New membersā€™ first meeting with the full board will be on Friday, Oct. 9 as part of Homecoming & Reunion Weekend.

Andrew Gillette ā€™08
Andrew Gillette is the lead commercial architect at EY. He received his Bachelor of Arts in Economics from ĀŅĀ׏Óʵ and his Master of Business Administration from the UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School in 2017. He regularly shares his expertise with students in the Martha and Spencer Love School of Business by serving as a judge for their undergraduate case competition and at the Tremont Center in Charlotte.

While at ĀŅĀ׏Óʵ, Gillette was active with Sigma Phi Epsilon, as an Isabella Cannon Leadership Fellow, and with ĀŅĀ׏Óʵ Volunteers!.

Dan Hanson ā€™05
Dan Hanson is currently the change management lead at Under Armour. He received his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Broadcast Communications from ĀŅĀ׏Óʵ and a Master of Arts in Government from Johns Hopkins University. Dan has stayed actively engaged with ĀŅĀ׏Óʵ and his alumni network since graduating and has also served on the Young Alumni Council.

Hanson lives in Baltimore with his wife Kristin Simonetti Hanson ā€™05.

Jeff Michel ā€™83
Jeff Michel was a member of the ĀŅĀ׏Óʵ Football Team and Kappa Alpha fraternity during his time at ĀŅĀ׏Óʵ. Since graduating, he has remained connected to ĀŅĀ׏Óʵ through the Phoenix CLub and ĀŅĀ׏Óʵ Athletics, Life @ ĀŅĀ׏Óʵ and as a regular volunteer.

Michel lives in Burlington, North Carolina and serves as a vice president at Glen Raven.

Caroline York-Ingram ā€™12 Gā€™15
While at ĀŅĀ׏Óʵ, Caroline York-Ingram was active with Omicron Delta Kappa, ĀŅĀ׏Óʵ Research Forum, Summer Fellow, ĀŅĀ׏Óʵ Campus Visit Assistant, was a Leadership Fellow, and a Watson-Odyssey Scholar. She received both her Bachelor of Science and Master of Physician Assistant Studies from ĀŅĀ׏Óʵ. As an alumna, she has served as an ĀŅĀ׏Óʵ Q&A volunteer, Class Speaker and ĀŅĀ׏Óʵ Day volunteer.

Currently, York-Ingram is a Physician Assistant at Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist and lives in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

It started as a conversation between friends. A memory from the Ecuadorian Amazon. A question asked after a trip that left them curious about guayusa, a leaf long consumed by Indigenous communities for focus and energy. It had become months of supplier calls, product tests, faculty feedback, formulation decisions and late nights spent figuring out how to turn a shared vision into something real.

Now, the plant-based energy drink they built together is ready for distribution and is being sold at The Oak House at ĀŅĀ׏Óʵ.

For Vargas-Lopez and Chiriboga, the milestone carries them back to McEwen Dining Hall on campus, where their friendship began during their first year at ĀŅĀ׏Óʵ in 2022.

Chiriboga, an entrepreneurship major from Quito, Ecuador, and Vargas-Lopez, a sport management major from Austin, Texas, quickly connected over language, culture, soccer and a shared curiosity about the world. They became close friends long before they became business partners.

The idea for YAPA came later, after Chiriboga brought Vargas-Lopez to visit his home country during Thanksgiving break of their sophomore year. It was Vargas-Lopezā€™s first time in South America, and the trip included time in the Amazon rainforest, where the two were struck by what Chiriboga describes as the ā€œimmensityā€ of the Amazon, from its abundance of life to the plants that have long shaped daily living in the region.

ā€œWe came back from visiting the Amazon forest and were just talking through the trip,ā€ Vargas-Lopez says. ā€œThatā€™s when the idea came out. What if we took one of those plants and built a drink around it?ā€

That question became YAPA, a plant-based energy drink made from guayusa and a larger idea of giving people something more than expected.

The companyā€™s name comes from an Andean expression. In Ecuador, ā€œyapaā€ refers to a small token added with generosity. At a market, it might be an extra piece of fruit. At a family table, it might be a little more food on someoneā€™s plate.

ā€œItā€™s a little extra you were not expecting,ā€ Chiriboga says. ā€œThat is what we want the product to feel like.ā€

Building From the Ground Up

Once the idea took hold, Vargas-Lopez and Chiriboga began studying the beverage industry, talking with community members in Ecuador, seeking feedback from mentors and testing whether their concept could become a real business.

They were drawn to the growing interest in cleaner, more transparent beverage options.

ā€œI think the issue we were looking at was the energy drink industry and what a lot of those products contain,ā€ Chiriboga says. ā€œWe saw people looking more for clean-label, natural ingredients and more transparency in what they consume.ā€

That focus helped define YAPAā€™s direction. They describe the drink as plant-based and made without preservatives, with an emphasis on ingredient transparency, quality and sourcing. Its ingredients include guayusa along with hibiscus, turmeric, ginger, prebiotics and electrolytes, each chosen with a purpose.

For the founders, the product also carries a connection to the place that inspired it.

We came back from visiting the Amazon forest and were just talking through the trip. Thatā€™s when the idea came out. What if we took one of those plants and built a drink around it?Ā ā€”Ā Bernardo Vargas-Lopez ā€™26

In the Amazon, Chiriboga says, guayusa is traditionally consumed in community. People gather early in the morning, drink together and share their dreams before beginning the day. The leaf is associated with focus and energy, but not the jittery rush often linked with conventional energy drinks.

ā€œIt gives you that mental clarity and that energy that you need without being hyper,ā€ Chiriboga says.

Turning that inspiration into a company required more than enthusiasm. The two spent months working through sourcing, formulation, packaging, shipping, pricing and compliance while balancing college life.

They also made early decisions about where they would not compromise, even when higher standards meant harder financial choices.

ā€œWe decided there were a few strategic points where we would not go for lower quality,ā€ Chiriboga says. ā€œStarting from ingredients and sourcing, we were not going to sacrifice what the product stands for.ā€

Asking the Right Questions

Both founders say their experience in the Martha and Spencer Love School of Business gave them the confidence to approach YAPA not as a finished idea, but as something to test, refine and keep improving.

They turned to faculty members including Sean McMahon, professor of entrepreneurship; Elena Kennedy, associate professor of entrepreneurship; and Brittany Mercado, associate professor of management and chair of the Department of Management and Entrepreneurship.

ā€œThe ability to communicate clearly with people who know a lot more than we do has been huge,ā€ Vargas-Lopez says. ā€œThe Love School of Business does an amazing job of making professors approachable.ā€

As YAPA developed, informal conversations became intentional. They stayed after class, brought specific questions to faculty and connected what they were learning in their courses to the choices they were making for the company. The feedback was not always easy, and that was part of its value.

ā€œWe donā€™t need people to just cheerlead,ā€ Vargas-Lopez says. ā€œWe need people who will tell us what worked, what didnā€™t and how to improve. Thatā€™s what has really helped us move forward.ā€

Their time studying abroad also shaped the venture. Chiriboga was in Japan while
Vargas-Lopez was in Australia, making day-to-day operations difficult, so they used the distance to listen.

ā€œWe couldnā€™t really work on operations, so the only thing we could do was talk to people,ā€ Chiriboga says.

They spoke with people in the Amazon, professionals at large companies and mentors in finance, gathering insight before returning to campus.

ā€œWe were sponges during that time,ā€ Chiriboga says. ā€œWe just gathered as much information as we could.ā€

A Friendship First

Before they were co-founders, Vargas-Lopez and Chiriboga were friends. They built the kind of trust that later became essential to starting a company together. When one person could not take on a task, the other stepped in. When the work became overwhelming, the friendship helped steady them.

ā€œIf I cannot do something right now, I know Juan Daniel can do it, and vice versa,ā€ Vargas-Lopez says. ā€œThat trust was built before the business.ā€

Living together strengthened that rhythm. It also taught them the importance of boundaries.

ā€œWeā€™ve gotten really good at knowing when to talk business and when not to,ā€ Chiriboga says. ā€œIf itā€™s not working time, we try to focus on being friends and being present with other people.ā€

For Vargas-Lopez, the partnership has been less about dividing every task evenly and more about sharing responsibility over time.

ā€œItā€™s not always 50-50 all the time,ā€ he says. ā€œBut we know weā€™re in this together, and that makes it easier to handle everything that comes up.ā€

For Chiriboga, building YAPA with his best friend has been one of the most meaningful parts of the experience.

ā€œI couldnā€™t be more grateful that my best friend is also my business partner,ā€ he says.

Now based in Austin, Vargas-Lopez and Chiriboga are carrying YAPA into its next stage. The venture that started as a conversation between friends has become something people can open, taste and share.

The process has changed how they think about risk, learning and what it means to build something from scratch. It has also reinforced the value of starting before everything feels certain.

ā€œDonā€™t be afraid to start,ā€ Chiriboga says. ā€œIf you donā€™t believe in yourself, no one else will.ā€

Vargas-Lopez says the venture has taught him to stay open to what others know and humble enough to keep asking questions.

ā€œUse your resources,ā€ he says. ā€œAsk questions. Learn from every conversation. We havenā€™t had a single meeting where we didnā€™t learn something.ā€

The study, ā€œ,ā€ looked at whether the growing availability of generative AI has changed who enters the video game market and how developers use AI in the creative process.

Kim and his co-authors analyzed more than 66,000 developers whose first game was published on Steam between 2014 and 2025. They found that more indie developers entered the platform in 2024 and 2025 than earlier trends predicted, while new non-indie developers remained within the expected range.

Key findings

• More indie developers entered the market after generative AI became widely available. The increase was greater than researchersā€™ models predicted based on previous trends.
• Images were the most common use of AI. Both indie and non-indie developers most often reported using AI to generate images, while use for music, voice and coding was lower.
• Indie developers used AI differently. Compared with non-indie developers, indie developers were more likely to use AI for music and coding.
• AI was associated with shorter indie games. The researchers say this may reflect AIā€™s usefulness in helping developers quickly develop and test ideas.
• The study shows an association, not causation. The researchers do not conclude that generative AI caused more indie developers to enter the market.

Kim plans to bring the research into his business analytics courses.

ā€œI will use this paper in class to demonstrate the positive role of AI in facilitating human creativity by enabling individuals to quickly prototype and implement their ideas,ā€ Kim said.

The research was published in ACM AI Letters by the Association for Computing Machinery and co-authored with Seonbin Jo and Woo-Sung Jung of Pohang University of Science and Technology and Jisung Yoon of the KDI School of Public Policy and Management.

Kim joined ĀŅĀ׏Óʵ in Fall 2023 from Boston University. His expertise includes business analytics, innovation, misinformation, and computational social science. He is currently the director of the Center for Applied Analytics and AI at ĀŅĀ׏Óʵ.

He started over.

Taylor was leading about 1,200 employees when he told company leaders he eventually wanted to run a business. Their response: He needed to learn how to build brands. So the engineer and plant manager moved into marketing, working alongside colleagues who were much earlier in their careers.

ā€œIt was a wonderful lesson in humility,ā€ Taylor said. ā€œIt was a great chance to learn and to be in the learning mode, not the knowing mode.ā€

That willingness to keep learning became a recurring theme on Sept. 10 in LaRose Digital Theatre at the Martha and Spencer Love School of Business.

The conversation was moderated by Jack Ryan P’17, founder and principal of Jack Ryan Advisory and chair of the Love School of Business Board of Advisors.

Taylor spent more than 40 years with P&G, with assignments across the United States, Asia and Europe before eventually becoming chairman, president and CEO. Today, he serves as senior operating adviser to Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, chairman of the supervisory board of Opella Healthcare Group and non-executive chair of Delta Air Linesā€™ board of directors.

When Ryan asked what advice he would give students preparing to enter the workforce, Taylor pushed back on the idea that there is one ideal first assignment.

ā€œMany people ask me, ā€˜Whatā€™s the right first assignment? Do I need to start in marketing or sales?ā€™ā€ Taylor said. ā€œIt doesnā€™t matter. What matters is what you do with the first assignment. Do you come into whatever youā€™re asked to do and do it with excellence?ā€

He said that strong work creates the credibility to take on larger challenges and eventually influence the organization itself.

ā€œIf you really want to change the system, be successful at wherever you are,ā€ Taylor said. ā€œThat gives you a platform to be able to change the system. You build credibility that you can accomplish outcomes, and once you do that, the willingness for others to listen to you grows.ā€

Taylor said one of the strongest differentiators he has seen among successful leaders is their ability to bring out the best in the people around them.

ā€œThe greatest differentiator Iā€™ve seen in my time with P&G, my time at Delta and now working with a private equity company is often their ability to unleash those around them,ā€ Taylor said. ā€œThose that have relatively little ego, but a high level of achievement, a high level of personal accountability and a high level of empathy for others.ā€

That combination, he said, creates something leaders cannot achieve on their own.

ā€œWhat happens is they generate followership,ā€ Taylor said. ā€œThat creates wonderful outcomes, especially when you get to mid- and higher levels, because the group amplifies the results.ā€

Students later turned the conversation toward artificial intelligence, asking Taylor what skills they should focus on as AI changes marketing and business.

Taylor said AI is already helping companies create and analyze content more quickly, but technology does not replace the need to understand the people a business serves.

ā€œWhen we go to markets, the first meeting is in homes,ā€ Taylor said. ā€œWeā€™d get to know the person. Weā€™d learn about their life, their kids. ā€˜Tell us what you do each day.ā€™ā€

He said those visits allowed teams to observe what consumers actually did, not just what they said they needed.

ā€œYou find thereā€™s a lot of compensating behaviors consumers have,ā€ Taylor said. ā€œTheyā€™ll say, ā€˜This is not an issue,ā€™ but you see they do an extra step because something doesnā€™t work the way they think it should.ā€

Taylor shared examples from P&Gā€™s work in markets around the world, including observing how consumers washed their hair in rural China and how a consumer in Japan used Febreze on furniture she wished she could wash.

ā€œYou donā€™t see that looking at a sheet of paper,ā€ Taylor said.

For Taylor, AI can accelerate the work once a company understands the problem it is trying to solve.

ā€œAI will let you have faster, better answers once you know what to work on,ā€ Taylor said. ā€œWhat mountain do you want to climb? And that often comes from a better consumer insight and empathy.ā€

For the final student question, Taylor was asked whether there was one piece of advice he had used as a filter when making major decisions throughout his career.

His answer brought the conversation back to learning.

ā€œProbably the simplest one is: Can I make a difference, and can I learn?ā€ Taylor said.

He encouraged students to consider those questions as they evaluate their own opportunities, rather than getting caught up in salary, job titles or whether an assignment appears prestigious.

ā€œPick a place that youā€™re happy to walk in the door every day, you can hold your head up, you can learn and you can make a difference,ā€ Taylor said. ā€œYou have talents and the ability to do a ton of things. You get to choose how you use those.ā€

About Lessons from Leaders

Launched in 2017 by Dean Emeritus Raghu Tadepalli, Lessons from Leaders brings senior executives to campus for open talks, small group discussions and purposeful one-on-one networking that connects students with mentors. The program helps bridge classroom learning to real-world decision-making and strategy, and aims for every student to leave with a new contact and meaningful career insights.

A new chapter in ĀŅĀ׏Óʵā€™s global sport education programming officially began Sept. 7 in Pistoia, Italy.

Five ĀŅĀ׏Óʵ students arrived in the Tuscan city as the inaugural cohort participating in the universityā€™s partnership with Lumos Pistoia Basket 2000, a professional basketball organization, and the Accademia Europea di Firenze (AEF). Their arrival was marked by a from the club as the students prepare to begin a semester combining study abroad with hands-on experience in the professional sport industry.

As part of their initial visit, the students explored Pistoiaā€™s historic center before making their way to LumoSquare, the 3,835-seat home of Pistoia Basket and a growing community hub. Accompanied by Professor Marco Bracci and Elisabetta Santanni, academic director of AEF/ĀŅĀ׏Óʵ in Florence, the group toured the facility, met members of the club staff, and received a personal welcome from Pistoia Basket President Joseph Mark David.

The visit offered the students their first look at the organization, where they will soon become part of the day-to-day operations. Beginning in mid-September, they will work alongside Pistoia Basket staff on projects involving sport management, marketing and social media.

ā€œThis experience is over a year in the making and couldn’t have come together without the amazing work of our partners at AEF, especially Elisabetta Santanni and Marco Bracci,ā€ said David Bockino, professor of sport management. ā€œAs we launch the partnership this semester, we’re already discussing how to make it accessible to more students moving forward. The reception on campus has been great ā€“ we have students lining up to participate in the future.ā€

A global professional experience

Announced last fall, ĀŅĀ׏Óʵā€™s partnership with AEF and Pistoia Basket was developed in collaboration with the Department of Sport Management to expand experiential learning opportunities for students studying in Florence. It combines two hallmarks of an ĀŅĀ׏Óʵ education ā€“ global engagement and professional experience ā€“ placing students inside a European professional sport organization while they study abroad.

ā€œThis experience was the logical next step as ĀŅĀ׏Óʵ grows its sport-related experiences,ā€ Bockino said. ā€œAs a university, we’re great at study abroad and at helping our students get internships. Why not put those two together? When these students eventually hit the job market, they’ll arrive with a true resume differentiator: an internship with a professional Italian basketball club that allows them to better understand sport from a global perspective.ā€

As part of a mentored, two-credit internship with Pistoia Basket, students will spend approximately 10 hours each week gaining practical experience in event operations, fan engagement, marketing, communications and social media. Their responsibilities will be tailored to their academic backgrounds and professional interests.

For example, students interested in media analytics may evaluate the clubā€™s social media performance, while students studying sport management or strategic communications will work to increase Pistoia Basketā€™s visibility among college students studying abroad in Florence. Participants will also meet regularly with accompanying professors and complete applied and reflection-based assignments.

The cohort will also contribute to a video storytelling project designed to introduce Pistoia Basket to new audiences in the United States. Funded by the ĀŅĀ׏Óʵ Innovation Council and coordinated through ĀŅĀ׏Óʵā€™s Sports Media Lab and ĀŅĀ׏Óʵ Sports Vision, the project will use footage captured by the students to tell the story of Pistoiaā€™s 2026-27 season. According to Bockino, the resulting videos are expected to appear on ĀŅĀ׏Óʵ social media channels and during ĀŅĀ׏Óʵ Athletics broadcasts.

This fallā€™s inaugural cohort includes Robbie Pataky ’28, a strategic communications major; Amelia Weaver ’28, a sport management and media analytics double major; Riley Greenwald ’28, a sport management major; Olivia Tichnor ’28, a marketing major; and Max Edelstein ’28, a sport management major.

ĀŅĀ׏Óʵ Assistant Professor of FinanceĀ Andrew Schwartz provided expert insight for a recent WalletHub article examining how credit card companies determine whether to instantly approve online applicants and what consumers should do if they donā€™t receive an immediate decision.

Schwartz explained that most credit card issuers now rely on automated underwriting systems that consider an applicantā€™s credit report alongside information such as income to determine approval and credit limits.

ā€œToday, it is uncommon not to receive a decision within a few minutes,ā€ Schwartz said. ā€œWhen a decision is delayed, it is usually because the issuer needs additional time or documentation to verify information such as your identity or income.ā€

Schwartz advised consumers not to assume a delayed decision means their application will be denied. He also recommended responding promptly to requests for additional information and avoiding applying for other credit cards while waiting.

ā€œMultiple applications in a short period can result in additional hard inquiries and make a borrower appear to be in desperate need of credit, which could make lenders more cautious,ā€ Schwartz said.

This marks the tenth consecutive year that ĀŅĀ׏Óʵā€™s chapter has been honored with either a Merit or Superior Merit Award by the national Society for Human Resource Management, highlighting the organizationā€™s commitment to professional development and its strong presence on campus.

ĀŅĀ׏Óʵā€™s chapter is advised by Professor Brian Lyons and led by a dedicated executive board of students who are passionate about advancing their skills and engaging with the HR community.

ā€œWe are incredibly proud to receive the Superior Merit Award for another year, as it reflects the hard work, dedication, and passion our members bring to the SHRM chapter. This recognition highlights not only the initiatives and professional development opportunities we have created, but also the strong community our members have built together,ā€ said Isabelle Cross ā€™27, a human resource management major. ā€œAs we look to the future, we are excited to grow our presence on campus, strengthen our connections with HR professionals, and create meaningful opportunities that help our members prepare for successful careers.ā€

The SHRM Student Chapter Merit Award program encourages student chapters to develop more effective operations and promote the value of the human resource profession through outstanding activities and projects.

ā€œEarning a fourth consecutive Superior Merit Award from national SHRM is a remarkable accomplishment and speaks to the sustained commitment of the clubā€™s student leaders and members,ā€ said Brian Lyons, professor of management and the clubā€™s faculty advisor. ā€œWhat makes this recognition especially meaningful is that it reflects years of students building upon the work of the executive board leaders who came before them, while continuing to find new ways to create engaging professional development opportunities, strengthen connections with the local and national HR community, and promote the HRM major and minor on campus. Iā€™m incredibly proud of Isabelleā€™s leadership and the strong culture of engagement and excellence that our students have sustained over time.ā€

ĀŅĀ׏Óʵ Assistant Teaching Professor of Economics Devon Hawkins provided insight for a recent examining why rising Treasury yields are keeping mortgage rates elevated and contributing to affordability challenges for prospective homebuyers.

The article explains that Treasury yields have reached their highest levels in nearly two decades amid persistent inflation, increased government borrowing and greater competition for investor dollars. Because mortgage lenders use the 10-year Treasury yield as a benchmark when pricing home loans, increases in Treasury yields generally lead to higher mortgage rates.

ā€œWhen Treasury yields go up, mortgage rates usually go up with them,ā€ said Hawkins. ā€œItā€™s not a perfect one-for-one relationship, but they tend to move in the same direction.ā€

That relationship is one reason 30-year mortgage rates remain around 6.6% to 6.7%, adding to borrowing costs for prospective buyers. The article advises homebuyers to focus on what they can comfortably afford at current rates rather than attempting to predict when borrowing costs might decline.

Ginsburg, a junior economics and entrepreneurship double major from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, has built a business around transforming photographs of homes and other buildings into custom LEGO kits. Through his company, Blueprint Bricks, customers from around the world can turn meaningful places, including their own homes, into one-of-a-kind LEGO creations.

ā€œI built my own house during COVID using the pieces I had in my basement,ā€ Ginsburg said. ā€œThat inspired me to learn the software, make a website and start my own business.ā€

Ginsburg launched the company as a high school freshman in 2021 under the name Henryā€™s Custom Homes. He rebranded as Blueprint Bricks this summer, just in time to help bring ĀŅĀ׏Óʵā€™s LEGO-themed Family Weekend to life.

Family Weekend 2026 attendees can purchase a limited-edition ĀŅĀ׏Óʵ ā€œEā€ LEGO kit when they register for the weekend. The kit features 175 pieces and the final product stands 5.5 inches tall. A portion of each sale will support ĀŅĀ׏Óʵā€™s Greatest Needs.

The LEGO fun will continue at the Fan Fest event on Saturday, Sept. 26 at Schar Center, as attendees will be able to participate in the building of a 40 inch x 40 inch, 16,644 piece ĀŅĀ׏Óʵ-themed LEGO mosaic. Ginsburg will be in attendance and is looking forward to seeing this project come to life.

ā€œI canā€™t wait to be there and see everyone at Fan Fest. I love interacting with people and answering their questions,” he said.

Families checking in at McKinnon Hall during Family Weekend will also be able to view examples of Ginsburgā€™s LEGO model of ĀŅĀ׏Óʵā€™s Alamance building.

ā€œI think Family Weekend is a really important part of the ĀŅĀ׏Óʵ experience,ā€ Ginsburg remarked. ā€œGetting to be a part of it is such a privilege.ā€

For more information on Ginsburg’s business, Blueprint Bricks, visit

Family Weekend 2026 will be held September 25-27. To register, visitĀ /u/parents/family-weekend/.

Investors often look at past performance when deciding where to put their money. New research by Morillon and his co-authors examines whether retail and institutional investors respond to the same measures of fund performance.

The co-authored article, ā€œā€, looks at several ways of measuring real estate mutual fund performance, from straightforward returns and Morningstar ratings to more complex measures that account for investment risk.

Using real estate mutual fund data from 1995 to 2022, the researchers compared those performance measures with subsequent fund flows to better understand which measures appear to be associated with investorsā€™ allocation decisions.

Key Findings:

• Retail-oriented funds were most responsive to past returns, or how much the fund had gained or lost.
• Institutional investors appeared to look beyond simple returns and consider how much risk a fund took to achieve them.
• More complex ways of measuring fund performance appeared to have limited influence on the investment decisions of either group.
• The findings suggest retail and institutional investors may look at different information when evaluating real estate mutual funds.
• The research also considers how those investor preferences may affect the decisions fund managers make to attract investment.

ā€œStudents who see risk-adjusted performance measures for the first time reasonably ask whether anyone actually uses them. This paper is a useful answer,ā€ said Morillon. ā€œInstitutional money does look past raw returns, retail money largely does not, and the more complex measures move very little capital either way. A measure only matters if someone is trading on it.ā€

The article was published in The Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics with co-authors Ryan G. Chacon at the University of Denver, William G. Hardin III at Florida International University and Pratik Kothari at Oakland University.

Morillon joined ĀŅĀ׏Óʵ in 2019. His research interests include real estate, mergers and acquisitions, international finance, corporate governance and emerging financial technologies. His recent work has also explored the use of artificial intelligence and large language models in commercial real estate.

He received the Love School of Business Deanā€™s Award for Excellence in Scholarship in 2022 and has earned multiple awards for his research, including the American Real Estate Societyā€™s Best Practitioner Research Prize and two Emerald Literati Outstanding Paper Awards.