After completing his PhD in Finance at Aston Business School in Birmingham, United Kingdom, Björn was keen to move back to Sweden and it felt like a natural choice to seek employment at the Stockholm University School of Business. Björn began as a guest researcher and is now a lecturer in Finance, a position he really enjoys. He likes the role as dissertation supervisor the most:
- It gives me the opportunity to get to know my students and I always learn a lot.
What is it like to be a lecturer at the School of Business and which courses do you teach?
- I teach Fixed Income Securities (FIX) and Research Methods for Accounting and Finance (FRF). In addition to this I supervise dissertations within finance. I really enjoy my job, especially supervising and helping students with their dissertations. It gives me the opportunity to get to know my students and I always learn a lot.
You are also a researcher, what do you do research about?
- I analyse liquidity on the equity market. To simplify, I look at transaction costs within stock trading and how the market price is affected when you buy or sell large quantities of stock. Since transaction costs often undermine the return of share holdings fund brokers have to keep a close eye on the liquidity in order to make the right decisions. The importance of this became increasingly evident during the worst part of the recent financial crisis when liquidity fell dramatically.
Several researchers within the finance team are interested in how financial markets are composed and structured and how various trade regulations and institutions affect trading. Since the market is in constant transformation this is a very interesting phenomenon to study.
Why did you become a researcher?
- After finishing my Masters degree I still felt like there was a lot I wanted to learn. I was curious and very keen to do a PhD. I think my desire for knowledge and the fact that I like to find solutions to problems drive me to continue.
What is the main difference between business schools in Sweden and the UK?
- A hierarchical structure is much more evident in the UK, both amongst colleagues and between teacher and student. In Sweden we value the informal much more and this allows for more constructive ideas to form and be heard. The students are also much younger in the UK which of course affects their ability to take responsibility.
Where do you see yourself in ten years?
- It is impossible to say for sure, but the odds for me continuing to analyse financial economy is low.