB 8933 Financial Econometrics II
- M.S. in Quantitative Finance Core Curriculum