Rachel Pownall

Rachel is a scholar in behavioural finance, and her work covers the areas of art-finance, emotional assets, risk management, and sustainability. Her work has been published in a number of international Journals, including the European Economic Review, Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, Journal of International Money and Finance, the Journal of Banking and Finance, Financial Analysts Journal, Journal of Empirical Finance, Journal of Alternative Assets, and the Journal of Portfolio Management.

Rachel's research interests broadly covers the realm of understanding investor behaviour. She has a particular focus on art markets and assets with an emotional attachment. She is interested in the behavioural issues of how emotions and psychology influence individuals’ financial decision-making involving risk. This includes understanding the non-pecuniary benefits from investment, such as how aesthetic, environmental, and emotional values, and the influence of individual aspects of status and relative wellbeing influence investment decisions. Rachel is also interested in using neuroimaging techniques, adopted to measure brain activity, in the recently established field of Neurofinance. Her passion for research stems from a belief that through a better understanding of how individuals make risky decisions and incorporating non-pecuniary returns to investment into decision-making will help promote a society that makes more sustainable investment decisions in future.

Education

PhD ‘Rethinking Risk Management in International Financial Markets’ Erasmus University Rotterdam, 2001

MSc International Finance and Econometrics, Maastricht University, 1997

BA First Class Honours Degree in Economics & Econometrics (German), University of Kent at Canterbury, UK, 1996

Companies

• Head Of Finance Department Maastricht University School of Business and Economics (2020)
• Director of Executive Master in Cultural Leadership Royal Academy of Arts (2017)
• Professor Maastricht University (2002)
• Professor TIAS School for Business and Society (2010 — 2022)
• Assistant Professor of Risk Management RSM Erasmus University (2006 — 2007)