Theses in Finance and Banking

The Chair of Finance & Banking supervises theses in the field of finance with a reference to issues of financial risk management, banking or behavioral finance. Bachelor theses are usually literature reviews with a focus on recent scientific topics; in the case of Master theses, we mostly offer empirically-oriented theses with a focus on the latest scientific topics. However, this does not preclude occasional literature reviews for master's theses as well.

In addition to the necessary interest in financial issues and the corresponding knowledge acquired during their studies, students should be able to handle statistical analysis software (e.g., R or STATA), especially for empirical work (especially relevant for master's theses).

The supervision of theses in cooperation with firms is generally possible - preferably in cooperation with consulting companies, providers of financial services, and insurance companies.

Theses can be written in German or English, regardless of the topic.

Prerequisite for the preparation of a Master's thesis

  •     Successfully completed seminar with a focus on financial economics

Below are some possible topics:

Bachelor theses:

  • A review of the state-of-the-art of automated trading strategies
  • Advantages and disadvantages of investor engagement for carbon reduction
  • Are peer effects good or bad?
  • ChatGPT and LLMs in Finance
  • Cultural influences on preferences for (sustainable) equity investments
  • Die Inversion der Zinsstrukturkurve: Implikationen und Signale für das Finanzwesen
  • Die Zukunft des Bargeldes: Auswirkungen der Digitalisierung auf die Verwendung von physischem Geld
  • Emotions in financial markets
  • Finanzielle Bildung als Schlüssel zur finanziellen Teilhabe: Eine kritische Untersuchung und Bewertung
  • How do brokers earn their money? Investigating brokers' sources of revenue
  • How do retail investors select their stocks?
  • On the potential of AI-based financial fraud detection
  • Past and Future of Technical Analysis
  • Powerful prompts for ChatGPT in finance and banking
  • Retail investors and the usage of leverage
  • Retail trading in options
  • Revolution oder Hype? Eine Analyse der Auswirkungen von Blockchain-Technologien auf das traditionelle Finanzwesen
  • Risk factors and pricing of cryptocurrencies
  • Social interactions in behavioral finance research
  • State of the art of AI-based financial advice
  • Success factors for (sustainable) crowdfunding campaigns
  • Sustainability-linked loans: Ein Überblick
  • The effect of investor activism on sustainable finance
  • The implications of investors’ attention for trading behavior
  • When do investors perceive assets to be risky?

Master theses:

  • A review of the state-of-the-art of automated trading strategies
  • A literature review on machine learning-based portfolio optimization
  • Active and passive portfolio management: do we need more active ETFs?
  • An examination of crypto data consistency and possible implications: comparing different sources for crypto data
  • Are people biased against sustainable investments?
  • ChatGPT and LLMs in Finance
  • CSR and financial performance
  • ESG uncertainty - Systematic literature Review
  • ESG scores and financial performance
  • Finanzielle Bildung als Schlüssel zur finanziellen Teilhabe: Eine empirische Untersuchung und Bewertung
  • How do retail investors select their stocks?
  • How do investors react to Elon Musk’s Twitter activity?
  • How do retail investors react to news?
  • Powerful prompts for ChatGPT in finance and banking
  • Retail investors and the usage of leverage
  • Sustainability-linked loans: Ein Überblick
  • Textual analysis of WallStreetBets posts: Do investors feel the mood of the market?
  • Textual analysis on financial reports using NLP: Relationship between words and performance
  • The effect of investor activism on sustainable finance
  • The Oprah Winfrey effect: Investigating the influence of celebrity endorsements on investor behavior
  • The pricing of exchange-traded CFDs
  • The value of crowdsourced earnings forecasts
  • Über die Gesprächsfähigkeit von Investitionsalternativen
  • Unbundling E, S and G: Should ESG be reduced to just emissions?
  • When do investors perceive assets to be risky?

Other topics and suggestions are available upon request.

We assign topics for theses on a quarterly basis. Please submit your own topic suggestions or 3 preferences from our suggested topics in the week before April 01, July 01, October 01, and January 01, respectively. Please send your Transcript of Records with your application. In the transcript, you will find the indication whether you are eligible for a thesis. If this indication is missing from your Transcript of Records, but you are convinced that you do meet the requirements, please contact the Examination Office first. If you have proposed a topic of your own, please submit a short synopsis in which you describe what you imagine the topic to be and, if applicable, provide initial literature references.

Within approximately 2 weeks after this date we will be able to provide you with a topic proposal. You will then have 2 weeks to prepare a short synopsis of your topic and submit it to your supervisor, who will return it to you for any necessary revisions. Once the exposé has been satisfactorily revised, the thesis can be registered. Bachelor's theses are then registered by the beginning of the following month; registrations for Master's theses will be arranged separately.

At the beginning of each registration phase there is also an introductory meeting for all thesis writers. The respective date will be published on our website (next meeting: beginning of April 2024). We also offer the possibility of an interim presentation about halfway through the thesis. The date will also be announced via our websites and via Moodle.

Nina Klocke (nina.klocke@uni-due.de) is available as your contact person. Please approach us with suggestions for topics in which you are interested.

 

FAQ

Can I apply for a thesis outside the deadlines mentioned above?
- No, it is not possible to apply outside the above-mentioned deadlines. You have the opportunity to apply twice during each semester.

Can I start my Bachelor's thesis at a different time?
- It is only possible to apply at a different time in very well-founded exceptional cases. Please contact Ms. Klocke for this.


What happens if my exposé has not yet been accepted?
- We will give you time to revise your exposé. If no improvements are apparent, we reserve the right not to register your work. In this case, you will have to reapply in the next application phase.

Which style sheets should I follow? How do I cite correctly?
- You can find detailed information on this in the slides from the introductory event and the guidelines for theses. Both are available in the Moodle course.

The chair is not listed in the MSM document on writing scientific papers. Which guidelines do I follow?
- All formatting requirements can be found in the documents provided in the Moodle course.


Do I have to attend the interim presentation? Are there any negative consequences if I do not attend?
- The interim presentation is an offer from our chair that you can use to receive feedback on your work and to clarify open questions. Participation is voluntary. Nevertheless, we would like to encourage you to take advantage of this opportunity.

How should I hand in my thesis?
- The thesis must be handed in as specified by the examination office. You will find information on this in your respective examination regulations. In addition, please send the paper as a PDF to Prof. Pelster and your supervisor.