About Me

I am a Ph.D. candidate in Finance at Arizona State University, currently on the job market for 2026–2027 academic year. My research focuses on empirical asset pricing, with particular interests in investor behavior, financial market misvaluation, and climate change. I use rigorous econometric methods and rich financial data to examine how investor sentiment and climate transition risk affect asset prices. Before pursuing my doctorate in finance, I earned an MBA, as well as a B.Sc., M.Sc., and Ph.D. in Civil Engineering.  

Education

• • Ph.D. in Finance, Arizona State University, 2026 (expected)

  • MBA, University of Louisville, 2020

  • Ph.D. in Civil Engineering, University of Louisville, 2014

  • M.Sc. in Civil Engineering, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Iran, 2010

  • B.Sc. in Civil Engineering, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Iran, 2006

Job Market Paper

Rethinking Sentiment-Induced Misvaluation: Empirical Measures Based on Theoretical Implications

Abstract: The literature contends that the ability of certain empirical measures and surveys to forecast returns indicates that they capture investor sentiment. I argue that valid measures of investor sentiment must satisfy additional conditions beyond conventional return predictability tests to imply sentiment-induced misvaluation. Specifically, both positive and negative sentiments should explain returns and volatility contemporaneously, and forecast returns. I show that several well-known sentiment indexes fail to fully meet these necessary conditions and introduce three new empirical indexes that perform better. These proposed measures demonstrate superior predictive power for returns both in-sample and out-of-sample, particularly over longer horizons; and survive the inclusion of non-sentiment variables known to predict returns. Further evidence shows that their robust forecasting ability extends to broader financial outcomes, including flows into actively managed equity mutual funds, implied market volatility (VIX), and aggregate credit spreads.

Dissertation Committee: Seth Pruitt (chair), Hendrik Bessembinder, Sunil Wahal, Oliver Boguth