Mark J. Garmaise

Mark J. Garmaise is Professor of Finance and Joel Fried Chair in Applied Finance at UCLA Anderson School of Management. He serves as a core faculty member in the Finance Department with extensive teaching responsibilities including corporate finance and venture capital courses. His academic leadership includes serving as dean of the full-time MBA program from 2014-2015.

Education:

• Ph.D. in Finance (1998) - Stanford University
• A.B. in Mathematics and Philosophy, Magna Cum Laude (1994) - Harvard College

Garmaise's research focuses on empirical investigations of asymmetric information and incomplete contracting in real estate markets and entrepreneurial firms. His work bridges theoretical finance with practical market applications, particularly examining how information asymmetries affect credit markets, microfinance operations, and entrepreneurial investment decisions. He has pioneered methodologies for identifying causal relationships in financial markets where traditional experimental approaches are impractical.

His publication portfolio demonstrates consistent high-impact contributions across finance subfields, with recent work addressing borrower misreporting, flexible mortgage lending, and international microfinance dynamics. These studies reveal how institutional structures and information flows shape market outcomes in both developed and emerging economies.

Key Awards:

• 2012 Neidorf Decade Teaching Award
• 2007 Citibank Teaching Award for most outstanding MBA teacher
• 2004 & 2005 BGI Brennan Awards for best papers in Review of Financial Studies
• Multiple MBA teaching excellence awards across program formats

Garmaise maintains active research collaborations, particularly with Gabriel Natividad, focusing on credit market dynamics and microfinance operations. His work bridges academic rigor with practical financial applications, influencing both scholarly discourse and industry practices in venture capital, private equity, and banking sectors.

His leadership extends to directing major research initiatives through UCLA Anderson's Fink Center for Finance and Ziman Center for Real Estate, where he contributes to policy discussions on housing finance and entrepreneurial ecosystems.