Michael Gropper

Biography

Michael Gropper is an assistant professor of finance at the Leeds School of Business, University of Colorado Boulder. His research focuses on household finance, insurance, and retirement. Gropper studies how households save and invest over long time horizons as well as the forces that affect how employers offer retirement benefits to their employees. 

Michael has published in the Journal of Finance and his work on insurance and retirement has been featured in outlets such as PlanSponsor, InvestmentNews, and BenefitsPro. His work on the effect of trust in retirement portfolio choice, coauthored with Julie Agnew, Angela Hung, Nicole Montgomery, and Susan Thorp, received an honorable mention from the International Centre for Pension Management. 

Gropper received a B.B.A. from the College of William & Mary and a Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He currently teaches corporate finance in the undergraduate program. Prior to his academic career, Michael worked in economic consulting in Washington, D.C.

Research

Research Areas of Interest

• Household finance
• Retirement savings
• Insurance
• Law and finance

Selected Publications

• “Wealth and Insurance Choices: Evidence from U.S. Households,” with Camelia M. Kuhnen. Journal of Finance (2025), Volume 80, Issue 2, 1127–1170. 

Working Papers

• Michael J. Gropper. 2025. Lawyers Setting the Menu: The Effects of Litigation Risk on Employer-Sponsored Retirement Plans.
• Julie R. Agnew, Michael J. Gropper, Angela Hung, Nicole V. Montgomery, and Susan Thorp. 2025. The Effects of Organizational Trust on Investors' Expectations and Allocations

Teaching

Gropper currently teaches corporate finance in the undergraduate program as well as a seminar in the finance doctoral program.

Media, Insights & News

• Fear of Litigation Causes Plan Sponsors to Pare Down Investment Menu. PlanSponsor. 2023