Gertjan Verdickt

For decades, we have embraced the rise of passive investing (hammock investing) as the ultimate democratization of the financial markets. The gospel of low costs, broad diversification, and market returns seemed infallible. But while passive assets under management have climbed to astronomical levels, a wave of critical academic research reveals a troubling paradox: the instrument designed to help investors may be structurally distorting the market and ultimately diminishing their wealth.

A targeted educational intervention can break the free dividends fallacy among retail investors. The result: a lasting behavioral change that reveals how fragile—yet how malleable—the demand for dividends truly is.

A groundbreaking study shows that “superstar cities” systematically lag in total returns — a crucial insight for valuing REITs (real estate investment trusts). The explanation lies in lower rental yields and surprisingly low risk, which fundamentally changes how future cash flows should be assessed.

Wat als de sleutel tot het begrijpen van marktrendementen niet in de balansen van bedrijven ligt, maar in de portefeuilles van de mensen die ze bezitten?

For decades, it was an iron law for investors: in the long run, the stock market follows economic growth. A thriving economy translated into rising corporate profits and thus higher share prices. But anyone who has watched the past thirty years closely senses a growing friction with this old wisdom.

Should you invest in crypto? A fundamental question for every investor. In a paper, Ran Duchin, David H. Solomon, Jun Tu, and Xi Wang reach a surprising and provocative conclusion.

In a world where climate risk is becoming an increasingly prominent factor, I argue that the psychological perception of this risk has a significant and measurable impact on asset prices.

In the world of investment advice, a new player has emerged that leaves traditional analysts behind: the finfluencer. A recent study by Vaibhav Lalwani on financial YouTubers in India reveals fascinating insights into how these unregulated advisers influence markets. Insights that institutional investors cannot afford to ignore.

Beta shows to what extent a portfolio moves in line with the market. But how well do investors really understand this relationship?

Large language models may seem brilliant at making predictions, but often it’s just memorization. And that has implications for investors relying on LLMs for economic analysis.