Dr Chelsea Yao
Senior LecturerProfile
Dr. Chelsea Yao is an Associate Professor of Accounting and Finance and the Director of the PhD Program at Lancaster University Management School. She has held the position of Visiting Research Professor at New York University’s Stern School of Business, initially in 2015 and again from 2019 to 2023. Dr. Yao earned her PhD in Finance from the University of Melbourne, where she also received the Dean’s Award for Research Excellence and served as an academic tutor at Ormond College. She holds a Master’s in Finance from Durham University and was a resident tutor at Ustinov College.
Dr. Yao’s research interests span investments, empirical asset pricing, ESG ratings and disclosure, mutual and hedge funds, as well as textual analysis, artificial intelligence, and machine learning. Her work has been presented at leading academic conferences such as the American Finance Association (AFA), the European Finance Association (EFA), and the SFS Cavalcade, and has appeared in top-tier journals including the Journal of Accounting Research. She is an active contributor to the academic community, serving as a referee for numerous journals and participating regularly as a reviewer and organizer for major conference committees.
Qualifications
MSc in Finance (Durham University), PhD in Finance (University of Melbourne)
Professional Role
Director of Doctoral Program
Selected Publications
Understanding stock price behavior around external financing
Cao, M., Martin, S., Yao, C. 30/04/2025 In: Journal of Corporate Finance. 91
Journal article
The Determinants of ESG Ratings: Rater Ownership Matters
Tang, D., Yan, J., Yao, C. 13/09/2025 In: Journal of Accounting Research.
Journal article
Corporate social responsibility and insider horizon
Shackleton, M., Yao, C., Zuo, Z. 28/02/2025 In: Journal of Corporate Finance. 90
Journal article
The Value of Growth: Changes in Profitability and Future Stock Returns
Wang, G., Yao, C., Sotes-Paladino, J., Lim, B. 1/01/2024 In: Journal of Banking and Finance. 158, 52 p.
Journal article
What Drives a Firm's ES Performance?: Evidence from Stock Returns
Shackleton, M., Yan, J., Yao, Y. 31/03/2022 In: Journal of Banking and Finance. 136, 19 p.
Journal article
Time-Series Momentum in Nearly 100 Years of Stock Returns
Lim, B., Wang, J., Yao, Y. 1/12/2018 In: Journal of Banking and Finance. 97, p. 283-296. 14 p.
Journal article
Macroeconomic risk and seasonality in momentum profits
Ji, X., Spencer Martin, J., Yao, Y. 11/2017 In: Journal of Financial Markets. 36, p. 76-90. 15 p.
Journal article
Starting on the Wrong Foot: Seasonality in Mutual Fund Performance
Brown, S.J., Sotes-Paladino, J., Wang, J., Yao, Y. 09/2017 In: Journal of Banking and Finance. 82, p. 133-150. 18 p.
Journal article
Momentum, contrarian, and the January seasonality
Yao, Y. 10/2012 In: Journal of Banking and Finance. 36, 10, p. 2757-2769. 13 p.
Journal article
All Publications
Systematic Avenues to Sustainable Investing
01/10/2022 → 30/09/2026
Research
Joint LUMS WHU PhDWorkshop on Sustainability (Event)
Membership of committee
Deakin-Lancaster Ph.D. Symposium (Event)
Membership of committee
ETF Rebalancing, Hedge Fund Trades, and Capital Market
Invited talk
4th Frontier of Factor Investing Conference (Event)
Membership of committee
Financial Management Association Annual Meeting (Event)
Membership of committee
Southern Finance Association Annual Meeting (Event)
Membership of committee
Melbourne Asset Pricing Conference
Participation in conference - Public
New York University Stern School of Business
Visiting an external academic institution
What drives a firm's ES performance? Evidence from stock returns
Invited talk
What drives a firm's ES performance? Evidence from stock returns.
Invited talk
New York University Stern School of Business
Visiting an external academic institution
American Finance Association 2014 Annual Meeting
Participation in conference -Mixed Audience
The University of Melbourne
Participation in workshop, seminar, course
The University of Sydney
Participation in workshop, seminar, course
American Finance Association 2013 Annual Meeting
Participation in conference -Mixed Audience
New York University, Stern School of Business
Participation in workshop, seminar, course
Visiting Scholar at New York University Stern School of Business
Participation in workshop, seminar, course
American Finance Association 2012 Annual Meeting
Participation in conference -Mixed Audience
Journal of Banking and Finance (Journal)
Publication peer-review
American Finance Association 2011 Annual Meeting
Participation in conference -Mixed Audience
Northern Finance Association 2011 Annual Meeting
Participation in workshop, seminar, course
Asset Pricing Lead Session, 23rd Australasian Finance and Banking Conference
Participation in conference -Mixed Audience
FIRN Doctoral Tutorial 2010
Participation in workshop, seminar, course
The University of Melbourne
Participation in workshop, seminar, course
Dean's Award for Research Excellence
Prize (including medals and awards)
Best in Track Award in Risk Management by U.S. Academy of Finance
Prize (including medals and awards)
- Accounting, Finance, Governance and Banking
- Asset Pricing and Financial Econometrics
- Centre for Financial Econometrics, Asset Markets and Macroeconomic Policy
- Pentland Centre