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UWA Business School
Visiting Professor Terry Hendershott, from Haas School of Business, University of California Berkeley (UCB) will share his expertise with students and staff at The University of Western Australia's Business School over the next four months.

Professor Hendershott will bring his extensive academic and practical experience to the School. He is an Associate Professor in UCB's Haas Finance Group and Haas Operations and Information Technology Management Group, and in 2005-06 was a Visiting Economist at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).

‘This was at a time when the New York Stock Exchange had five different trading floors, but it was starting to use more automation - the NYSE was the last major market to become automatic. During that time, it closed almost all trading floors. You don't need to meet in person in a more electronic market because you can communicate through phone calls, emails, etc. It was a fascinating experience - in 2000 or 2001, you would have had trouble moving because there were so many people,' he said.

‘It was wonderful living in New York and the research department was able to provide me with really good data. However, the research department was closed while I was there and there were redundancies - partly because electronic trading opened the markets up to more competitors.'

At the UWA Business School, Professor Hendershott will teach an honours class in Finance, continue his current research - which includes a collaborative project with UK researchers examining the long-term effects of high frequency trading, and also hopes to undertake joint research on electronic trading with Associate Professor Marvin Wee, from the UWA Business School.

Professor Hendershott is looking forward to meeting the School's students. ‘Teaching an honours class is wonderful because you get top notch students and can teach in specialised areas,' he said.

Professor Hendershott's research focuses on the microstructure of financial markets, including the role of information technology in financial markets, management of information systems, and regulation of financial markets.

In Australia, says Professor Hendershott, one of the biggest challenges facing the economy is the property market. ‘It's very difficult to know what the right price level is,' said Professor Hendershott. ‘It's my impression most people's mortgages have variable interest rates. How much leverage do people have in the mortgage? How sensitive are they to increases in interest rates?

‘Some people still believe that housing prices can never go down on a national level. It isn't true. Housing seems expensive here and I am really curious as to what the employment situation is. How do people afford these homes?'

Professors Hendershott is, however, making the most of Perth's other attractions. He chose to spend his six-month sabbatical at the UWA Business School on the recommendation of UCB colleague Professor Richard Sloan, a UWA graduate, and New York University's Professor David Yermack, who visited the UWA Business School in 2010 and 2011.

‘The people are great, the beaches are fantastic and it is a great environment to visit,' said Professor Hendershott. ‘I'm very happy to be here and looking forward to the next four months.'

Media references

Catherine Vogel (UWA Business School) +618 6488 7340
Verity Chia (UWA Business School) +618 6488 1346