GJERGJI CICI
Mason School of Business
College of William and Mary
P.O. Box 8795
Williamsburg, VA 23187-8795
Phone 757/221-1826
Fax 757/221-2937
gjergji.cici@mason.wm.edu
EDUCATION
Ph.D. in Finance, Carlson School of Management, University of Minnesota, July 2004
B.S. in Business Administration, With Distinction, Carlson School of Management,
University of Minnesota, August 1998; Major-Finance; Minor-Economics
EXPERIENCE
2006- Present
Mason School of Business, College of William & Mary
Assistant Professor of Finance
-Corporate Finance Career Acceleration Module (MBA)
-Valuation & Corporate Financial Strategy (Undergraduate)
-Undergraduate Student Managed Fund (Undergraduate)
11/2008
Center for Financial Research, University of Cologne
Guest Lecturer on Mutual Fund Research
-Four Ph.D. level sessions
2004-2006
WRDS (Wharton Research Data Services), Wharton School
Associate Director of Research
2003-2004
Cornell University, School of Hotel Administration
Visiting Assistant Professor/Senior Lecturer
-Introduction to Corporate Finance
-Security Analysis & Advanced Portfolio Management
-Independent study on the use of neural networks for predicting
stock returns.
2001-2003
University of Minnesota, Carlson School of Management
Instructor
-Finance Fundamentals
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RESEARCH INTERESTS
Portfolio performance evaluation, institutional investors, agency issues in the mutual fund
industry, behavioral finance
PUBLISHED PAPERS
1. The Performance of Corporate-Bond Mutual Funds: Evidence Based on SecurityLevel Holdings, Forthcoming, (with Scott Gibson), Journal of Financial and
Quantitative Analysis
2. Missing the Marks: Dispersion in Corporate Bond Valuations across Mutual Funds,
Forthcoming, (with Scott Gibson and John Merrick), Journal of Financial
Economics
* Winner of the Society of Quantitative Analysts Award for the best paper in quantitative
investments at the Western Finance Association 2008 Conference.
3. Can Fund Managers Select Outperforming Reits? Examining Fund Holdings and
Trades, Forthcoming, (with Jack Corgel and Scott Gibson), Real Estate Economics
* Top Ten Most Downloaded Paper on SSRN's list for Real Estate as of 02/08/2010
4. The Index Fund Rationality Paradox, 2010, (with Michael Boldin), Journal of
Banking and Finance 34, 33-43.
5. Mutual Fund Performance when Parent Firms Simultaneously Manage Hedge Funds,
2010, (with Scott Gibson and Rabih Moussawi), Journal of Financial
Intermediation 19, 169-187.
6. Does Motivation Matter When Assessing Trade Performance? An Analysis of Mutual
Funds, 2007, (with Gordon Alexander and Scott Gibson), Review of Financial
Studies 20,125-150.
COMPLETED WORKING PAPERS
1. The Relation of the Disposition Effect to Mutual Fund Trades and Performance
2. Caught in the Act: How Hedge Funds Manipulate Their Equity Positions, Alexander
Kempf and Alexander Puetz
3. On the Use of Options by Mutual Funds: Do They Know What They Are Doing?
with Luis Palacios
4. An Analysis of the Relation Between Sector Fund Flows and Underlying Security
Returns, with Gordon Alexander and Scott Gibson.
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RESEARCH PRESENTATIONS
11/2003
11/2003
01/2004
01/2004
02/2004
10/2004
10/2004
12/2004
12/2004
06/2005
11/2005
12/2005
01/2006
05/2008
09/2008
11/2008
University of Minnesota
College of William & Mary
University of Central Florida
Cornell University
University of Southern Illinois at Carbondale
Barclays Global Investors
SUNY Buffalo
Suffolk University
Clarkson University
WRDS Seminar Series, Wharton School
Temple University
William and Mary
Virginia Commonwealth University
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA)
Securities and Exchange Commission
University of Cologne
CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS
(* Presentation by Co-author)
10/2004
01/2005
02/2005
03/2005
10/2005
03/2006
06/2006
06/2006
10/2006
11/2006
03/2007
05/2007
03/2008
06/2008
06/2008
06/2008
07/2010
01/2011
Financial Management Association Meeting, New Orleans
American Finance Association Meeting, Philadelphia
Reflow Symposium, Squaw Valley
Midwest Finance Association Meeting, Milwaukee
Financial Management Association Meeting, Chicago
Mid-Atlantic Research Conference in Finance, Villanova University
Frank Batten Young Scholars Conference, College of William and Mary*
Western Finance Association Meeting, Colorado*
Financial Management Association Meeting, Salt Lake City*
CRSP Forum, Chicago*
Mid-Atlantic Research Conference in Finance, Villanova University*
Financial Management Association European Meeting, Barcelona *
One-day Conference on Professional Asset Management, Erasmus
University, Rotterdam
Second European Conference on Financial Regulation and Supervision,
Bocconi University
Financial Management Association European Meeting, Prague*
Western Finance Association Meeting, Hawaii
Financial Intermediation Research Society (FIRS) Conference, Florence*
American Finance Association Meeting, Denver (scheduled)
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PAPER DISCUSSIONS
1. Frank Batten Young Scholars Conference, 2007: "Advisory Contracts: Single versus
Declining Compensation Rates,” by George Cashman
2. Financial Management Association Meetings, 2006: "Momentum and Credit Rating"
by Avramov, Doron, Chordia, Tarun, Jostova, Gergana and Philipov, Alexander.
3. Financial Management Association Meetings, 2005: "The Life Cycle of Hedge
Funds: Fund Flows, Size and Performance," by Getmansky, Mila.
4. Eastern Finance Association Meetings, 2005: "Noise Trader Risk: Evidence from the
Siamese Twins" by Scruggs, John.
COVERAGE IN REGULATORY PUBLICATIONS BY PAPER
Mutual Fund Performance when Parent Firms Simultaneously Manage Hedge
Funds.
1. Memorandum: “Literature Review on Independent Mutual Fund Chairs and Directors”, Office of
Economic Analysis – SEC, December 29, 2006
Missing the Marks: Dispersion in Corporate Bond Valuations across Mutual Funds.
2. Release No. 34-63346: “Regulation SBSR – Reporting and Dissemination of Security-Based
Swap Information”- SEC, (Proposed Regulation), November 19, 2010.
3. Person, Ola: “Expansion of TRACE in the U.S. Fixed Income OTC Market”, Focus (Monthly
newsletter of World Federation of Exchanges), No 204, February 2010.
(http://live.wfe.precedenthost.co.uk/files/focus/pdf/FOCUS%200210.pdf)
4. Consultation paper (CESR/08-1014) prepared by THE COMMITTEE OF EUROPEAN
SECURITIES REGULATORS entitled “Transparency of corporate bond, structured finance
product and credit derivatives markets” (http://www.cesr-eu.org/popup2.php?id=5434)
COVERAGE IN FINANCIAL PRESS AND PRACTITIONER PUBLICATIONS
BY PAPER
Does Motivation Matter When Assessing Trade Performance? An Analysis of
Mutual Funds.
5. Carrel, Lawrence: “A Push Is On for Actively Managed ETFs”, The Street.Com, January 2, 2008
6. Wiandt, Jim: “A Limit on Good Ideas”, Journal of Indexes, May 1, 2007.
7. Knight, Rebecca: “Investment Vehicle Could Be a “Better Mousetrap” for Managers”, Financial
Times, January 30, 2007
8. Hulbert, Mark: “It’s Not the Manager. It’s the Liquidity”, New York Times, January 7, 2007.
9. Strauss, Lawrence: “Wisdom Tree Thinks It Has a Better Idea”, Barron’s, January 1, 2007.
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10. Wenning, Todd: “Yes, You Can Beat the Market”, The Motley Fool, November 20, 2006.
11. Mahar, Jim: “SSRN-Does Motivation Matter When Assessing Trade Performance? An Analysis
of Mutual Funds by Gordon Alexander, Gjergji Cici, George Gibson.” FinanceProfessor.com,
January 26, 2005.
Mutual Fund Performance when Parent Firms Simultaneously Manage Hedge
Funds.
12. ICI Mutual Insurance Company: “Managing Risks in Trade Allocation: Fiduciary, Regulatory,
and Practical Considerations, Part I”, The Investment Lawyer, Vol 15, No 11, November 2008.
13. Glover, Hannah: “Conflicts in Side-by-Side Management: Mutual Funds Suffer When Managers
Also Run Hedge Funds”, Money Management Executive, March 19, 2007.
14. Strauss, Lawrence: “New Study on Old Controversy”, Barron’s, February 19, 2007.
15. Shari, Michael: “Side-By-Side Surprise”, Institutional Investor, February 7, 2007
16. Wasick, John: “Dual Hedge-Mutual Fund Managers Face Conflicts”, Bloomberg, November 27,
2006
17. Laise, Eleanor: “Is Your Fund Manager Two-Timing You”, Wall Street Journal, November 1,
2006.
18. Lavine, Alan: “Sub-Advisors Are in the House”, Financial Advisor, November, 2006
19. Baum, Eric: “Side-By-Side Funds Manage Around Conflicts”, Absolute Return, November 2006.
20. Bauch, Michael: “Side-By-Side Management May Favor Hedge Over Mutual Funds”
Investopedia, September 18, 2006.
(http://www.investopedia.com/articles/mutualfund/06/sidebysidemanage.asp)
21. Hulbert, Mark: “Which Fund Does an Adviser Love More?” New York Times, July 9, 2006.
The Index Fund Rationality Paradox.
22. Powers, Gordon: “Investors Often Make Poor Index-Fund Decisions”, Investment Executive,
October, 2007
23. Haslem, John: “The Index Fund Rationality Paradox”, Journal of Indexes, July/August, 2007
24. Brown, Neil and De Figueiredo, Rui: “Hedge Funds and the Active” Management Industry”
Citigroup Alternative Investments Journal, Winter 2007
The Relation of the Disposition Effect to Mutual Fund Trades and Performance.
25. Ervolini, Michael: “The Information Advantage: An Analytical Approach to Enhancing Mutual
Fund Performance”, Investment & Wealth Monitor (Investment Management Consultants
Association), May 2008
26. Appell, Douglas, “Managers' behavioral biases get once-over from software; Analytic system
spots potential problems without value judgments”, Pensions & Investments, June 2006
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Caught in the Act: How Hedge Funds Manipulate Their Equity Positions
27. Bernau, Patrick: “Zu Gut, um Wahr zu Sein”, Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung, October
17, 2010.
28. “Grey Matters”, Cayman Financial Review, October 6, 2010.
29. “Hedge Funds”, Bloomberg Brief, September 21, 2010.
30. Holt, Christopher: “Why Some Hedge Funds Appear to Be Fudging Valuations”, Seeking Alpha,
September 13, 2010.
Can Fund Managers Select Outperforming Reits? Examining Fund Holdings and
Trades
31. “Study finds evidence of alpha in an often-overlooked alternative asset class: REITs”, All About
Alpha, September 19, 2010.
SERVICE
1. Ad hoc referee: Journal of Finance, Review of Financial Studies, Journal of
Financial Intermediation, Financial Review, European Financial Management,
Financial Management
2. Faculty Co-Advisor for the William & Mary team in preparation for the Virginia
CFA Undergraduate Investment Challenge, 2007-2008, 2008-2009, 2009-2010
3. Member of the Organizing Committee, Frank Batten Conference, 2007
4. WRDS Representative for William and Mary, 2007-on
5. Member of the Program Committee, Midwest Finance Association, 2006
HONORS, AWARDS, AND FELLOWSHIPS
1. Research Fellow, Centre for Financial Research (CFR), University of Cologne,
Germany, 2010-Present
2. Society of Quantitative Analysts Award for the best paper in quantitative investments
at the Western Finance Association Conference 2008
3. Geary Faculty Fellowship, The College of William and Mary, Spring 2008.
• Selected in recognition of achievements as faculty advisors for the William and
Mary CFA Investment Challenge teams.
4. Research grants for undergraduate student-assisted research, Mason School of
Business, 2006, 2007, and 2008
5. Invited to the Investment Company Institute Conferences, 2006 and 2008
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6. Invited to Tenth Mitsui Life Symposium on Institutional Investors, University of
Michigan (06/2005)
7. Ph.D. program fellowship, Carlson School of Management, (1998-2003)
8. Academic scholarship, International Student and Scholar Services, University of
Minnesota, (1996-1998)
9. Academic scholarship, “George Soros” Educational Foundation in Albania (19941996)
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