Travis Zhao, CFA

Ph.D. Candidate in Finance · Isenberg School of Management, University of Massachusetts Amherst

I study institutional investors and information in financial markets, with a focus on hedge funds, disclosure, and informed trading. My research examines how sophisticated investors disclose portfolio information, respond to geopolitical risk, and trade around corporate events.

My job market paper, Who Signs Matters? Compliance Titles and Hedge Fund 13F Disclosures, examines how the allocation of formal reporting responsibility within hedge funds relates to subsequent filing amendments and market responses to restatements. My other work studies hedge fund performance under U.S.–China tensions and informed option trading before data breach announcements.

Before my doctoral studies, I worked in investment management and banking in Hong Kong and Beijing, China. I am a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) charterholder. I am on the 2026–27 academic job market.