New DNRF Chair Awarded to Professor Niels Joachim Gormsen
The Department of Finance and BIGFI are proud to announce that Professor Niels Joachim Gormsen has been awarded a prestigious DNRF Chair, starting September 1, 2025.
Professor Niels Joachim Gormsen has been awarded a prestigious DNRF Chair, starting September 1, 2025.
The grant, awarded by the Danish National Research Foundation (Danmarks Grundforskningsfond - DNRF), will support his research into the crucial role that financial markets play in our economy.
Professor Gormsen’s research focuses on the "cost of capital" – what it costs firms to raise money for new investments, such as developing green technology or building a new factory. While this cost is a central driver of the economy, it is often misunderstood. His research shows that companies often assess the cost of capital differently than economic theories might suggest. These deviations have a significant impact on how firms invest, respond to economic policy, and tackle major societal challenges like climate change.
The research also addresses another fundamental question: how stock markets react to changes in interest rates. A key part of this is understanding the time perspective of a company's value – its "equity duration." Professor Gormsen's team is developing new methods to analyze how this duration is crucial for explaining fluctuations in stock prices.
Ultimately, the project aims to uncover the mechanisms connecting capital markets, corporate decisions, and societal development. The goal is to create new fundamental knowledge about how the cost of capital and interest rates shape the economy of the future.
The DNRF Chair is a funding instrument designed to help Danish universities attract and recruit outstanding international researchers to strengthen and enrich the Danish research environment.