Henri Servaes

Richard Brealey Professor of Corporate Governance; Professor of Finance

BSc BBA (European University) MSIA PhD (Purdue)

Professor Servaes is also a Research Fellow of the Centre for Economic Policy Research and a Research Associate of the European Corporate Governance Institute.

His areas of interest include corporate finance, corporate governance, corporate social responsibility, and mutual funds. He has published articles in all the leading finance journals, including the Journal of Finance, the Journal of Financial Economics, and the Review of Financial Studies. He has won prizes for several of his articles, including the Journal of Financial Economics All Star Paper and the Journal of Finance Distinguished Paper Brattle Prize. In August of 2005, he was featured in the Financial Times series on Gurus of the Future.

His work has been presented at all major international finance conferences and at more than 100 universities worldwide. He has had previous appointments at the University of Chicago, the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (Belgium), Duke University, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Henri has been involved in consulting and executive education for Anglo American, Barclays, Bertelsmann, BG Group, Continental, Deutsche Bank, E ON, The Financial Times (Lex Team), Freshfields, Mars, PwC, and Suez, among others. His work has been cited in a large number of international newspapers, including the Financial Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Economist.

At London Business School, he teaches corporate finance, corporate governance, and mergers & acquisitions.

Personal website

Research Awards

Ranked 2nd in Europe in terms of research productivity in finance over the period 1990-2008, 2011.
Included in Financial Times series on Gurus of the Future, 2005.
Bertil Danielsson Visiting Scholar, Stockholm School of Economics and Gothenburg University, 2003-2004.
Journal of Financial Economics All Star Paper for “Additional evidence on equity ownership and corporate value”, co-authored with John McConnell.
Chair Wim Van Looy, Limburgs Universitair Centrum (University of Limburg), Belgium, 2003.
Recipient of Best Paper award at 2001 FMA European Conference for: “Roll-ups: Performanceand Incentives for Industry Consolidating IPOs”, co-authored with Amy Dittmar and Keith C.Brown.
Recipient of 2000 Distinguished Paper Brattle Prize for outstanding papers in corporate finance published in the Journal of Finance for : “The Cost of Diversity: The Diversification Discount and Inefficient Investment”, co-authored with Raghuram Rajan and Luigi Zingales.

Corporate governance and control
Fund management
Corporate social responsibility

2022

The Costs and Benefits of Performance Fees in Mutual Funds

Servaes H; Sigurdsson K

Journal of Financial Intermediation 2022 Vol 50 In Press

Trust, social capital, and the bond market benefits of ESG performance

Amiraslani H; Lins K; Servaes H; Tamayo A

Review of Accounting Studies 2022 In Press

2021

Credit ratings and acquisitions

Aktas N; Petmezas D; Servaes H; Karampatsas N

Journal of Corporate Finance 2021 In Press

2020

The benefits of buying distressed assets

Meier J-M; Servaes H

Journal of Applied Corporate Finance 2020 Vol 32:4 p 105-116

2019

Social capital, trust, and corporate performance: how CSR helped companies during the financial crisis (and why it can keep helping them)

Lins K; Servaes H; Tamayo A

Journal of Applied Corporate Finance 2019 Spring Vol 31:2 p 59-71

The bright side of fire sales

Meier J-M; Servaes H

Review of Financial Studies 2019 Vol 32:11 p 4228-4270

2017

Role of social capital in corporations

Servaes H; Tamayo A

Oxford Review of Economic Policy 2017 Vol 33:2 p 201-220

Social capital, trust, and firm performance: the value of corporate social responsibility during the financial crisis

Lins K V; Servaes H; Tamayo A

Journal of Finance 2017 Vol 72:4 p 1785-1824

2014

Have rating agencies become more conservative? Implications for capital structure and debt pricing

Baghai R; Servaes H; Tamayo A

Journal of Finance 2014 October Vol 69:5 p 1961-2005

How do industry peers respond to control threats?

Servaes H; Tamayo A

Management Science 2014 Vol 60:2 p 380-399

2013

The impact of corporate social responsibility on firm value: The role of customer awareness

Servaes H; Tamayo A

Management Science 2013 Vol 59:5 p 1045-1061

2012

What drives market share in the mutual fund industry

Khorana A; Servaes H

Review of Finance 2012 Vol 16:1 p 81-113

2011

Does fair value reporting affect risk management? International survey evidence

Servaes H; Lins K; Tamayo A

Financial Management 2011 Vol 40:3

2010

What drives corporate liquidity? An international survey of cash holdings and lines of credit

Servaes H; Lins K; Tufano P

Journal of Financial Economics 2010 Vol 98:1 p 160-176

2009

Mutual fund fees around the world

Khorana A; Servaes H; Tufano P

Review of Financial Studies 2009 Vol 22:3 p 1279-1310

The theory and practice of corporate risk management

Servaes H; Tamayo A; Tufano P

Journal of Applied Corporate Finance 2009 Vol 21:4 p 60-78

2008

Changes in insider ownership and changes in the market value of the firm

Servaes H; McConnell J; Lins K

Journal of Corporate Finance 2008 Vol 14:2 p 92-106

2007

Portfolio manager ownership and fund performance

Servaes H; Khorana A; Wedge L

Journal of Financial Economics 2007 Vol 85:1 p 179-204

Private equity: boom and bust?

Acharya V; Franks J R; Servaes H

Journal of Applied Corporate Finance 2007 Fall Vol 19:4 p 1-10

2006

Ranking risk and finance

Servaes H; Tufano P

Financial Times 2006 June 9

2005

Corporate governance, incentives, and industry consolidations

Servaes H; Brown K; Dittmar A

Review of Financial Studies 2005 Spring Vol 18:1 p 241-270

Explaining the size of the mutual fund industry around the world

Servaes H; Khorana A; Tufano P

Journal of Financial Economics 2005 Oct Vol 78:1 p 145-185

2003

International corporate governance and corporate cash holdings

Dittmar A; Mahrt-Smith J K; Servaes H

Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis 2003 Mar Vol 38:1 p 111-133

2002

Is corporate diversification beneficial in emerging markets?

Lins K; Servaes H

Financial Management 2002 Summer Vol 31:2 p 5-31

2000

Cost of diversity: the diversification discount and inefficient investment

Rajan R; Servaes H; Zingaves L

Journal of Finance 2000 Vol 55:1 p 35-80

1999

Determinants of mutual fund starts

Khorana A; Servaes H

Review of Financial Studies 1999 Winter Vol 12:5 p 1043-1074

International evidence on the value of corporate diversification

Lins K; Servaes H

Journal of Finance 1999 Dec Vol 54:6 p 2215-2239

1997

Analyst following of initial public offerings

Rajan R; Servaes H

Journal of Finance 1997 Jun Vol 52:2 p 507-529

1996

Role of investment banks in acquisitions

Servaes H; Zenner M

Review of Financial Studies 1996 Fall Vol 9:3 p 787-815

Value of diversification during the conglomerate merger wave

Servaes H

Journal of Finance 1996 Sep Vol 51:4 p 1201-1225

1995

Equity ownership and the two faces of debt

McConnell J; Servaes H

Journal of Financial Economics 1995 Sep Vol 39:1 p 131-157

1994

Do takeover targets overinvest?

Servaes H

Review of Financial Studies 1994 Summer Vol 7:2 p 253-277

Ownership structure

Servaes H; Zenner M

Financial Markets and Portfolio Management 1994 Vol 8:2 p 184-196

Taxes and the returns to foreign acquisition in the US

Servaes H; Zenner M

Financial Management 1994 Winter Vol 23:4 p 42-56

1991

1990

Additional evidence on equity ownership and corporate value

McConnell J; Servaes H

Journal of Financial Economics 1990 Oct Vol 27:2 p 595-612

2020

Gender, culture, and firm value: evidence from the Harvey Weinstein scandal and the #MeToo movement

Lins K; Roth L; Servaes H; Tamayo A

Social Sciences Research Network

2019

Credit ratings and acquisitions

Aktas N; Karampatsas N; Petmezas D; Servaes H

Social Sciences Research Network

The costs and benefits of asymmetric performance fees in mutual funds

Servaes H; Sigurdsson K

Social Sciences Research Network

2017

A matter of trust? The bond market benefits of corporate social capital during the financial crisis

Amiraslani H; Lins K; Servaes H; Tamayo A

CEPR Discussion Paper

2009

Intra-industry effects of control threats on investment, financing, and financial reporting quality

Servaes H; Tamayo A

IFA Working Paper

Portfolio manager ownership and the pricing of closed-end funds

Khorana A; Servaes H; Wedge L

IFA Working Paper

2002

The Stock Market Response to Changes in Business Combination Accounting

Barnes R; Servaes H

1996

The Characteristics of Successful Bidders

Servaes H

IFA Working Paper

2008

On the future of the mutual fund industry around the world

Khorana A; Servaes H

Fuchita Y and Litan eds., Pooling money: the future of mutual funds, Brooking Institution, 2008

2003

Effect of market conditions on initial public offerings

Rajan R; Servaes H

in McCahery J and Renneboog L eds.,Venture capital contracting and the valuation of high-tech firms, Oxford University Press, 2003

Teaching portfolio

Our teaching offering is updated annually. Faculty and programme material are subject to change.

Executive Education

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Corporate Finance Modular Programme

Senior Executive Programme

"Thinking strategically, developing leadership skills and managing globally are the keys to achieving and maintaining competitive advantage in a rapidly evolving marketplace".

Senior Executive Programme

The Chief Financial Officer Programme

The Chief Financial Officer Programme
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Henri Servaes

Research Awards

Teaching portfolio

Executive Education