Finance, Innovation and Governance

How can finance accelerate the ecological transition? The team studies the ESG ratings given to companies: how they are built, why they differ from one rating agency to another, and how investors can use them. It analyses the market for green and sustainable bonds, issued by companies and local authorities alike, and questions the real value of certifying them. It also examines companies’ exposure to climate risk and their efforts in green innovation. This work helps executives, investors and public authorities identify credible commitments.

Technology companies rely heavily on venture capital. Investors review a very large number of proposals and fund only a few: the team analyses how they make these choices, and how the composition of boards of directors then shapes start-up growth. It looks at the value of digital and high-tech companies, which is hard to estimate with standard methods, and at mergers and acquisitions in these sectors. Finally, it studies how large groups decide to invest and allocate resources across their businesses, taking risk into account. This research is aimed at entrepreneurs, executives and those who finance innovation.

Blockchain, artificial intelligence, platforms: technology is reshaping financial services. The team studies decentralised finance and its practical uses (digital assets, automated contracts, new forms of collective retirement savings), as well as the effect of blockchain adoption on companies’ environmental and social performance. It looks at automated financial advisers and what they change for households: understanding of products, retirement planning, access to responsible investment. It also develops methods based on artificial intelligence to value complex financial products. The aim: to identify the innovations that are truly useful and to measure their risks.

Living longer, facing more frequent climate disasters, getting through financial crises: these are risks that must be measured, shared and financed. The team studies the financing of retirement and long-term care (annuities, collective savings, releasing the value of older people’s homes) and the decisions savers make when faced with these products. It analyses the role of insurance and reinsurance in the face of climate change, and the effects of rules designed to preserve the stability of the financial system. It also designs risk management tools that remain reliable when data are incomplete or models uncertain. This work is aimed at insurers, investors, regulators and households.

The accounts and indicators that companies publish guide the decisions of investors, banks and analysts. The team studies the quality of this information, how companies present it (earnings, performance indicators, environmental and social data) and how its perceived by investors. It also examines the role of accounting inside the company: managing performance, supplier relationships, governance. Finally, it looks at accounting rules themselves and their effects on companies and society. This work is aimed at finance departments, auditors, investors and standard setters.