Rate My Professor Sebastian Gehricke

Dr Sebastian Gehricke is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Accountancy and Finance at the University of Otago Business School. He holds a BCom in Finance and Economics, an MBus in Finance, and a PhD in Finance from the University of Otago, where he completed his doctoral thesis 'VIX Futures ETNs and Their Derivatives' in 2018. Gehricke joined the department full-time as a Lecturer in June 2018 and was promoted to Senior Lecturer in 2023. As Director of the Climate and Energy Finance Group (CEFGroup), he leads research, teaching, and industry events in sustainable finance, benefiting regulators, iwi, and non-profit sectors. He developed New Zealand's first sustainable investments course, FINC320, in 2021; launched the Minor in Sustainable Finance in 2024; and is reintroducing the Master's course FINC420: Climate and Energy Finance in 2025. In 2023, he began leading the Effectiveness Evaluation of Aotearoa New Zealand Climate-related Disclosures, funded by the External Reporting Board. Gehricke holds positions including member of the Institute of Finance Professionals New Zealand (INFINZ) advocacy committee, Independent Technical Advisory Group for the New Zealand Sustainable Finance Taxonomy, steering group for the New Zealand Stewardship Code, and Otago Energy Research Council. He also serves as a Director of Methodist Mission Southern.

Gehricke's research specializations include sustainable finance and reporting, greenwashing, carbon markets, and energy markets. His publications feature 'Enhancing climate decision making: Insights from early adopters of climate risk disclosure' (Policy Quarterly, 2024, with S. Walton and T. Hazelhurst), 'Doing well while doing good: ESG ratings and corporate bond returns' (Applied Economics, 2024, with X. Ruan and J.E. Zhang), 'The role of fundamentals and policy in New Zealand's carbon prices' (Energy Economics, 2023), and 'Option traders are concerned about climate risks: ESG ratings and short-term sentiment' (2022). A CEFGroup working paper co-authored by Gehricke won the 2023 INFINZ NZX Research Report of the Year award. He received the University of Otago Early Career Researcher Award in 2022. Gehricke has supervised numerous postgraduate students, including PhDs on climate risks in asset prices and indigenous investing.