Program

40th Mitsui Symposium: Private Capital Markets
June 4-5, 2026
Ann Arbor, Michigan

Thursday, June 4, 2026

Stephen M. Ross School of Business, 701 Tappan Ave

7:45 – 8:30 a.m. | Breakfast and Registration, R2220

8:30 a.m. | Welcome from M.P. Narayanan, Faculty Director, Mitsui Life Financial Research Center

Session 1: Venture Capital
Chair: Neroli Austin

8:30 – 10:00 a.m. |
“Secondary Markets for VC-Backed Startup Equity”
Daniel Bias (Vanderbilt University), Johan Cassel (Vanderbilt University), Berk Sensoy (Vanderbilt University)
Discussant: Michael Weisbach, Ohio State University

“Reframing entrepreneurship: How AI shapes the problems startups address”
Shai Bernstein (Harvard University), Mimi Chen (Harvard University), Jackie Lane (Harvard University), Zilin Ma (Harvard University)
Discussant: Franklin Qian, University of North Carolina

10:00 – 10:30 a.m. | Morning Break

Session 2: Private Equity
Chair: Rebecca De Simone

10:30 – 12:00 p.m. |
“Buying from the Family: Private Equity-Owned Insurers and Their Affiliated Investments”
Amy Huber (University of Pennsylvania), Stefan Huber (University of Pennsylvania), Bella Shan (University of Pennsylvania), Christina Zhu (University of Pennsylvania)
Discussant: Shan Ge, New York University

“More Competition, Better LBOs? When Private Equity Sponsors Compete for Deals”
Andrew Kim (Federal Reserve Board), Simon Mayer (Carnegie Mellon University), Teng Wang (University of Texas at Arlington), Constantine Yannelis (University of Cambridge)
Discussant: Naveen Khanna, Michigan State University

12:00  – 1 p.m.| Lunch, Tauber Colloquium

Session 3: Democratization of Private Markets
Chair: Neroli Austin

1:00 – 2:30 p.m. |
“Democratizing Illiquid Assets: Liquidity Transformation and Performance in Interval Funds”
Stefano Pegoraro (University of Notre Dame), Sophie Shive (University of Notre Dame), Rafael Zambrana (University of Notre Dame)
Discussant: Emmanuel Yimfor, Columbia University

 “Expanding Access: Retail Investors and Private Funds”
Andrew Glover (University of Washington), Oscar Halliwell (University of Washington), Rui Silva (University of Washington)
Discussant: Morten Sorensen, Dartmouth University

2:30 – 3:00 p.m. | Afternoon Break

Session 4: Early Ideas Session
​Chair: Victor Lyonnet 

3:00 – 4:30 p.m. |

Xugan Chen (Yale University) 
Shuwen Wang (Columbia University)
Emmanuel Yimfor (Columbia University)
Victor Lyonnet (University of Michigan)

6:00 p.m. – 9 p.m.| Dinner and Keynote Speech, Josh Lerner (Harvard University). Glick Ballroom at Potsma Clubhouse, 500 E. Stadium Boulevard

 

Friday, June 5, 2026

Weston Lounge, Michigan Stadium

7:45 – 8:30 a.m. | Breakfast

Session 5: Entrepreneurship
Chair: Neroli Austin

8:30 – 10:00 a.m. |
“Entrepreneurs and (Risky) Spouses”
Isaac Hacamo (Indiana University), Valentina Rutigliano (Southern Methodist University)
Discussant: Daisy Wang, University of Southern California

“The Nature of Firm Financing and Growth,” Ramana Nanda (Imperial College London), Martin Aragoneses (INSEAD), Chris Hansman (Emory University), David Licher
Discussant: Joan Farre-Mensa, University of Illinois Chicago

10:00 – 10:30 a.m. | Morning Break

Session 6: Private Credit & Banking
​Chair: Jonathan Wallen

10:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. |
“The Lending Technology of Direct Lenders in Private Credit”
Young Soo Jang (Pennsylvania State University), Dasol Kim (OFR), Amir Sufi (University of Chicago), Xiangyu Chen (University of Chicago)
Discussant: David Robinson, Duke University

“Too-Many-To-Ignore: Regional Banks and CRE Risks”
Franz Hinzen (Dartmouth College), Felipe Severino (Dartmouth College), Stijn Van Nieuwerburgh (Columbia University)
Discussant: Cameron LaPoint, Yale University

12 – 1 p.m. | Lunch and Field Access