Ilias Tsiakas

Professor and Lang Chair in Finance

Gordon S. Lang School of Business and Economics, Department of Economics & Finance

About

Biography

Areas of Specialization: Asset Pricing, International Finance, Financial Econometrics, Climate Finance.

Ilias Tsiakas is Professor and Lang Chair in Finance at the University of Guelph. He currently serves as the Graduate Program Coordinator for the MA in Financial Economics and the PhD in Economics in the Department of Economics and Finance. He has previously been Visiting Professor at the University of Toronto and Associate Professor at the University of Warwick.

Ilias is an active researcher in asset pricing, international finance, financial econometrics, and climate finance. His research has been published in leading finance journals, including: Journal of Financial Economics, Review of Financial Studies, Journal of Business and Economic Statistics, Journal of Banking and Finance, Journal of Financial Markets, Journal of International Money and Finance, Journal of Empirical Finance, Journal of Financial Econometrics, Journal of Sustainable Finance & Investment, Journal of Financial Research, and Global Finance Journal. His research has also been summarized in various practitioner outlets such as The Financial Times, The CFA Digest and in leading research websites such as VoxEU.org and Economonitor.com. He currently holds a research grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC).

Google scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=XXrWCBkAAAAJ&hl=en

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ilias-tsiakas/

Education

1996 – 2001 Ph.D. Economics, University of Toronto
Fields: Finance and Financial Econometrics

1995 – 1996 M.A. Economics, York University (Canada)

1991 – 1995 B.A. (Hons) Economics and Political Science, University of Toronto

Awards and Honours

2019 Paul MacPherson Teaching Award of Excellence, University of Guelph.

2018 Lang Research Impact Award, University of Guelph.

2012 – present Senior Fellow, Rimini Centre for Economic Analysis

2010 Best Paper Prize by INQUIRE UK for “Spot and Forward Volatility in Foreign Exchange,”
co-authored with Pasquale Della Corte and Lucio Sarno.

2010 Outstanding Article Award by the Journal of Financial Research for “The Economic Gains of Trading Stocks around Holidays.”

2007 – 2010 Outstanding MBA Teacher Award, University of Warwick

2007 – 2010 Outstanding Undergraduate Teacher Award, University of Warwick

1996 – 2001 University of Toronto Doctoral Fellowship

Funding

2024 – 2026 SSHRC Insight Development Grant: “The Risk and Return of Foreign Exchange Swaps.” Principal
Investigator: Ilias Tsiakas. Amount: $39,596.

2017 – 2022 SSHRC Insight Grant: “Carbon Emissions and Global Financial Markets.” Principal
Investigator: Ilias Tsiakas. Co-applicant: Marcel Oestreich. Amount: $79,310.

2016 – 2017 CBE Research Development Grant (SSHRC 4A), University of Guelph. Amount: $4,000.

2015 – 2016 CBE Research Development Grant (SSHRC 4A), University of Guelph. Amount: $5,000.

2011 – 2014 SSHRC Research Grant: “Exchange Rates, Order Flow and Global Asset Allocation.” Principal
Investigator: Ilias Tsiakas. Collaborators: Pasquale Della Corte and Lucio Sarno.
Amount: $68,700.

2010 – 2012 University of Guelph Start-up Grant.

2008 – 2009 INQUIRE UK Research Grant: “The Macro-Finance of Exchange Rates: Linking Global
Imbalances to Currency Fluctuations.” Principal Investigator: Lucio Sarno.
Co-applicants: Pasquale Della Corte and Ilias Tsiakas. Amount: £10,000.

2001 – 2010 Research Development Grants, University of Warwick.

Publications

Anastasopoulos, A., N. Gradojevic, F. Liu, A. Maynard, and I. Tsiakas (2026). "Order Flow and Cryptocurrency Returns,"

Journal of Financial Markets (forthcoming). Online Appendix.

Special Issue on Machine Learning, Generative AI, and Trading

Semi-finalist for 2025 FMA Best Paper Award

Liu, R., A. Maynard, and I. Tsiakas (2025). "Robust Conditional Kurtosis and the Cross-Section of International Stock Returns,"

Journal of Business and Economic Statistics (forthcoming). Online Appendix.

Oestreich, A.M., and I. Tsiakas (2024). "Carbon Emissions and Firm Profitability,"

Journal of Sustainable Finance and Investment 14, 766-786.

Tsiakas, I., and H. Zhang (2023). "On the Direction of Causality Between Business and Financial Cycles,"

Journal of Risk and Financial Management 16, 430.

Gradojevic, N., and I. Tsiakas (2021). "Volatility Cascades in Cryptocurrency Trading,"

Journal of Empirical Finance 62, 252-265.

Tsiakas, I., and H. Zhang (2021). "Economic Fundamentals and the Long-Run Correlation between Exchange Rates and Commodities,"

Global Finance Journal 49, 100649.

Tsiakas, I., J. Li, and H. Zhang (2020). “Equity Premium Prediction and the State of the Economy,”

Journal of Empirical Finance 58, 75-95.

Li, J., and I. Tsiakas (2017). “Equity Premium Prediction: The Role of Economic and Statistical Constraints,”

Journal of Financial Markets 36, 56-75.

Sarno, L., I. Tsiakas, and B. Ulloa (2016). “What Drives International Portfolio Flows?”

Journal of International Money and Finance 60, 53-72.

Oestreich, A. M., and I. Tsiakas (2015). “Carbon Emissions and Stock Returns: Evidence from the EU Emissions Trading Scheme,”

Journal of Banking and Finance 58, 294-308.

Li, J., I. Tsiakas, and W. Wang (2015). “Predicting Exchange Rates Out of Sample: Can Economic Fundamentals Beat the Random Walk?”

Journal of Financial Econometrics 13, 293-341.

Cenedese, G., L. Sarno, and I. Tsiakas (2014). “Foreign Exchange Risk and the Predictability of Carry Trade Returns,”

Journal of Banking and Finance 42, 302-313.

Abstracted in the CFA Digest vol 44, no.6 (June 2014).

Della Corte, P., and I. Tsiakas (2012). “Statistical and Economic Methods for Evaluating Exchange Rate Predictability.” in James, J., L. Sarno and I.W. Marsh (eds.)

Handbook of Exchange Rates. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.

Dela Corte, P., L. Sarno, and I. Tsiakas (2012). “Volatility and Correlation Timing in Active Currency Management.” in James, J., L. Sarno and I.W. Marsh (eds.)

Handbook of Exchange Rates. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.

Della Corte, P., L. Sarno, and I. Tsiakas (2011). “Spot and Forward Volatility in Foreign Exchange,”

Journal of Financial Economics 100, 496-513.

Awarded the 2010 best paper prize by INQUIRE UK.

Highlighted on January 26, 2011 in the Financial Times ft.com/alphaville section.

Tsiakas, I. (2010). “The Economic Gains of Trading Stocks around Holidays,”

Journal of Financial Research 33, 1-26 (lead article).

Abstracted in the CFA Digest vol 40, no.3 (August 2010).

Received the 2010 Outstanding Article Award by the journal.

Della Corte, P., L. Sarno, and I. Tsiakas (2009). “An Economic Evaluation of Empirical Exchange Rate Models,”

Review of Financial Studies 22, 3491-3530.

Tsiakas, I. (2008). “Overnight Information and Stochastic Volatility: A Study of European and US Stock Exchanges,”

Journal of Banking and Finance 32, 251-268.

Tsiakas, I. (2006). “Periodic Stochastic Volatility and Fat Tails,”

Journal of Financial Econometrics 4, 90-135.

Tsiakas, I. (2005). “Is Seasonal Heteroskedasticity Real? An International Perspective,”

Finance Letters 3, 124-132.

Special issue on “Modeling of the Equity Market,” Ed. Frank J. Fabozzi.

Current Courses

FIN*6000 - Asset Pricing

Relevant Files

CV - Ilias Tsiakas