Meet Dr. Yifan Liu

Dr. Yifan Liu began his career as an assistant professor of finance at the McCoy College of Business in 2020. He conducts research in many areas of finance and economics and his first area of study consisted of analyzing the motivations behind stock repurchase programs. 

Dr. Liu earned a bachelor’s in finance from the Hunan Normal University and worked at a chemical company that specialized in skincare products for the next two years. Soon after that, he traveled to the United States to pursue an MBA at Eastern Illinois University. He later completed his Ph.D. in Finance from Oklahoma State University. 

“Basically, I investigate why public firms buy back their own stocks,” Dr. Liu said. “Some firms buy back their own stocks to increase financial flexibility and create value for their stockholders while others buy back their own stocks simply to inflate their earnings per share and to mislead the stockholders.”

Dr. Liu also studies currency exchange rates and how they change in relation to economic and political news — for example, how exchange rates fluctuated in reaction to President Joe Biden’s announcement of the infrastructure bill, or in response to Federal Reserve tweets by former President Donald Trump.

When collaborating with colleagues on academic projects, Dr. Liu has a strong work ethic and can keep a pulse on changes in the world in relation to his research.

“One unique skill I have is my capability of working with very large data,” Dr. Liu said. “For example, the exchange rate information I use is high frequency data. It is not easy to work with this kind of data but with these kinds of skills, it allows me to precisely identify the changes in exchange rates.”

In his free time, Dr. Liu enjoys playing basketball and spending time with his family. When at home, he enjoys watching movies including favorites such as The Grand Budapest Hotel and Pan’s Labyrinth. Dr. Liu also appreciates a good novel — two of his favorites are Wuthering Heights and 100 Years of Solitude. ✯