Sohail Raza

Research

Job Market Paper Working Papers Research in Progress Previous Publications Research Interests

Job Market Paper

Title: Climate Change Exposure and Acquisitions of Green Assets: Evidence from the Market for Corporate Control (with Saikat Sovan Deb, Edward J. Podolski, and Wei Shi)

SSRN: SSRN Link

Using a novel dataset constructed from USPTO patent data, target business descriptions, and EDGAR filings, we identify green acquisition targets and examine whether firms respond to climate transition risk by reallocating capital through such acquisitions in ways that are value-enhancing or indicative of managerial agency.

Working Papers

Title: Socially Responsible Institutional Ownership and the Direction of Green Innovation (with Saikat Sovan Deb, Edward J. Podolski, and Wei Shi)

Title: Corporate Lobbying and Investment Efficiency (with Saikat Sovan Deb, Edward J. Podolski, and Wei Shi)

Research in Progress

Title: Corporate Political Risk and Corporate Innovation: Evidence from Co-patenting (with Kambar Farooq)

Previous Publications

Title: Critical Value Functions for Likelihood-Ratio Tests under Normality (2023)

S. Munir, S. Raza, and K. A. Haq

Journal: Chilean Journal of Statistics, 14(1)

Link: View publication

Title: The Impact of US Quantitative Easing (QE) Announcements on Indian Government Bond Yields (2022)

S. Raza and S. Munir

Journal: Asian Journal of Economics, Business and Accounting, 23(19), 179–206

Link: View publication

Research Activities

• Deakin Brown Bag Seminar, (2025) — Presented paper: Climate Risk and Strategic M&A.
• I.S.E.O. Summer School, Iseo, Italy (2025) — Participated in the PhD Summer School and presented a research poster. Keynote guest: Robert C. Merton, Professor of Finance, MIT Sloan School of Management.
• FMA Asia-Pacific Conference, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan (15–17 December 2025) — Presented paper: Climate Risk and Strategic M&A (Main Session).
• Discussant, FMA Asia-Pacific Conference, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan (15–17 December 2025) — Session: Corporate ESG; paper discussed: Why do productive firms pollute less?
• 4^th PhD Summer Institute in International Trade & Industrial Organisation, Deakin University, Melbourne, Australia (March 2026) — Presented paper: Climate Risk and Strategic M&A.
• Ad hoc Reviewer, Australian Journal of Management (2025).

Research Interests

Corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions, corporate innovation, ESG, responsible investing, and political influence.

Experience

Teaching Philosophy

My teaching philosophy is centred on making finance accessible, practical, and intellectually engaging for students from diverse academic and professional backgrounds. I believe that finance education should go beyond formulas, models, and technical tools. Students need to understand the intuition behind financial concepts, learn how to apply them to real-world problems, and develop the confidence to make informed decisions under uncertainty. I also aim to help students learn how to learn, so they can adapt to new financial problems, markets, technologies, and data sources throughout their careers. For example, when teaching equity investment and portfolio theory, I first motivate the practical problem faced by investors: how to compare stocks, evaluate risk and return, and understand the benefits of diversification. This helps students see finance theory not as abstract mathematics, but as a structured way of analysing real financial decisions.

A key part of my teaching approach is connecting theory with professional financial data and market practice. I actively introduce students to LSEG Refinitiv Workspace and use it to demonstrate price history, company financials, peer comparison, multiples valuation, IPO data, and M&A datasets. In corporate finance and financial management teaching, I use these tools to help students understand how concepts such as valuation, cost of capital, market performance, and corporate transactions are applied in practice. By working with real market data, students learn not only how to complete calculations, but also how to interpret financial information, compare firms, justify assumptions, and communicate their analysis clearly.

I also aim to create an interactive and application-oriented classroom environment. I use Excel-based exercises, real market examples, and problem-solving activities to support students, especially those who may initially feel less confident with quantitative finance. As part of the teaching team, I have implemented a trading game activity where students use market data and Excel to make investment decisions, track portfolio performance, and reflect on trading strategies. Building on this experience, I have also developed my own modified demo version of an Excel-based ASX trading simulation to further support applied and data-informed learning. This activity is designed to make finance more engaging while helping students develop practical skills in portfolio tracking, market interpretation, and investment decision-making. A demo version can be viewed here: Trading Game Excel File.

Teaching Experience

Professional

CV

Download my CV (PDF)

Contact

Email: s.raza@deakin.edu.au

Personal Email: raza.sohailalig@gmail.com

GitHub: github.com/sohailrazaa

LinkedIn: View my LinkedIn

Phone: +61 468 994 070