Center for Digital Transformation

Prof. Dr. Sebastian Müller

About

I am a Professor of Finance at TUM School of Management Campus Heilbronn. Previously, I served as Professor of Corporate Finance at the German Graduate School of Management and Law (Heilbronn) and as Assistant Professor in Finance at the University of Mannheim where I obtained my Ph.D. in Finance. I was a Visiting Scholar at the University of California, Berkeley, USA. I am interested in the functioning of financial markets and the behavior of financial market participants.

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Curriculum vitae

Category

Awards

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Areas of interest

Research areas

I am particularly interested in the price formation process of financial markets, the investment decisions of market participants, and the impact of digitalization and sustainability on corporations and markets. I adopt an empirical quantitative approach, utilizing methods of machine learning, text analysis, and generative artificial intelligence (AI). I am teaching Finance courses in the Master, Bachelor, and Executive Education programs of TU Munich and my teaching experience covers the areas of Corporate Finance, Investments and Asset Pricing, Banking, Behavioral Finance, Digital Finance, and Sustainable Finance.

Key Publications

  • Jacobs H,  Müller S: “Anomalies Across the Globe: Once Public, No Longer Existent?”. Journal of Financial Economics. 2020; 135 (1): 213-230. Abstract
  • Müller S: “Economic Links and Cross-predictability of Stock Returns: Evidence from Characteristic-based ‘Styles’”. Review of Finance. 2019; 23 (2): 363-395. Abstract
  • Franke B, Müller S,  Müller S: “The q-Factors and Expected Bond Returns”. Journal of Banking and Finance. 2017; 83 (10): 19-35. Abstract
  • Hillert A, Jacobs H, Müller S: “Media Makes Momentum”. Review of Financial Studies. 2014; 27 (12): 3467-3501. Abstract
  • Jacobs H, Müller S, Weber M: “How should individual investors diversify? – An empirical evaluation of alternative asset allocation policies”. Journal of Financial Markets. 2014; 19 (3): 62-85. Abstract
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Scientific Staff

Teaching

I am currently teaching finance courses in the Master in Management (MiM), in the Master in Management & Innovation (MiMI), and in the Bachelor in Management and Technology (BMT) program at TUM. My teaching experience covers the areas of Corporate Finance, Investment and Asset Pricing, Banking, Behavioral Finance, Decision Analysis, Capital Markets as well as Investor Behavior.

Students can find detailed course information in TUM Online.

 

 

 

Thesis

In addition, I regularly supervise seminars, Bachelor and Master thesis in collaboration with my research assistants. TUM students can find a list of currently offered topics here.

Bachelor (summer term)

  • The module will give students a broad understanding of the instruments to analyze and evaluate investment opportunities. It covers the following main areas:

    • Financial Statement Analysis (balance sheet analysis, analysis of profit and loss account)
    • Investment Analysis (net present value method, actuarial return)
    • Capital Budgeting (determination of free cashflows, choosing between alternatives)
    • Cost of Capital (equity costs, borrowing costs, capital costs)
    • Capital Structure

  • Students will work on current research topics within the area of capital market research. While being closely supervised, they apply empirical methods to extract meaningful information from Finance related data.

Bachelor (winter term)

  • The module is designed to enable students to acquire knowledge on how to develop scientific research and correctly writing scientific papers or theses. The students will learn how to write scientific papers successfully and use different types of citations. A focus is also placed on citing correctly without plagiarism.

Master (summer term)

  • The module will give students a broad understanding of the instruments to analyze and evaluate investment opportunities. It covers the following main areas:

    • Financial Statement Analysis (balance sheet analysis, analysis of profit and loss account)
    • Investment Analysis (net present value method, actuarial return)
    • Capital Budgeting (determination of free cashflows, choosing between alternatives)
    • Cost of Capital (equity costs, borrowing costs, capital costs)
    • Capital Structure

  • Each semester a couple of seminar topics are suggested. Students may choose topics from areas like Digital Finance, Sustainable Finance, Anomalies in Financial Markets, Individual Investor Mistakes and others. Students who participate in this course are supposed to conduct a literature review on one of the suggested topics, write a research report, and present their findings. To obtain information about the kickoff session at the beginning of each semester, students need to enroll to the course via TumOnline.

  • Students will  independently conduct literature research at the highest international level in financial market research, systematically analyze and evaluate literature sources, and define relevant research questions. Then, together with the CDT team, they will conduct an experimental research project and draft a scientific report independently. Students will be closely guided and supervised within their work. The gained experience should be helpful to students who would like conduct their own high quality research in Finance.

  • We regularly present our newest research progress within an internal seminar. Research assistants get the chance to present their newest findings and receive valuable feedback from fellow researchers.

Master (winter term)

  • The aim of the course is to give a comprehensive overview on Digital Finance. Specifically, it comprises (but is not limited to) the following areas:

    • History of Digital Finance and how it relates to other financial research disciplines
    • Robo-Advisors
    • Crowd Funding/P2P lending
    • Social Media in Finance
    • Digital Payments
    • Cryptocurrencies
    • Digital Technologies (Big Data and Machine Learning; Textual Analysis; Blockchain)

  • Each semester a couple of seminar topics are suggested. Students may choose topics from areas like Digital Finance, Sustainable Finance, Anomalies in Financial Markets, Individual Investor Mistakes and others. Students who participate in this course are supposed to conduct a literature review on one of the suggested topics, write a research report, and present their findings. To obtain information about the kickoff session at the beginning of each semester, students need to enroll to the course via TumOnline.

  • We regularly present our newest research progress within an internal seminar. Research assistants get the chance to present their newest findings and receive valuable feedback from fellow researchers.

  • The students will motivate, create and implement an investment strategy for the equity market using AI and/or large language models and/or sophisticated chatbots. Candidates are expected to motivate their investment strategies with respective literature to ensure a systematic and structured manner. Candidates are expected to learn how to work with sophisticated chatbots, language models, and Application Programming Interfaces (APIs).

  • The module is designed to enable students to acquire knowledge on how to develop scientific research and correctly writing scientific papers or theses. The students will learn how to write scientific papers successfully and use different types of citations. A focus is also placed on citing correctly without plagiarism.