Tim Jenkinson’s research focuses on four key fields: initial public offerings (IPOs), private equity, institutional asset management and regulation and the cost of capital. His research is based upon extensive financial data that he collects by forging close relationships with industry participants. He has built a reputation in the industry for his ability to collect critical, previously inaccessible, data from institutional investors and other players in the financial industry. Jenkinson’s research focuses on analysing data to understand the functioning of the financial industry.
Throughout his academic career Jenkinson has been recognised for his groundbreaking research. His work has been published in leading journals including the Journal of Finance, Review of Financial Studies, Journal of Financial Economics, Journal of Corporate Finance, Economic Journal and the European Economic Review. He is a frequent keynote speaker at academic and practitioner conferences and his work has won various prizes. For instance, Jenkinson and Howard Jones were awarded the best paper prize in 2007 by European Financial Management for their work on "The economics of IPO stabilization, syndicates and naked shorts". And his paper with Tarun Ramadorai on the costs and benefits of regulatory standards imposed by stock exchanges, Does one size fit all? The consequences of switching markets with different regulatory standards, was awarded the best paper prize at the “Financing Public and Private Firms: Fraud, Ethics and Regulation” conference co-sponsored by the CFA, Financial Analysts Journal, and the Schulich School of Business conference in April 2012.
IPOs and Conflicts of Interest
Jenkinson’s research into IPOs addresses the incentives and conflicts of interests that investment banks face when dealing with investors and issuing companies. For example, a recent paper titled “Why Don’t U.S. Issuers Demand European Fees for IPOs?”, published in the Journal of Finance, examines the inherent inequality in the investment banking system which grants European companies cheaper IPO fees compared with their US counterparts. Jenkinson is one of the few academics in the world to focus on conflicts of interest – which have become increasingly apparent in recent years – making him a key source of insight for policy makers, media commentators, the industry, and others with an interest in IPOs.
Related publications:
Abrahamson, M., Jenkinson, T. and Jones, H., 2011, Why don't U.S. Issuers demand European fees for IPOs? The Journal of Finance.
Jenkinson, T and Jones, H, 2009, IPO pricing and allocation: a survey of the views of institutional investors, Review of Financial Studies, Vol. 22, pp 1477-1504.
Jenkinson, T. and Jones, H, October, 2008, Competitive IPOs, European Financial Management, Vol. 15, pp. 733-756.
Jenkinson, T and Jones, H, 2007, The economics of IPO stabilization, syndicates and naked shorts, European Financial Management, Vol 13, pp 616-642.
Jenkinson, T, Morrison, A & Wilhelm, W, 2006, 'Why are European IPOs so Rarely Priced Outside the Indicative Price Range?', Journal of Financial Economics, Vol 80, pp 185-209.
Jenkinson, T, 2005, Public or private equity? How accelerated IPOs can increase competition in offerings, working paper.
Private Equity
Jenkinson’s private equity research explains how the private equity industry operates and examines how to benchmark private equity returns against public markets. His research, based on extensive, often proprietary, data sets has refuted previous academic claims about the poor returns earned by investors in private equity funds. His research demonstrates that, on average, historical private equity returns have outpaced public market returns by a significant margin. His research also examines the role of leverage in private equity and how it affects financial performance. These investigations into private equity returns have led Jenkinson to analyse the venture capital industry as well, making him an expert in this important field.
Related publications:
Jenkinson, T,. Sousa, M. and Stucke, R., February 2013, How Fair are the Valuations of Private Equity Funds?
Axelson, U., Jenkinson, T., Stromberg, P. and Weisbach, M. October 2012, Borrow Cheap, Buy High? The Determinants of Leverage and Pricing in Buyouts, forthcoming Journal of Finance.
Harris, R., Jenkinson, T. and Kaplan, S. February 2012, Private Equity Performance: What Do We Know?, SSRN.
Jenkinson, T. and Stucke, R., 2011, Who Benefits from the Leverage in LBOs?, working paper.
Jenkinson, T., 2009, Private Equity in The European Economic Advisory Group Report on the European Economy, Munich: CESifo.
Harris, R., Jenkinson, T. and Stucke, R. October 2012, Are Too Many Private Equity Funds Top Quartile?, Journal of Applied Corporate Finance.
Jenkinson, T, 2008, The development and performance of European private equity, in Freixas, X, Hartmann, P and Mayer, C (eds), Handbook of European Financial Markets and Institutions. Oxford: OUP.
Institutional Asset Management
An emergent theme in Jenkinson’s research focuses on the investment decisions of institutional investors such as asset managers, pension fund trustees and those that advise them – in particular investment consultants. Again, he has focused on the potential conflicts of interest that can face the various parties, and how this can lead to unnecessary complexity and higher costs.
Related publications:
Abrahamson, M. and Jenkinson, T., 2012, Does transparency overcome conflicts of interest? Evidence from investment managers and their brokers, working paper.
Jenkinson, T.J. and Sousa, M. , 2011, “Why SPAC Investors Should Listen to the Market”, Journal of Applied Finance 21(2), 38-57.
Regulation of the Cost of Capital
Jenkinson has conducted extensive research on the cost of capital for businesses, specifically focusing on regulated industries. He has also contributed some important research to the question of whether higher regulatory standards are good for the investor. He has acted as an expert witness on a number of important cases involving the cost of capital as well as in his other areas of expertise.
Related publications:
Jenkinson, T. and Ramadorai, T., 2013, Does one size fit all? The consequences of switching markets with different regulatory standards, forthcoming European Financial Management
Jenkinson, T, 2006, 'Regulation and the cost of capital', in Michael Crew and David Parker (Eds), International Handbook on Economic Regulation, Edward Elgar.
For a full listing of Jenkinson’s research interests and publications, please see his Curriculum Vitae and SSRN site.