Mi (Meg) Luo, PhD
Associate Professor of Finance and Real Estate | Villanova School of Business | Villanova University
Villanova, PA, UNITED STATES
Mi (Meg) Luo, PhD, specializes in empirical corporate finance, investments, equity valuation and corporate decision making.
Areas of Expertise (10)
Business
Leveraged Buyouts
Executive Compensation
Merger and Acquisition
Managerial Decision Making
Corporate Finance
Corporate & Business Strategy
Cash Management
Equity Valuation
Private Equity Firms
Biography
Mi (Meg) Luo, PhD, is an associate professor of Finance at the Villanova School of Business. Her research area is empirical corporate finance, and she is interested in understanding how market frictions affect corporate executives’ decision-making and the value implication of managerial decisions. Meg’s research interests include merger and acquisition, cash management, and executive compensation. Her works have been published in top-tier finance journals such as Journal of Financial Economics and Journal of Corporate Finance. She has presented her works at academic conferences, university seminars, and to practitioners such as hedge fund managers. Her current research centers on how Private Equity firms create value at portfolio firms by increasing working capital efficiency following a leveraged buyout. Meg mainly teaches Corporate Restructuring both at the undergraduate and MBA level.
Education (2)
University of Utah: PhD
Nanjing University: BS
Select Accomplishments (2)
Best Conference Paper Premier Award
2012 Awarded at the Global Marketing Conference (GMC)
Bridge Builders Award for Excellence in Teaching Students with Learnings Disabilities (professional)
2009
Links (2)
Select Media Appearances (6)
How Tax Reform Affects Stock Value
U.S. News & World Report
2018-04-03
U.S corporate tax reform is kicking in this year and lowers the marginal corporate tax rate at the federal level from 35 percent to 21 percent. How will the reduced tax rate affect stock values? Conventional wisdom states that lower corporate taxes will be good news: each penny saved from the IRS presumably will go to shareholders. But is that really true? Investors need to be aware of several factors to gauge the impact of tax break on stock returns. Though the tax cut applies to all the companies, each company will benefit from the tax break differently.
Are Stocks Cheap or Expensive?
U.S. News & World Report
2017-10-24
The stock market is never shy of clashing views. After all, if we all agreed with each other, there would be no trading and no markets. But the current clash seems to be especially severe nowadays, as we ride a nine-year winning streak since the 2008 financial crisis. When asked if concerned about stock prices being too high earlier this year, Warren Buffett answered that stocks are actually cheap. In August, after the Standard & Poor's 500 index made further gains, Buffett said stocks are less cheap, but still better than bonds. At the same time, we see increasing worries that stock market is overpriced, and investors should brace themselves for a possible crash.
3 Things to Do When Stocks Lose
U.S. News and World Report online
2017-08-25
What do you do with a stock that falls below purchase price? Hang onto it or sell it? Some would say buy more so that you can lower the average cost. Others would say losers average losers, like the sign over hedge fund legend Paul Tudor Jones' desk. He would say, "Don't add to your losing position, get out." What do investors typically do?...
Asset Allocation Is a Permanent Balancing Act
U.S. News & World Report
2017-07-06
What is asset allocation? Remember the pie chart you receive in the statements of your retirement account showing you how much of your money is invested in stocks and bonds versus cash? That is an example of asset allocation. It deals with how you split your money in different classes of financial assets. Asset allocation might be the most important investment decision you need to make. It helps you reach the optimal risk and return balance that fits your own investment needs and personal traits.
The Value of Fear and Greed
U.S. News & World Report online
2017-05-02
In February 2009, the Standard & Poor's 500 index crashed to 735. When billions of dollars were fleeing the stock market looking for safe harbor, if you dared to put in $30,000 in the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (ticker: SPY), and hold it until today, it's worth about $100,000, tripling your initial investment. That's the reward for your "greed" at a time of fear.
Pros and Cons of Passive and Active Investing
U.S. News & World Report online
2017-01-10
Should you be a passive or active investor? Passive investment, also known as indexing, buys a basket of stocks covered in an index and fund performance mirrors the overall movement of the markets. Active investment engages in stock research and screening and attempts to pick more winners than losers. Its performance will deviate from the market, above or below, depending on one's skills – and some luck.
Research Grants (1)
Summer Research Fellowship
Villanova University
2008
Select Academic Articles (5)
REIT Ownership and Property Performance: Evidence from the Lodging Industry
Journal of Real Estate Portfolio Management2012
A Bright Side of Financial Constraints in Cash Management
Journal of Corporate Finance2011
How Much Is Trust Worth? Evidence from the International Online Textbook Market
Journal of Internet Commerce2011
The Impact of Independent and Overlapping Board structures on CEO Compensation and Pay-Performance Sensitivity and Earnings Management
Quarterly Journal of Finance and Accounting2011
An Empirical Examination of the Costs and Benefits of Executive Stock Options: Evidence from Japan
Journal of Financial Economics2005
