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Charles M. C. Lee
Professor of Accounting
Kermit O. Hanson Professor in Accounting

Education

  • PhD Cornell University (1990)
  • MBA Cornell University (1989)
  • BMath University of Waterloo (1981)

Expertise

behavioral finance, financial accounting, portfolio management

Positions Held

Academic Appointments
Hanson Professor of Accounting, Foster School of Business, University of Washington, 2022 - present
Moghadam Family Professor, Emeritus, Stanford GSB, 2022 - present
Moghadam Family Professor and Professor of Accounting, Stanford GSB, 2015 - 2021
Joseph McDonald Professor of Accounting, Stanford GSB, 2009-2015
Visiting Professor of Accounting, Stanford GSB, 2008-2009
Henrietta Johnson Louis Professor of Management, Cornell Johnson Graduate School of Management, 1998-2007
Associate Professor of Accounting, Cornell Johnson Graduate School of Management, 1996-1997
Associate Professor of Accounting, University of Michigan, 1994-1996
Assistant Professor of Accounting, University of Michigan, 1990-1994

Professional Experience
Co-founder and General Partner, Nipun Capital LP, 2011-2017
Global Head of Equity Research, Barclays Global Investors (now Blackrock), 2006-2008
Head of U.S. Equity Research, Barclays Global Investors (now Blackrock), 2005-2006
Director of Accounting Research, Barclays Global Investors (now Blackrock), 2004-2004
Visiting Research Economist, New York Stock Exchange, 1995-1996
Senior Manager (last position held), National Research Department of KPMG Peat Marwick Thorne, Toronto, Canada, 1982-1985

NASD Economic Advisory Board (2001-2003)
AIMR Council for Education and Research (1999-2001)
WFA & AFA Program Selection Committee
Accounting Area External Review Committee – Stanford (2003); Berkeley (2003)

Selected Publications

“ETFs and the Wash Sale Loophole”
Dambra, M. J., Glover, A., Lee, C., & Quinn, P. J., (forthcoming). Management Science.

“Local-Thinking Bias”
Dehaan, E., Lee, C., & Loh, W. T., (forthcoming). The Accounting Review.

“Production Complementarity and Information Transmission Across Industries”
Lee, C., Shi, T., Sun, S., & Zhang, R., (2024). Journal of Financial Economics.

“ELPR: A New Measure of Capital Adequacy for Commercial Banks”
Lee, C., Wang, Y., & Zhong, Q., (2024). The Accounting Review.

“Gate Fees: The Pervasive Effect of IPO Restrictions on Chinese Equity Markets”
Lee, C., Qu, Y., & Shen, T., (2023). Review of Finance.

“Why Do Predicted Stock Issuers Earn Low Returns?”
Lee, C., & Li, K., (2023). Review of Asset Pricing Studies.

“Shall We Talk? The Role of Interactive Investor Platforms in Corporate Communication”
Lee, C., & Zhong, Q., (2022). Journal of Accounting and Economics.

“Active Funds and Bundled News”
Lee, C., & Zhu, C., (2022). The Accounting Review, Vol. 97(1), pp. 315–339.

“A Frog in Every Pan: Information Discreteness and the Lead–Lag Returns Puzzle”
Huang, S., Lee, C., Xiang, H., & Song, Y., (2022). Journal of Financial Economics, Vol. 145, pp. 83–102.

“Tick Size Tolls: Can a Trading Slowdown Improve Price Discovery of Earnings News?”
Lee, C., & Watts, E., (2021). The Accounting Review, Vol. 96(3), pp. 373–401.

“Evaluating Firm-Level Expected Return Proxies: Implications for Estimating Treatment Effects”
Lee, C., So, E., & Wang, C., (2021). Review of Financial Studies, Vol. 34(4), pp. 1907–1951.

“Technological Links and Return Predictability”
Lee, C., Sun, S., Wang, R., & Zhang, R., (2019). Journal of Financial Economics, Vol. 132, pp. 76–96.

“Is There a Dark Side to Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs)? An Information Perspective”
Israeli, D., Lee, C., & Sridharan, S., (2017). Review of Accounting Studies, Vol. 22, pp. 1048–1083.

“Uncovering Expected Returns: Information in Analyst Coverage Proxies”
Lee, C., & So, E., (2017). Journal of Financial Economics, Vol. 124, pp. 331–348.

“In Short Supply: Short-Sellers and Stock Returns”
Beneish, D., Lee, C., & Nichols, C., (2015). Journal of Accounting and Economics, Vol. 60, pp. 33–57.

“Shell Games: The Long-Term Performance of Chinese Reverse Merger Firms”
Lee, C., Li, K., & Zhang, R., (2015). The Accounting Review, Vol. 90(4), pp. 1547–1589.

“Search-Based Peer Firms: Aggregating Investor Perception Through Internet Co-Searches”
Lee, C., Ma, P., & Wang, C., (2015). Journal of Financial Economics, Vol. 116(2), pp. 410–431.

Honors and Awards

Best Paper Award, AAA Spark Conference, Western Regional, 2021

Teaching Excellence Award in all three Stanford GSB degree programs (the MBA Program, 2017; the PHD program, 2013; the MSx Program, 2011 and 2012)

First place, Q Group’s Roger F. Murray Prize research competition, 2018

AAA Innovation in Financial Accounting Education Award, 2017

AAA Presidential Scholar (Keynote Speaker at the AAA Annual Meeting), 2015

Faculty of Mathematics Alumni Achievement Medal, University of Waterloo, 2014

Notable Contribution to Accounting Literature Award, AAA, 2003

Cornell Johnson School The Apple Award for Teaching Excellence in MBA Program: 1997, 2000, 2003

Cornell Johnson School Stephen Russell Distinguished Teaching Award, 2002

Michigan Business School Award for Teaching Excellence (PhD Program, 1995; MBA Program 1994)

Courses Taught

ACCT 596 Market Efficiency and Informational Arbitrage (PhD Seminar)
ACCT 579 Alphanomics: Active Investing in Equity Markets

Charles M. C. Lee

Academic Department

Accounting

Academic Service

American Accounting Association (AAA)
AAA New Faculty Consortium: Distinguished Lecturer (1998, 1999, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2009, 2016, 2020, 2021, 2022); Team Leader (1995, 1996); Planning Committee (1998-1999)
AAA Doctoral Consortium: Distinguished Visiting Faculty (1999, 2003, 2012, 2017, 2018)

Stanford University
University Advisory Board; one of seven faculty members responsible for advising the Provost on Campus-wide A&P and other academic-related matters (2018-2021); GSB Deans’ Advisory Group (2012-2015)

Editorial Boards
Review of Accounting Studies, Co-Editor (1996-2006)
Journal of Finance, Associate Editor (2000-2003)
The Accounting Review, Co-Editor (2011-2014)
Journal of Accounting and Economics, Associate Editor (2000-2006)
Management Science (Finance), Associate Editor (2009-2011)
Journal of Accounting Research, Editorial Board (2001-2003)
Financial Analysts Journal, Associate Editor (1999-2008)

Current Research

human cognitive constraints on market participants, behavioral finance, market microstructure, equity valuation, financial analysis, quantitative investing, security market regulation