My research interests include behavioral finance, investments and business ethics.  My early research focused on the role of human cognition in decision making, measuring how actual decisions depart from "rational" behavior.  More recently my research has examined the philosophical assumptions and human anthropology embedded in our definitions of "rational financial behavior", and whether those assumptions are consistent with the Christian understanding of the human person.  Some of my most recent work focuses on the role of financial models in forming our worldviews, influencing our actual decisions and thus shaping our future social reality.  I also study the World Economic Forum Great Reset Initiative and its threat to personal autonomy and authentic human freedom.

Some Recent Publications:

• "The Effect of Unsuccessful Past Repurchases on Future Repurchasing Decisions", March 2021, Management Science.
• "Human Flourishing and the Self-Limiting Assumptions of Modern Finance," Fall 2022, Vol. 41, No. 3, Business and Professional Ethics Journal.
• "Human Flourishing and the Subjective Dimension of Work," 2020, Presented at the AEI Faith and Policy Retreat and published in:  Faith & Economics, (76) 107-122.
• "Laborem Exercens and the Subjective Dimension of Work in and Finance", 2022, in Holiness through Work: Commemorating the Encyclical Laborem Exercens. Martin Schlag ed., 2022 Saint Augustine Press.

Some Older Noteworthy Publications:

• "Heterogeneous Beliefs and Risk-Neutral Skewness", 2012, Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis.
• "Mutual Fund Flows and Investor Returns", 2007, Journal of Banking & Finance.
• "Quantifying Cognitive Biases in Analyst Earnings Forecasts", 2005, Journal of Financial Markets.
•  “On the Lack of Participating Policy Usage by Stock Insurers,” Journal of Risk and Insurance, 74(1), 225-246.

Current Working Papers

• The History and Intellectual Foundations of Shareholder-centered Thinking in Finance (2023)
• Finance, Human Flourishing and the Logic of Stakeholder Engagement (2023)
• Distributive Justice, Inequality and the Paradox of Firm Value (2020)

Recent Selected Presentations

• Finance, Human Flourishing and the Logic of Stakeholder Engagement
  • Society for Business Ethics Annual Meeting (2020)
  • Financial Management Association Annual Meeting (2023)
  • Southern Economics Association Annual Meeting (2023)
  • ASSA Annual Meeting (2024, scheduled)
• The History and Intellectual Foundations of Shareholder-centered Thinking in Finance (2020)
  • 2021 Southern Economics Association Annual Meeting
• "Human Flourishing and the Self-Limiting Assumptions of Modern Finance"
  • Presented at the 2020 Conference on The Future of Work:  Human Dignity in An Era of Globalization and Autonomous Technology.
• Human Flourishing and the Subjective Dimension of Work," 2020
  • Presented at the AEI Faith and Policy Retreat
• Mutual Fund Investor Learning and the Cost of Seeking Alpha
  • Financial Management Association (2020), Midwest Finance Association (2019), FMA Asia/Pacific (2019*), VICIF (2019*)
• Finance and the Human Person
  • Catholic University of America (2019), Notre Dame Kellogg Institute for International Studies (2020), University of Nebraksa-Lincoln (2020), Creighton University (2020), Future of Work Conference (2020, scheduled)

* presented by co-author

Past Publications

• “Human Flourishing and the Self-limiting Assumptions of Modern Finance”, 2022,  Journal of Business and Professional Ethics.
• "Laborem Exercens and the Subjective Dimension of Work in and Finance", 2022, in Holiness through Work: Commemorating the Encyclical Laborem Exercens. Martin Schlag ed., 2022 Saint Augustine Press.
• “The Effect of Unsuccessful Past Repurchases on Future Repurchasing Decisions”, 2021 with P. Jeutang and E. Unlu,  Management Science.
• “Human Flourishing and the Subjective Dimension of Work”, 2020, Faith & Economics.
• Payne, B., J. Tresl and G. Friesen, 2018, “Sentiment and Stock Returns: Anticipating Major Sports Events”, Journal of Sports Economics, 19 (6).
• Feng, Shu, Yi Zhang (former PhD Student) and Geoffrey Friesen, 2015, “The relationship between the option-implied volatility smile, stock returns and heterogeneous beliefs”, International Review of Financial Analysis, 41, 62-73.

• Dunham, Lee (former PhD Student) and Geoffrey Friesen, 2012, “Building a Better Mousetrap: Enhanced Dollar Cost Averaging,” The Journal of Wealth Management, 15(1), 41-50.
• Friesen, Geoffrey, Yi Zhang (UNL PhD Student) and Tom Zorn, 2012, “Heterogeneous Beliefs and Risk-Neutral Skewness,” Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, 47 (4), 851-872.
• Friesen, Geoffrey and Chris Swift (UNL PhD Student), 2009, “Investor Behavior in the Thrift IPO Aftermarket,” Journal of Banking and Finance, 33(7), 1285-1298.
• Friesen, Geoffrey, Paul Weller and Lee Dunham (UNL PhD Student), 2009, “Price Trends and Patterns in Technical Analysis: A Theoretical and Empirical Examination,” Journal of Banking and Finance, 33 (6), 1089-1100.
• Farrell, Kathy, Geoffrey Friesen and Phil Hersch, 2008, “How Do Firms Adjust Director Compensation?,” The Journal of Corporate Finance, 14(2), 153-162.
• Friesen, Geoffrey and Travis Sapp. 2007. “Mutual Fund Flows and Investor Returns: An Empirical Examination of Mutual Fund Investor Timing Ability,” The Journal of Banking and Finance, 31(9), 2796-2816.
• Friesen, Geoffrey. 2007, “On the Lack of Participating Policy Usage by Stock Insurers,” Journal of Risk and Insurance, 74(1), 225-246.
• Dunham, Lee (UNL PhD Student) and Geoffrey Friesen, 2007, “An Empirical Examination of Jump Risk in U.S Equity and Bond Markets,” The North American Actuarial Journal, 76-90.
• Friesen, Geoffrey and Paul Weller, 2006 (lead article). “Quantifying Cognitive Biases in
  Analyst Earnings Forecasts,” Journal of Financial Markets, 9(4), 333-365.

Teaching Awards

UNL MBA Distance Teaching Award Recipient 2015-16

UNL MBA Distance Teaching Award Recipient 2017-18

Graduate Courses

Managerial Economics (GRBA 812) - Economic analysis applied to business decisions.  Key modules include history of capitalism, economic costs & benefits, marginal analysis, simple & complex pricing, international economics, financial market bubbles, price discrimination strategies, game theory & bargaining, adverse selection and moral hazard.

Advanced Financial Theory (FIN 961) - Introductory PhD seminar focused on foundations of financial theory applied to asset pricing and corporate finance.

Undergraduate Courses

Investments (FIN 363)

Security Analysis (FIN 463)

Options & Futures (FIN 467)

Portfolio Practicum (FIN 468)  

Teaching Interests

• Investments
• Advanced Financial Theory
• Managerial Economics

Other Courses

• Great Books, Catholic Social Teaching & Economic Thought
• Business Ethics and The Gospel

Past Institutional Service Includes:

• Finance PhD Program Director
• Finance Search Committee chair
• CoB PhD Committee
• UNL Graduate Council
• NU Executive Graduate Council
• UNL Social and Behavioral Sciences Research Consortium Advisory Board Member