This paper examines the characteristics of “top tier” finance journal publications relative to “second tier” finance publications. We study ten leading finance journals and classify the top four journals as “top tier” and the remaining six as “second tier” journals. Using a sample of 3,156 different articles with 7,103 different authors and a Logit model, the results highlight the following characteristics: papers presented at WFA, AFA, and seminars, and have multiple colleague comments tend to be published in the top tier journals. Also, authors who graduated from or are affiliated with the top business schools tend to publish in the top tier journals.