VISITING ACADEMIC SCHOLARS NAMED BY THE OFFICE OF ECONOMIC ANALYSIS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
2005-121

Washington, D.C., August 29, 2005 -- The Securities and Exchange Commission's Office of Economic Analysis today announced the appointment of Dr. Hong Yan as a Visiting Academic Scholar for a one-year term. Simultaneously, OEA announced the appointment of Dr. Allan Zebedee as an Economic Fellow for a two-year term. Yan is currently an Assistant Professor of Finance in the McCombs School of Business, University of Texas at Austin, while Zebedee is currently an Assistant Professor of Finance at San Diego State University.

Yan received his Ph. D. in 1999 from the University of California at Berkeley in business administration, specializing in finance. His area of expertise is asset pricing and investment management. His recent research has focused on the performance of mutual funds, investor behavior in mutual funds and its implications for the incentives for fund managers.

Zebedee received his Ph. D. in 2001 from the University of California, San Diego in economics, specializing in financial econometrics. His research has focused on using market microstructure data to examine broader issues in corporate finance. Specifically, his recent research has examined the impact of corporate repurchase programs on market liquidity and the effect of convertible bond calls on the underlying equity assets. In addition, he also has an article forthcoming in the Journal of Financial Markets examining the role of institutional investors in the aftermarket of initial public offerings.

While at the Commission, Yan will join other researchers on projects involving work on mutual fund regulation, issues related to hedge funds and other areas as dictated by SEC priorities. Zebedee will join other researchers on projects involving work on enforcement, market structures and execution quality, as well as other areas as dictated by SEC priorities.

http://www.sec.gov/news/press/2005-121.htm