Thorsten Hens Full Professor for Financial Economics University of Zurich, Switzerland; SAET fellowship 2025
January 2006
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June 2026
Curriculum Vitae Prof. Dr. Thorsten Hens
Department of Finance Plattenstrasse 32 CH-8032 Zürich http://www.df.uzh.ch/
Phone +41 (0)44 63-43706 Email thorsten.hens@df.uzh.ch PERSONAL INFORMATION
Date of Birth: December 19th, 1961 Nationality: Swiss and German Marital Status: married, two children
CURRENT RESEARCH INTERESTS
Behavioral Finance, Evolutionary Finance, Sustainable Finance and AI in Finance
ACADEMIC POSITIONS
Current positions
2006 - Full Professor for Financial Economics, Department of Finance, University of Zurich, Switzerland. 2001 - Adjunct Professor for Financial Economics, Department of Finance, Norwegian School of
Economics, Bergen, Norway.
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Former positions 2016 - 2026 Adjunct Professor for Financial Economics, Department of Economics, University of Lucerne, Switzerland. 1999 - 2006 Full Professor for Financial Markets and Monetary Macroeconomics, Institute for Empirical Research in Economics, University of Zurich, Switzerland. 1996 - 1999 Professor for Economic Theory, University of Bielefeld, Germany. 1999
February - March, Visiting Professor for Economics, CERMSEM, Paris 1, France. 1992 - 1996 Postdoc (C1), Economics Department II (Prof. Werner Hildenbrand), Bonn University. 1993 January – August, Visiting Scholar, Economics Department, Stanford University (USA) . 1988 - 1992 Research Assistant and Lecturer, Economics Department II (Prof. Werner Hildenbrand), Bonn University. 1984 - 1988 Teaching Assistant, Dept. of Business Administration and Economics Department, Bonn University.
ACADEMIC DEGREES
1996
Habilitation, Bonn University 1992
PhD, Bonn University (European Doctoral Programme) 1988
Diploma in Economics, Bonn University 1984
Pre-Diploma (equivalent to Bachelor) in Computer Science, Bonn University 1981
Abitur, Engelbert von Berg Gymnasium, Wipperfürth
HONORS
2025 Fellow of the Society of the Advancement of Economic Theory, SAET 2020 Keynote Speech at Swiss Society for Financial Markets Conference, Zurich, March 25th. 2017 Invitation as Panellist of the Arrow Symposium, Stanford, October 9th 2017. 2016 ZKB Best Paper Award of the year 2016, Swiss Society for Financial Market Research. 2016
“CUREM Teaching Award 2016”, Center for Urban & Real Estate Management. 2001
Invited Session in ESEM 2001 “Evolutionary Finance”. 1992
Prize for the best doctoral dissertation at the University of Bonn, GEFFRUB Society. 1992
Participant of the Winter Symposium, Econometric Society, Tilburg. 1988 - 1989 Bourse d’études du gouvernement de la République Française.
RESEARCH GRANTS 2024
Kyoto University grant No. 24K04781 “Modelling Sustainability in General Equilibrium”. 2020 Fintech Grants by Alpiq, Bitmain and Silicon Valley Foundation
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2019 SNSF-grant “Tax incentive and retirement savings in Switzerland” with Kremena Bachmann from ZHAW. 2018
SNSF-Sinergia grant “Foundations of Successful Financial Decision Making” joint with
University of Basel (leading house). 2017
SIX Swiss Exchange-grant for “Market Micro Structure”. 2016 - P&K Pühringer Foundation Research Grant “Interdisciplinary Financial Management” 2014 SNSF-grant “Behavioral Finance for Retail Banking” and SNF-grant “Behavioral Financial Markets”. 2013
Hausdorff Trimester, University of Bonn, on the topic of Evolutionary Finance. 2013- University Research and Priority Program “Financial Regulation”, Subproject Financial
Advice. 2012- Grant of the Institute of New Economic Thinking (sponsored by George Soros) on the
topic of “expectation coordination in financial markets”. 2011- ProDoc-grant PDAMP1 (SNF grant to support Ph.D. students). 2010- SNSF-grant “Media and Finance”. 2000- University Research and Priority Program “Finance”, subproject Behavioral Finance. 2008 - 2012 LGT-Capital Management “Behavioral Finance and Asset Management”. 2008
ASA (Association of Swiss Insurers) “Real Estate Risk”. 2005
Grant of the Gamma Foundation BSI for the paper “A Reward-Risk Perspective on
Prospect Theory: A Solution to the Asset Allocation Puzzle?”. 2001- NCCR (National Centre of Competence in Research)-FINRISK Project 3 “Behavioral and
Evolutionary Finance”. 2002 - 2005 ESF (European Science Foundation)-Project “Behavioral Finance”. 2001 - 2007 SNB (Swiss National Bank) Grant “Monetary Theory”. 1998 - 1999 DFG (Deutsche Forschungsgesellschaft)-Projekt “Evolution in Financial Markets”. 1994
Fellowship Grant of the European Union (Human Capital and Mobility Programme).
MEMBERSHIP
Ongoing
Fellow of the Society for the Advancement of Economic Theory,
American Finance Association, CFA, Royal Economic Society, Research Fellow Swiss Finance Institute, European Finance Association, Swiss Society of Economics and Statistics, Swiss Society for Financial Market Research, Econometric Society, European Economic Association, Member of the Economic Theory Council of the German Economic Association, Swiss Fintech Innovations.
Finished
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Swiss Design Institute on Finance and Banking, Research Fellow of CEPR, Sonderforschungsbereich 303, Bonn University.
PROFESSIONAL SERVICES
Administrative positions Ongoing 2010 Vice Head of the Interdisciplinary Research Center, Finreg. 2015 - International Scientific Advisory Board of the CFA-Society. 2010 - Head of the Center for Portfolio Management, Department of Banking and Finance, UZH. 2015- Head of Swiss Fintech Innovations Lab at the Department of Banking and Finance, UZH. 2018- Member of the Steering Committee, Blockchain Center at UZH.
Finished 2020 - 2025 Vice Director of Department of Finance, University of Zurich, Switzerland. 2009 - 2025 Member of the Directorate of the Department of Banking and Finance, University of Zurich, Switzerland. 2012-2025 Member of the Steering Committee, University Research Priority Program Finreg at UZH. 2009-2016 Head Member of the Department of Banking and Finance, University of Zurich. 2018-2018 External Member of the University of Geneva hiring committee “Behavioral Philantropy”. 2017-2017 Member of the UZH Selection Committee for NCCR 2016-2017 Member of the UZH employee representation, PABVK. 2013-2016 Member of the Advisory Board of Maastricht University. 2001-2008 Member of the Council of the Faculty of Economics, Informatics and Business Administration, University of Zurich. 2010- 2018 Head of the MAS-Real Estate. 2010- 2016 Member of the Council MAS-Finance. 2012 - 2014 Member of the UZH committee on Executive Education. 2001 - 2013 Individual Project Director of “Behavioral Finance” of NCCR-Finrisk. 2001 - 2013 Scientific Coordinator of the Swiss-wide research network (NCCR-Finrisk). 2007 - 2009 Head of the Swiss Finance Institute in Zurich. 2001 - 2008 Vice-Dean of the Faculty of Economics, Informatics and Business Administration, University of Zurich. 2001 - 2008 Delegate for examinations and admissions of the Faculty of Economics, Information Technology and Business Administration, University of Zurich. Ongoing 2017 – Coeditor of “Digital Finance”.
Finished 2010-2022 Advisory Editor of “Journal of Mathematical Economics”. 2011- 2017 Associate Editor of “Journal of Banking & Finance”.
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1990 - 2010 Associate Editor of “Mathematics and Financial Economics”. 2005 Guest-editor, Special Issue “Evolutionary Finance”, Journal of Mathematical Economics.
Referee for Financial Analyst Journal, Econometrica, American Economic Review, Journal of Finance, Review of Financial Studies, Review of Economic Studies, Review of Finance, Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Finance Research Letters, Mathematics and Financial Economics, Journal of Financial Intermediation, Journal of Banking and Finance, Economic Theory, Games and Economic Behavior, International Economic Review, Journal of Economics, Journal of Economic Theory, Journal of International Economics, Journal of Public Economics, Mathematical Social Sciences, Journal of Macroeconomics, Macroeconomic Dynamics, Quantitative Finance, Theoretical Economics, Financial Markets and Portfolio Management, German Economic Review, Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Modern Economics, Computational Economics, International Review of Finance, Financial Analysts Journal, International Review of Financial Analysis, The Financial Review, Journal of Business Economics, Journal of Behavioral Finance, Applied Economics, Financial Services Review, Mankind, BIS- working papers, Financial Innovation (FINI).
External expert for the evaluation of the universities of • Innsbruck • Konstanz • Luxembourg • Maastricht • WU-Vienna
Organized conferences and workshops
• Cultural Economics and Finance Conference, CEF 24, Trier, November 8 to 10, 2024 • Value Intelligence Conference, UZH, October, 23rd, 2024. • Cultural Economics and Finance Conference, CEF 23, Zurich, September 1 to 3, 2023 • 4th FinTech, InsurTech & Blockchain Forum, Zurich, November 19, 2021 • Cultural Economics and Finance Conference, CEF 20, Trier, November 5 to 7, 2021 • 3rd FinTech, InsurTech & Blockchain Forum, Zurich, November 13, 2020 • Cultural Economics and Finance Conference, CEF 20, Trier, June 19th and 20th, 2020 • 2nd FinTech, InsurTech & Blockchain Forum, Zurich, November 5, 2019 • 1st FinTech, InsurTech & Blockchain Forum, Zurich, October 24th, 2018 • Neurofinace Conference, Hertenstein, September 13.-15. 2018. • Heuristics in Finance Conference, Hertenstein, March 27th to 29th, 2017. • Hildenbrand Symposium June 4th, 2016, Bonn. • Experimental Finance Conference, June 22 -24, 2014. • Value Intelligence Conference, VIA, Munich, June 2010 – 2013.
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• Financial Industry Strategy Forum, Interlaken, Switzerland, June 2009. • 9. Schweizer Ökonomentag der OEC Alumni, University of Zurich, September 2008. • Seminar “Behavioral Finance for Private Banking”, Zurich, September 2008. • Neuro-Finance Symposium at the University of Zurich, July 5-7, 2007. • Behavioral Finance Focus Session, European Finance Association, Zurich, August 2006. • Value Intelligence Conference, BayernLB, Munich, July 2005. • Behavioral Finance Workshop, BSI-Gamma Foundation, Zurich, December 2005. • European Workshops on General Equilibrium Theory, Zurich, May 2005. • ESF-Workshop, Zurich, September 2004. • Annual Meeting of the German Economic Association, Zurich, October 2003. • Euroforum-Workshop on Behavioral Finance, Zurich, April 2004. • SWX-Workshop on Evolutionary Finance, Zurich, June 2002
TEACHING
University of Zurich: Financial Aspects of the Blockchain, Finance in Assessment Phase of UZH, Introduction to Financial Economics, Economic Foundations of Finance, Behavioral Finance and Wealth Management, Portfolio Management, Fixed Income Markets, Evolutionary Finance, Advanced Portfolio Theory, Undergraduate Macroeconomics, Introduction to Financial Economics, Theory of the Firm, Monetary Economics, Introduction to Economics, Undergraduate Microeconomics, Mathematics for Economic Analysis, International Trade, Evolutionary Game Theory, Stochastics of Financial Markets, Hedge Funds, Microeconomic Theory, General Equilibrium Theory with Incomplete Markets, Structure of General Equilibrium Models.
Norwegian School of Economics: Behavioral Finance and Wealth Management
University of Lucerne: Financial Markets
Distance Learning University Switzerland: Financial Markets
Executive teaching (in the previous three years) for • UZH • MAS-Real Estate UZ