Dr Xinfeng (Edwin) Ruan (阮鑫丰) is a Senior Associate Professor of Finance and a Distinguished Professor of Jiangsu Province (江苏省特聘教授) at the International Business School Suzhou (IBSS), Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University (XJTLU). He earned his PhD in Finance from the University of Otago in 2017 and an MSc in Operations Research and Management from the Southwestern University of Finance and Economics (SWUFE) in 2014. Prior to joining XJTLU, Edwin was a Lecturer and Senior Lecturer at the University of Otago (2019–2023) and a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Auckland University of Technology (2018–2019).

Edwin’s research interests mainly focus on asset pricing and derivatives, both in theoretical and empirical domains. He has extensive research experience in these areas and has published more than 40 papers in highly regarded, peer-reviewed journals, such as the Journal of Financial Markets, Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, and Journal of Futures Markets. His academic contributions earned him the Otago Business School Best Emerging Researcher Award in 2019, alongside several best paper awards at prestigious national and international conferences.

Edwin actively welcomes applications from prospective PhD students with a genuine passion for asset pricing and derivatives. Candidates with strong programming skills (e.g., Python, MATLAB, R, SAS, and Stata) are highly encouraged to apply.

Asset Pricing and Derivatives

Senior Associate Professor of Finance, Xian Jiaotong-Liverpool University - 2023-present

Senior Lecturer in Finance, University of Otago - 2022-2023

Lecturer in Finance, University of Otago - 2019-2022

Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Auckland University of Technology - 2018-2019

FIN303 Financial Risk Management (2023-present, S2, XJTLU)

FIN403 Quantitative Methods for Finance (2023-present, S1, XJTLU)

FINC299 Fundamentals of Quantitative Finance (2022, S2, University of Otago)

FINC403 Studies in Capital Markets (2022, S1, University of Otago)

FINC310 Fixed Income Security Analysis (2019-2021, S2, University of Otago)

FINC412 Financial Analytics (2019-2021, S2, University of Otago)

FINC306 Derivatives (2017, S2, University of Otago)

FINC405 Mathematical Finance (2017, S2, University of Otago)

2025, 14th International Conference on Futures and Other Derivatives Best Paper Award

2025, 4th Quantitative Finance and Risk Management Forum Best Paper Award

2024, 23rd China Financial Engineering Annual Conference Outstanding Paper Third Prize

2024, International Conference on Climate and Energy Finance Best Paper Award

2023, Talent Program Award of Distinguished Professor of Jiangsu Province (江苏省特聘教授)

2019, Otago Business School Best Emerging Researcher Award