Beunza, Daniel

Dr Beunza is Assistant Professor of Management at the London School of Economics. His research in sociology explores the ways in which social relations and technology shape financial value. His award-winning study of a derivatives trading room on a Wall Street bank traces the roots of extraordinary returns to the use of space and internal organization. His study of financial analysts examined the ways in which social dynamics shaped the valuation of dot-com stocks. Dr. Beunza has also conducted a five-year ethnography on the automation of the New York Stock Exchange (profiled in The Wall Street Journal; see here). These articles are part of an emerging literature known as the “social studies of finance.”

Following the financial crisis that started in 2008, Beunza’s research turned to explore the ongoing efforts to reform the financial industry. His study of shareholder engagement received the 2014 Sustainalytics award. He has also examined the standardization of financial data on environmental and social performance, as well as the role of non-profit and non-governmental organizations in responsible investment. Beunza is currently authoring a book on the role of bank culture in the reform of Wall Street and the City of London.

Beunza’s research has had an impact on practice in the areas of market microstructure and responsible investment. In 2012 he contributed to the Foresight Report on Automated Trading commissioned by the British Government. His Comment Letter to the US Securities and Exchange Commission in August 2013 contributed to changes in the regulation of information exchange between brokers and designated market makers (NYSE Rule 104). Since September 2014, Beunza serves as Chair of the Academic Network of a United Nations-sponsored organization, the Principles of Responsible Investment Initiative. Since 2007, Beunza has co-edited Socializing Finance, the leading academic blog that disseminates the findings of research on the social studies of finance.

Dr Beunza obtained his PhD from New York University and taught at Columbia Business School in New York City before joining LSE.