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Finance

Norman Strunk Professor of Financial Institutions

Professor of Finance

Portrait of Michael J. Fishman, Faculty at the Kellogg School of Management

Michael Fishman is the Norman Strunk Professor of Financial Institutions. He was the Senior Associate Dean, Curriculum & Teaching from 2011-2014. He was the Senior Associate Dean, Faculty & Research from 2018-2021. 

Professor Fishman has published widely in finance and economics. His research focuses on financial market regulation and contracting. Recently, he has investigated insider trading, disclosure regulations, the role of self-regulatory organizations, and long-term financial contracting. He has won a number of research awards including the Smith Breeden Prize, awarded by the American Finance Association. He co-edited A Primer on Securitization (MIT Press, 1996). Professor Fishman has been on the editorial boards of a number of finance journals.

The graduates of Kellogg's Executive Masters Program chose Professor Fishman for the Outstanding Professor Award in 1995, 1997, 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009. He received his Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Chicago.

About Michael
Research interests
  • Regulation of financial markets
  • financial contracting
  • corporate finance
Teaching interests
  • Corporate finance
  • PhD, 1986, Economics, University of Chicago
    MA, 1982, Economics, University of Chicago
    BA, 1979, Economics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
  • Senior Associate Dean, Faculty and Research, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University, 2018-present
    Senior Associate Dean: Curriculum & Teaching, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University, 2011-2014
    Norman Strunk Distinguished Professor of Financial Institutions, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University, 1997-present
    Chair, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University, 2002-2005
    Associate Professor of Finance, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University, 1992-1997
    Assistant Professor of FInance, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University, 1985-1992
  • EMPOutstandingTeachingAward, Executive MBA Program Outstanding Teaching Awards, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 1997, 1995
    Sidney J. Levy Teaching Award, Kellogg School of Management, 2008-2009, 2004-2005, 1993-1994
    Runner Up for the 2008 Barclays Global Investors/ Michael Brennan Best Paper Award, Review of Financial Studies
  • Associate Editor, Review of Corporate Finance Studies, 2011-2021
    Associate Editor, Journal of Financial Intermediation, 1993-2021
    Board Editor, American Economic Review, 2011-2014
    Editor, Review of Financial Studies, 1998-2002

Corporate Finance I (FINC-586-1)

This course introduces students to theories of corporate financing and investment decisions; optimal financial contracting and security design; financial intermediation; and financial crises. Throughout we study the effects of incentive problems and asymmetric information.