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Dr. Dunhong Jin is a theoretical financial economist, specializing in security design and asset management fields. After graduating from Oxford University, Dr. Jin decided to come to Hong Kong in August 2020 and become an Assistant Professor in Finance.

Dr. Dunhong Jin is a theoretical financial economist, specializing in security design and asset management fields. After graduating from Oxford University, Dr. Jin decided to come to Hong Kong in August 2020 and become an Assistant Professor in Finance.

In retrospect, Dr. Jin believes that her doctoral studies in Oxford was a life-changing experience. The serendipity to share experience and camaraderie with insightful mentors and comrades has rendered Dr. Jin to become a humble yet erudite scholar, guiding young people through education.

Dr. Jin comments that humans spend a lifetime in search of meaning and only a few have ever succeeded. “But referring from what the late novelist W. Somerset Maugham said in The Razor’s Edge: ‘When a man becomes pure and perfect the influence of his character spreads so that they who seek truth are naturally drawn to him. It may be that if I lead the life I’ve planned for myself it may affect others; the effect may be no greater than the ripple caused by a stone thrown in a pond, but one ripple causes another, and that one a third; it’s just possible that a few people will see that my way of life offers happiness and peace, and that they in their turn will teach what they have learnt to others’,” she said. She believes that this subtle influence on the youth would be meaningful, and she enjoys the tranquillity and freedom offered by an academic life.

Dr. Jin told us that teaching postgraduate and undergraduate level students are intrinsically different. As she will be teaching postgraduate students after joining us, Dr. Jin aims to broaden their horizons and help them to establish higher goals, so as to hone their business acumen in making better judgment. With regards to this, Dr. Jin has two recommendations to give. First, try to sponge up as much knowledge as possible in your undergraduate years and explore all feasible directions. You will find how romantic and serendipitous it is. Second, as finance is an applied discipline, you will inevitably feel impetuous in job hunting. She reminds students to balance their expectations in monetary rewards and aspirations, instead of recklessly venturing into a traditional career track with mundane repetitive work. As only when you have a thorough understanding over the market, you can make informed decisions while pursuing your goals.

As a scholar specialised in theoretical models, Dr. Jin sees the beauty of theories in its power to map out a coherent and consistent framework for multiple empirical relationships, and how these individual effects relate to each other. Although she started off as a mathematician, she is deeply attracted by the rich potential and abundant agenda that the area of finance can offer.

Besides theoretical attempt, Dr. Jin also looks into the liquidity management of open-end funds and how that averts financial fragility during stress periods, utilizing unique and confidential data from Financial Conduct Authority in the UK. The paper is published in the renowned Review of Financial Studies.

Corporate bond mutual funds are associated with significant liquidity mismatch problem, and thus suffer high run risks amidst macroeconomic shocks. Against this backdrop, the swing pricing mechanism, which adjusts fund price so as to pass on the liquidation cost to the redeeming investors, is introduced by regulators to attempt to alleviate this phenomenon. Counting on end-investor level data, the paper shows that the new pricing mechanism eliminates the first-mover advantage and helps funds retain their investor capital during stress periods.

Dr. Jin loves art, literature, classical music, and history. Hence to her, Hong Kong is not only the jackpot for financial research, the city’s unique historical background and diverse culture have strongly resonated to her soul. “As my hobbies are deeply rooted in both traditional Chinese culture and Western art, Hong Kong as the bridge between the East and the West is really fascinating,” she said.

The collision between the charisma of HKU and the young vibrant nature of its Business School has radiated an irresistible aura. “I am impressed by the innovative and integrated research conducted by the group, and more so by the noble character of its scholars,” she added.