Todd Griffith
Director & Advisor, MFE Graduate Program, & Associate Professor
Department(s):- Economics and Finance
- Master of Financial Economics

Education
PhD, Finance, University of Mississippi, 2017
MS, Financial Economics, Utah State University, 2012
BS, Economics, Utah State University, 2011
Awards
Undergraduate Mentor of the Year - 2026
Outstanding Graduate Mentor of the Year - 2023
Teacher of the Year - 2022
Faculty Researcher of the Year - 2021
Biography
Dr. Todd Griffith is an Associate Professor of Finance at the Jon M. Huntsman School of Business, Utah State University. He earned his Ph.D. in Finance with honors from the University of Mississippi in June 2017. Dr. Griffith also graduated with honors from Utah State University, receiving an MS in Financial Economics in 2012 and a BS in Economics in 2011.
With practical experience across multiple sectors of finance – including sales (Security Networks), retail banking (Wells Fargo), insurance (Farmers Insurance), and investment banking (Royal Bank of Scotland) – Dr. Griffith teaches both undergraduate and graduate courses in investment and financial economics.
Since 2020, Dr. Griffith has served as the Graduate Director of the Financial Economics Program, during which time he has helped grow enrollment to nearly 20 students per incoming class. The program boasts a 100% placement rate, with graduates securing positions at prestigious financial institutions such as BlackRock, Goldman Sachs, Moody’s, and Zions Bank.
Dr. Griffith also directs the Financial Planning and Advising Programs, where he has recruited industry professionals to teach and provide students with an elite education that prepares them for the Certified Financial Planner (CFP) exam. The undergraduate club associated with these programs further connects students with financial professionals nationwide.
His research focuses on empirical market microstructure, asset pricing, and banking. He has published in leading academic journals, including the Review of Financial Studies, the Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, the Journal of Banking and Finance, the Journal of Business Research, and the Journal of Financial Markets. To date, he has authored 34 peer-reviewed publications.
Journal Articles
Academic Journal
- Griffith, T., Bickmore, E., Blau, B., Whitby, R., (2025). Corporate lobbying, political action committees, and market concentration. The Journal of Financial Research
- Griffith, T., Blau, B., Baig, A., Sabah, N., (2025). Price clustering and the informational efficiency of stock prices. The Journal of Financial Research
- Griffith, T., Blau, B., Whitby, R., (2025). Corporate lobbying and tax avoidance. Applied Economics
- Griffith, T., Blau, B., Whitby, R., (2025). Financial development and mortality rates. Applied Economics, 57:3
- Griffith, T., Baig, A., Blau, B., Whitby, R., (2024). Political Protection: The Case of Large-Scale Oil Spills and the Stock Prices of Energy Firms. International Review of Finance, 25:1
- Griffith, T., Cox, J., Van Ness, R., (2024). Market structure and price clustering: Maker‐taker versus taker‐maker. Journal of Financial Research, 47:3, 767-787.
- Griffith, T., Blau, B., Whitby, R., (2023). Airline Disasters and the Performance of Tourism and Hospitality Stocks. Public Choice, 28:2
- Griffith, T., Blau, B., Voges, R., (2023). Daily short selling around reverse stock splits. Journal of Financial Markets, 65
- Griffith, T., Blau, B., Whitby, R., (2023). Industry regulation and the comovement of stock returns. Journal of Empirical Finance, 73, 206-219.
- Griffith, T., Blau, B., Whitby, R., Woodward, D., (2023). Anchor Reversion: The Case of the 52-Week High and Asset Prices. Journal of Behavioral Finance
- Griffith, T., Davis, R., Van Ness, R., (2023). Modern OTC market structure and liquidity: The tale of three tiers. Journal of Financial Markets, 64
- Griffith, T., Shang, D., (2023). Cryptocurrency regulation and market quality. Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, 84
- Griffith, T., Baig, A., Berkowitz, J., DeLisle, R., (2023). COVID-19 Intensity Across U.S. States and the Liquidity of U.S. Equity Markets. The Financial Review, 58:2, 235-259.
- Griffith, T., Blau, B., Whitby, R., (2022). Pharmaceutical Innovation and Access to Financial Markets. Plos one
- Griffith, T., Blau, B., Whitby, R., (2022). Lobbying and lending by banks around the financial crisis. Public Choice, 192
- Griffith, T., Baig, A., Breeze, S., Cox, J., (2021). Settling down: T+2 settlement cycle and liquidi. European Financial Management
- Griffith, T., Blau, B., Larsen, D., Whitby, R., (2021). Corporate lobbying and the value of firms: The case of defense firms and the 9/11 terrorist attacks. International Review of Finance
- Griffith, T., Blau, B., Whitby, R., (2021). Inflation and Bitcoin: A descriptive time-series analysis. Economics Letters, 203
- Griffith, T., Davis, R., Roseman, B., Yildiz, S., (2021). The effects of exchange listing on market quality: Evidence from over-the-counter uplistings. The Financial Review, 56:4
- Griffith, T., Blau, B., Whitby, R., (2021). Income inequality and the volatility of stock prices. Applied Economics, 53:38
- Griffith, T., Battalio, R., Van Ness, R., (2021). Do (Should) Brokers Route Limit Orders to Options Exchanges That Purchase Order Flow?. Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, 56:1
- Griffith, T., Blau, B., Whitby, R., (2021). On the Ethics of “Non-Corporate” Insider Trading. Journal of Business Ethics
- Griffith, T., Blau, B., Whitby, R., (2021). Price Clustering, Preferences for Round Prices, and Expected Returns. Journal of Behavioral Finance
- Griffith, T., Blau, B., Whitby, R., (2020). Opacity and the Comovement in the Stock Prices of Banks. Accounting and Finance, 60:4
- Griffith, T., Blau, B., Whitby, R., (2020). Comovement in the Cryptocurrency Market . Economics Bulletin, 40:1
- Griffith, T., Baig, A., Blau, B., (2020). Firm Opacity and the Clustering of Stock Prices: the Case of Financial Intermediaries. Journal of Financial Services Research
- Griffith, T., Liebenberg, A., (2020). The Effect of Incidental Reinsurance Assumption on Insurer Performance. North American Actuarial Journal , 25:4
- Griffith, T., Roseman, B., Shang, D., (2020). The effects of an increase in equity tick size on stock and option transaction costs. Journal of Banking and Finance, 114
- Griffith, T., Cox, J., (2019). When Elections Fail to Resolve Uncertainty: The Case of the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election. The Journal of Financial Research, 42:4
- Griffith, T., Van Ness, R., (2019). Order Cancellations, Fees, and Execution Quality in U.S. Equity Options. The Review of Financial Studies, 33:4
- Griffith, T., Roseman, B., (2019). Making cents of tick sizes: The effect of the 2016 U.S. SEC tick size pilot on limit order book liquidity. Journal of Banking and Finance, 101
- Griffith, T., Blau, B., Whitby, R., (2019). Information in stock prices: the case of the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Applied Economics, 51:40
- Griffith, T., Blau, B., Whitby, R., (2018). The Maximum Bid-Ask Spread. Journal of Financial Markets, 41, 1-16.
- Griffith, T., Van Ness, R.A, Van Ness, B.F, (2017). High-Frequency Trading Patterns around Short-Term Volatility Spikes. The Journal of Trading, 12:3
- Griffith, T., Blau, B., Brough, T., (2017). Bank opacity and the efficiency of stock prices. Journal of Banking and Finance, 76, 32-47.
- Griffith, T., Blau, B., (2016). Price clustering and the stability of stock prices. Journal of Business Research, 69:10, 3933-3942.
- Griffith, T., Box, T., (2016). Price Clustering Asymmetries in Limit Order Flows. Financial Management, 45:4, 1041-1066.
Books
- Griffith, T., Blau, B., Whitby, R., (2024). Personal Finance and Economic Decision-Making. MyEducator *
Magazine/Trade Publications
- Griffith, T., (2022). Opinion: Is Bitcoin really money?. DeseretNews *
An asterisk (*) at the end of a publication indicates that it has not been peer-reviewed.
Teaching
FIN 6600 - Advanced Financial Economics, Fall 2025
FIN 6400 - Foundations of Financial Economics, Fall 2025
FIN 3300 - Investments, Fall 2025
MGT 3050 - Foundations of Business: Capitalism, Markets, and Innovation, Spring 2025
MGT 3050 - Foundations of Business: Capitalism, Markets, and Innovation, Spring 2025
FIN 3300 - Fundamentals of Finance II, Spring 2025
BUS 1700 - Huntsman Global Vision Lab, Spring 2025
FIN 6600 - Advanced Financial Economics, Fall 2024
FIN 6400 - Foundations of Financial Economics, Fall 2024
FIN 3300 - Fundamentals of Finance II, Fall 2024
MGT 3050 - Foundations of Business: Capitalism, Markets, and Innovation, Spring 2024
MGT 3050 - Foundations of Business: Capitalism, Markets, and Innovation, Spring 2024
FIN 3300 - Fundamentals of Finance II, Spring 2024
FIN 3300 - Fundamentals of Finance II, Spring 2024
FIN 6600 - Advanced Financial Economics, Fall 2023
FIN 6400 - Foundations of Financial Economics, Fall 2023
FIN 3300 - Fundamentals of Finance II, Fall 2023
FIN 3300 - Fundamentals of Finance II, Fall 2023
USU 1010 - University Connections, Fall 2023
MGT 3050 - Foundations of Business: Capitalism, Markets, and Innovation, Spring 2023
MGT 3050 - Foundations of Business: Capitalism, Markets, and Innovation, Spring 2023
FIN 3300 - Fundamentals of Finance II, Spring 2023
FIN 6600 - Advanced Financial Economics, Fall 2022
FIN 6400 - Foundations of Financial Economics, Fall 2022
FIN 3300 - Fundamentals of Finance II, Fall 2022
FIN 3300 - Fundamentals of Finance II, Fall 2022
FIN 4460 - Investments, Spring 2022
FIN 6400 - Foundations of Finance, Fall 2021
FIN 4460 - Investments, Fall 2021
FIN 5060, 6060 - Personal Financial Planning and Advising, Fall 2021
MSLE 6640 - Selected Topics in Business Administration, Summer 2021
ECN 6600 - Advanced Financial Economics, Spring 2021
FIN 4460 - Investments, Spring 2021
FIN 3400 - Corporate Finance, Fall 2020
FIN 4460 - Investments, Fall 2020
PFP 5060, 6060 - Personal Financial Planning and Advising, Fall 2020
PFP 6060, 5060 - Personal Financial Planning and Advising, Fall 2020
MSLE 6640 - Selected Topics in Business Administration, Summer 2020
FIN 5100 - Financial Markets and Trading, Spring 2020
FIN 4460 - Investments, Spring 2020
FIN 3400 - Corporate Finance, Fall 2019
FIN 4460 - Investments, Fall 2019
MSLE 6640 - Selected Topics in Business Administration, Fall 2019
MSLE 6640 - Selected Topics in Business Administration, Summer 2019
FIN 3400 - Corporate Finance, Spring 2019
FIN 5100 - Financial Markets and Trading, Spring 2019
FIN 3400 - Corporate Finance, Fall 2018
FIN 3400 - Corporate Finance, Fall 2018
FIN 3400 - Corporate Finance, Spring 2018
FIN 5100 - Financial Markets and Trading, Spring 2018
FIN 3400 - Corporate Finance, Fall 2017
