The Federation of European Securities Exchanges (FESE) is delighted to announce that the FESE De la Vega Prize 2026 is awarded to the paper “The Real Cost of Benchmarking” by Christian Kontz (Ph.D. Candidate in Finance, Stanford University Graduate School of Business) and Sebastian Hanson (Ph.D. in Financial Economics, Stanford University Graduate School of Business).
“The Real Cost of Benchmarking” examines how benchmark indices influence companies’ cost of capital and investment. The research indicates that the growth of index-linked investing, while delivering transparency and scale, can also inadvertently raise the perceived cost of equity for many firms, particularly those included in major stock indices, by increasing measured market risk. Over time, this has contributed to lower corporate investment, particularly among firms most sensitive to financing costs.
These findings provide insights into how benchmark-related dynamics and common risk measures can shape capital allocation decisions. They raise awareness of how benchmark inclusion may influence firms’ perceptions of the cost of capital and suggest scope for further considerations of its role alongside firm-specific fundamentals in determining perceived risk. As such, the research contributes to a broader understanding of how financial market practices affect the real economy.
Thorsten Martin, Chair of the FESE De la Vega Prize Jury, said: “The Jury was particularly impressed by the paper’s originality and analytical depth, and by its contribution to our understanding of how the functioning of financial markets can affect firms’ investment decisions and real economy.”
This year marks the 26th edition of the FESE De la Vega Prize. The award was presented by FESE President Niels Brab on 3rd June 2026 during the FESE Convention, titled “From Vision to Action: Delivering the Savings and Investments Union for Growth”.
Niels Brab FESE President commented: “The De la Vega Prize reflects FESE’s long-standing commitment to outstanding young academic research on financial markets. I warmly congratulate this year’s winners, whose work exemplifies the high standards of this award and highlights the importance of rigorous research in this field.”
About the FESE De la Vega Prize
Each year since 2000, the FESE De la Vega Prize has been awarded to a young scholar for an outstanding research paper on financial markets. The Prize particularly values papers about current developments in European financial markets which promote public markets. More information is available here.
FESE De la Vega Prize Jury 2026
Söhnke M. Bartram, Ph.D., Professor of Finance, University of Warwick and Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR)
Thomas Johann, Assistant Professor, University of Mannheim
Arman Khachaturyan, Ph.D., Government Affairs Advisor
Thorsten Martin, Associate Professor of Finance, Frankfurt School of Finance & Management
Ángel Pardo Tornero, Professor, Department of Financial Economics, University of Valencia
Roger Silvers, Associate Professor, University of Utah
Apostolos Thomadakis, Ph.D., Head of Research, European Capital Markets Institute (ECMI); Research Fellow, Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS)
Christian Westheide, Senior Lecturer in Finance, Stockholm Business School, Stockholm University
