PhD student (lic) in financial economics or financial statistics
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Your duties
The project's contribution will lie at the intersection of random matrix theory and statistical inference theory, with applications within several scientific areas. Particular emphasis will be placed on practical problems within economics and finance, such as the construction of optimal portfolios in high dimension.
Against the background of the widespread use of generalized inverses of sample matrices in practical applications, especially when the dimension of the data-generating process exceeds the number of observations, the project aims to develop the distributional properties of generalized inverses of the high-dimensional sample-covariance matrix. The project will improve estimators of high-dimensional quantities through the development of new linear and non-linear shrinkage methods.
In particular, new estimators for optimal portfolio weights will be derived, which is expected to lead to significantly more stable and less risky trading strategies.
As a PhD student, you will devote yourself to your doctoral education and the research project in which you are included. Your work may also include teaching or participating in other departmental duties, up to 20 percent of full-time.
Your qualifications
You have a master's, magister, or civilingenjör degree with a specialization in industrial economics, financial mathematics, technical mathematics, or equivalent that may be relevant for the employment. Alternatively, you have acquired primarily equivalent knowledge in other ways. Your degree must be completed no later than the time when the employment decision is made, which means you can apply for the position while completing your studies.
You have good collaborative skills and find it easy to create contacts and maintain good relationships in professional contexts. Good knowledge of English is a requirement for the employment and good knowledge of Swedish is meritorious.
Your workplace
Read more about your workplace here: https://liu.se/organisation/liu/iei/pek
About the employment
In connection with commencement of employment, you will be admitted to the doctoral program. Read more about the respective faculty's doctoral education https://liu.se/forskning/forskarutbildning
The employment as a PhD student for a licentiate degree is time-limited to normally two years full-time. Extension of employment occurs based on the degree of teaching and departmental duties. For special reasons, further extension may occur. You are initially employed for one year, and thereafter the employment is renewed for a maximum of two years at a time, based on the achieved study plan.
Security clearance may be conducted before a decision on employment is made.
Salary and benefits
The PhD student salary is regulated based on a locally agreed salary scale. Read more about benefits for employees https://liu.se/jobba-pa-liu/formaner.
Trade union contact persons
Information about trade union contact persons, see https://liu.se/jobba-pa-liu/hjalp-for-sokande.
Application
You apply for this position by clicking the "Apply" button below. Your application must be provided to Linköpings universitet no later than August 15, 2026. Applications received after the deadline will not be considered.
We welcome applicants with different backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives; it enriches and develops our operations. For us, it is a matter of course to safeguard everyone's equal value, rights, and opportunities. Read about our work at https://liu.se/artikel/lika-villkor/.
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