Shaun Davies, Associate Professor of Finance
For Shaun Davies, the starting place for understanding finance has nothing to do with finance at all and everything to do with understanding yourself.
The last day of every semester fills Shaun Davies with both dread and joy.
The joy comes from seeing his undergraduate and graduate students reach the finish line. The dread comes from the anticipation of knowing he will share a deeply personal story. He tells it because he believes it will help students confront two questions he asks them to wrestle with:
“Who are you?” and “What are you doing here?”
Davies believes the answers serve as an anchor, especially during moments of adversity. For him and his wife, Kjerstin, a defining moment came in 2017 when they lost their son Charlie at nearly 2 years old. The family found a way to transform their profound grief into purpose. They established Charlie’s Guys, a charity that offers solace to children who have lost a sibling or parent.
“Had I not known my answers to those two questions, I would not have been able to navigate that tragedy. Nor would I have ever really been able to live life and find joy in life,” said Davies.
Lessons in uncertainty
Davies worries that many of today’s students tether their identity to things that may turn out to be fleeting, whether it’s an internship, a salary or a romantic relationship.
“I want students to know that they have so much more value than a paycheck,” he said. He encourages them to maintain perspective. Attending a university like CU Boulder places them among the world’s fortunate few, he believes, and it's a reality that he hopes fosters both gratitude and humility.
Davies’ own path was shaped by both and was less formed by careful planning than by a willingness to embrace uncertainty. During his senior year as a double applied math and economics major at CU Boulder, a classmate alerted Davies to a job board. On a whim, he submitted his resume for a job in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
“I want students to know that they have so much more value than a paycheck.”
—Shaun Davies, Associate Professor of Finance
Fate intervened. The person reviewing applications happened to be someone Davies had played intramural soccer with at CU Boulder two years earlier. “They hired me because I could do math and I could code, even though I didn't know anything about finance.”
Things got off to a rocky start, and Davies “didn’t understand anything anyone was talking about.” He distinctly remembers wandering around the trading floor sipping a Snapple, “feeling the worst imposter syndrome of my life … After a year, I kind of felt like I was finally giving some value to the firm.”
That uncertainty created something surprising: momentum. The more Davies stuck with it, the more he found himself drawn to finance. His boss encouraged him to consider pursuing a doctorate. Davies applied to several PhD programs and chose UCLA.
He still has his microeconomics midterm from 2008; he was dismayed to learn he got the second lowest grade in the class. That fueled a change in the way he studied and approached his work. His low score wasn’t due to a lack of effort, he said. “I was naive and didn’t realize that with undergrad exams, you get taught ‘A, B and C’ and get tested on ‘A, B and C.’ With a PhD exam, I quickly learned that they teach you ‘A, B and C’ and then test you on ‘X, Y and Z.'" His persistence paid off, and after that first year, he loved the PhD program.
Another love also entered his life. At a friend’s wedding, he reconnected with Kjerstin, whom he first met when they were CU Boulder undergraduates. When Davies received an offer in 2013 to teach at Leeds, he and Kjerstin came back to Colorado “with the hope of never leaving.” Their license plates demonstrate their Buff pride: One reads “SHOLDR2” and the other “SHOLDR,” so when they’re parked next to each other, they showcase the line from the “CU Fight Song.”
Making finance human
Through his own experiences, Davies understands how finance can feel intimidating. “We use all these complex terms, but oftentimes they mean very simple things.” What’s more confusing, he added, is that there may be five terms that all mean the same thing. He strives to distill information to make finance accessible and understandable, whether he's speaking to students or the media.
Whether it's saving for college, planning for retirement or understanding a mortgage, Davies ultimately sees financial literacy as liberating. And while markets continue to evolve, he believes one lesson is timeless: “If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.”
He often returns to the idea of stewardship as a guidepost. The way forward comes from knowing what you value and where you place your sense of worth.
Opening doors
That mindset influences Davies' work as faculty director of the Burridge Center for Finance. He praises his colleagues who oversee the center, connecting students with real-world experiences that prepare them for careers in a demanding and rapidly changing industry.
“It helps us make sure students are ready to hit the ground running.”
Writing letters of recommendation is also something he values. “To have the opportunity to open a door or help open a door, it’s incredibly gratifying.”
On two occasions during our conversation, Davies’ daughters opened the door to his home office, prompting a smile from him and a gentle response of “I’m on a call right now, sweetie.” That felt fitting. While he’s earned honors and awards for his teaching and research—in topics ranging from asset management to socially responsible investing—Davies never mentioned those accolades.
Instead, he recited his six children’s names and ages: Scott (almost 13), Charlie (would have turned 11 this year), Victoria (almost 9), Charlotte (6), Annabelle (5) and Max (3). On any given day, their home is filled with kids, friends, neighbors and activity, what Davies affectionately calls “a circus.”
For him, the answers to those two essential questions will always be based on a clear formula, which works in both life and finance: “faith and family.”