In order to enhance the scientific research atmosphere, Shenzhen University Institute of FinTech continues to hold the serial academic lectures. On the morning of November 9, 2023, the institute invited Assistant Professor Benjamin Yost from Boston College to give an academic lecture. The lecture was hosted by Associate Dean Ge Rui from Shenzhen University Institute of FinTech.

In this lecture, Assistant Professor Benjamin Yost introduced his recent research achievements：This study investigates the impact of ETF ownership on firm payout policy. Compared to traditional mutual funds, ETFs have a unique ability to shield their investors from paying taxes on capital gains distributions, but this advantage does not extend to dividend payouts. Consequently, we hypothesize that ETFs discourage portfolio firms from paying dividends to provide higher after-tax returns for their investors and thereby gain market share. Consistent with our prediction, we find a robust negative relation between ETF ownership and dividend payouts. Cross-sectionally, we find the effect is stronger for ETFs with a greater capacity to mitigate investors’ capital gains taxes via “heartbeat” trades. Evidence from tests using plausibly exogenous variation in ETF ownership indicates the relation is causal. Moreover, we find that firms with high ETF ownership substitute repurchases for dividends as an alternative payout method that preserves’ ETFs’ tax advantage. Overall, our findings suggest that the unique tax structure of ETFs, combined with their increasing prevalence, meaningfully influences corporate policy.


After the lecture, Assistant Professor Benjamin Yost also had a thorough communication with the faculty members and students of the institute. The academic atmosphere on site was enthusiastic.



Introduction of the lecturer:

Dr. Benjamin Yost holds a PhD from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He currently is an assistant professor at the Boston College Carroll School of Management. His research focuses on the economic effects of taxes and corporate disclosures. His works have been published in leading academic journals including Journal of Accounting and Economics, Journal of Accounting Research, and The Accounting Review. He also received awards such as American Accounting Association Competitive Manuscript Award, ATA/PwC Outstanding Tax Dissertation Award.