Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Financial investments'

Increasingly more people lack the basic financial knowledge that would help them plan for their future. One aspect of it is not being aware of the long-term benefit of investing in the stock market. Increasing financial literacy with better financial education is a long-term solution. In the meanwhile, there is room for technological innovation to reduce the need for financial literacy which has not been covered by previous research and is therefore the topic of this research. More specifically, this study examines how financial literacy can be reduced in financial planning for households by helping them setting up a stable financial future. A case study method was used to choose three web-based robotized products and evaluate how they scored in mitigating three identified barriers to stock market participation. The result demonstrated that choosing any of the three products significantly reduced the need of financial literacy since they all scored high. In conclusion, these types of technological products can help not only the financially illiterate but also those who want to delegate the task of planning for their financial future.

The first chapter studies mutual funds. I model intraquarter trading and use a genetic algorithm to estimate the trade pattern that is most consistent with the fund's daily reported returns. I validate the model empirically on a sample of institutional trades from Ancerno and I confirm that the method more accurately predicts daily holdings when compared to existing naive assumptions. Further, my method is substantially more accurate in classifying a fund's tendency to supply liquidity, and this increased precision has important implications for identifying superior performing funds. Specifically, a long-short strategy based on the model's liquidity provision measures earns significant abnormal returns, while a similar strategy that relies on quarterly holdings does not exhibit any outperformance. The second chapter studies investment research. We find evidence that crowdsourced investment research facilitates informed trading by retail investors and improves firm liquidity. Specifically, retail order imbalances are strongly correlated with the sentiment of Seeking Alpha articles, and the ability of retail order imbalances to predict returns is roughly twice as large on research article days. In addition, firms with exogenous reductions in Seeking Alpha coverage experience increases in bid-ask spreads and price impact, with the effect being stronger for firms with high retail ownership. Our findings suggest that technological innovations have helped democratize access to investment research with important implications for firm liquidity.

Return on investment (ROI) is one of several financial metrics increasingly advocated and used to evaluate expenditures on hum~n capital initiatives. This thesis explored empirically the discrepancy between growing interest in, and uptake of, ROI for human capital investments on the one hand; and evidence to date that implementation is problematic and actual usage limited, on the other. From within a constructivist/interpretivist paradigm, ten attempts to apply ROI were identified and reconstructed using the qualitative techniques of observations, interviews and document analyses. These attempts were drawn from three different contexts - corporate, health service and international development. Concepts from seminal theories on learning and skills acquisition, knowledge, practice, context and their relationship with each other, as well as the introduction of new technical approaches, were selected to provide a framework to guide the enquiries and interpretation of data. The study found the term ROI was used as a bridging metric and understood in three ways - metaphorically, as an aspiration of value; literally, as a metric; and procedurally, as a method for planning and evaluating human capital investments. The metaphorical use of ROI was widespread as a way of expressing a common goal when dealing with key stakeholders. However, the metric was rarely utilised to measure human capital investments because applying it was difficult and time consuming; particularly linking the investment and service system performance through people performance. Methodically, ROI seemed to-function as an aspirational map for planning and evaluating human capital investments. Learning and applying the method, even partially, was valued and tended to lead to changed behaviour and organisational culture. Significant variations between the three contexts were noted, and it is argued that the contingencies affecting the uptake and appropriateness of ROI in different settings would likely affect the appropriateness of other financial metrics for evaluating human capital investments.

South Africa has a poor savings culture. This means that South Africans do not save enough income for a later stage resulting in a relative large number of South African consumers living in debt and using more credit than what they have saved. Almost half of the South African consumers were in debt during the year 2010 and had a negative credit record. Thus consumers in South Africa are not living only in poor conditions but are also open to exploitation by the informal economy. Lenders in the informal economy are known as ‘loan sharks’ because they charge consumers interest rates of between 40 and 60 percent. This is because low income consumers have less access to savings products and credit facilities from the formal economy. These factors are more prevalent among the black consumers, as they use informal credit providers. The sources of credit for black consumers in the informal market are social networks such as friends and family. Furthermore, black consumers have low levels of knowledge regarding issues such as bad debts. Black consumers are also more likely to experience financial problems than other racial groups. This means that black consumers may need to improve their levels of financial knowledge, financial skills and adopt positive financial attitudes to manage their financial problems without obtaining more debt. Thus, financial education may be the way of ensuring that black consumers improve their financial decision-making ability and their financial behaviour. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to investigate the relationships between financial literacy, financial inclusion and financial behaviour among the black community in Nelson Mandela Bay. To achieve the purpose of this study, a literature review was conducted on financial literacy, financial education, financial inclusion and financial behaviour. This was followed by an empirical investigation to establish the relationships between financial literacy, financial inclusion and financial behaviour. In this study, a quantitative research approach was adopted as necessitated by the purpose of this study and also to be able to collect a vast amount of perceptions from the black community. The sample of this study consisted of low to middle income black consumers living in Nelson Mandela Bay.

Problem: Do ethical investments perform better than conventional investments? Purpose: To evaluate whether Shariah-compliant indexes and/or socially responsible indexes can improve financial performance of an investment portfolio. Sub-problem: What kind of relationship exists between socially responsible investments and faith-based investments, represented by Shariah-compliant investments? Sub-purpose: To discover how two types of ethical investments, socially-responsible and Shariah-compliant, are related. Method: Quantitative study, covering three types of investment styles of four index families during the period from 2000 until 2011. Financial performance evaluation through the Sharpe ratio, Treynor ratio and Jensen’s alpha. Conclusions: Conventional, socially responsible, and Shariah-compliant indexes do not have any significant differences in financial performance on a global basis. However, Shariah-compliant indexes could slightly over-perform conventional and socially responsible indexes during financial downturns. In the same time socially responsible indexes were noticed to be the most volatile during the whole period of study, to compare with conventional and Shariah-compliant. Regarding relationships, high correlations were found between ethical indexes, as well as between ethical and conventional indexes.

The dissertation consists of two essays. The first essay investigates how oil market factors impact on liquidity commonality in global equity markets. I identify two transmitting channels of the effect on liquidity commonality, namely oil price return and volatility. Using a sample of firms drawn from 50 countries spanning from Jan 1995 to Dec 2015, I find that both effects in oil explain the liquidity commonality in countries with higher integration to oil market. In addition, I show that oil volatility effect is more pronounced in net oil exporters compared to net oil importers after controlling for oil sensitivity. My findings suggest that oil volatility effect on liquidity commonality is more substantial for high oil sensitive countries than oil price return effect except five OPEC members, where liquidity commonality is highly influenced by oil the return along with volatility. These results are robust to controlling for possible sources of liquidity commonality as found in the literature. In the second essay, I study the impact of stock liquidity on firms’ future investments. Since stock liquidity decreases the cost of equity, I expect firms’ future investments to increase with stock liquidity. Secondly, I argue that this relation is more pronounced in more financially constrained firms because of their limited access to external capital. Using a sample of more than 9800 firms, from 21 emerging markets and spanning from 2000 to 2015, I find supportive and robust evidence of a positive association between stock liquidity and firms’ future investments. Furthermore, my findings strongly suggest that the liquidity impact on corporate investments is highly influenced by the firms’ financial constraint levels, using four different definitions of financial constraints. My findings are robust due to controlling for other determinants of future investment suggested in the previous literature, and due to controlling for the country and time effects. In addition, the results seem to be consistent with the use of alternative measures of corporate investments and stock liquidity and with alternative model specifications and estimation methodologies.

Thesis (M.S. in Operations Research)--Naval Postgraduate School, June 2009.
Thesis Advisor(s): Royset, Johannes O. "June 2009." Description based on title screen as viewed on July 13, 2009. Author(s) subject terms: Nonlinear Optimization, Retirement, Habit Formation, Maximum Utility, 4% Rule, Asset allocation, Optimal Investment Portfolio, Inverse Optimization, Investment Survey. Includes bibliographical references (p. 59-60). Also available in print.

This dissertation consists of three essays on investments. The first essay examines the incidence, determinants, and consequences of hedge fund share restriction changes. This paper finds that nearly one in five hedge funds change their share restrictions (e.g., lockup) over the period of 2007-2012. Share restriction changes are not random. Fund’s asset illiquidity, liquidity risk, and performance are related to share restriction changes. A hazard model indicates that funds who actively manage liquidity concerns live longer by adjusting share restrictions. The paper examines whether changes in share restrictions create an endogeneity bias in the share illiquidity premium (Aragon, 2007) and find that 18% of the premium can be explained by the dynamic nature of contract changes. The second essay examines why mutual funds appear to underperform hedge funds. Utilizing a unique panel of mutual fund contracts changes, this paper explores several possible channels, including: alternative investment practices (e.g., short sales and leverage), performance-based compensation, and the ability to restrict the funding risk of fund flows. This paper documents that over our sample period, mutual funds were more likely to shift their contracting environment closer to that of hedge funds. However, this shift provided no benefit to mutual funds and the paper finds no causal link between these contract changes and improvements in performance. Rather, this paper casts doubt on the binding nature of investment restrictions in the mutual fund industry. The third essay examines whether the 52-week high effect (George and Hwang, 2004) can be explained by risk factors. The paper finds that it is more consistent with investor underreaction caused by anchoring bias: the presumably more sophisticated institutional investors suffer less from this bias and buy (sell) stocks close to (far from) their 52-week highs. Further, the effect is mainly driven by investor underreaction to industry instead of firm-specific information. The 52-week high strategy works best among stocks whose values are more affected by industry factors. The 52-week high strategy based on industry measurement is more profitable than the one based on idiosyncratic measurement.

Multilateral development banks (MDBs) are under increased pressure to justify their allocation of donor resources. These funds help produce growth in developing regions such as Central America (CA), where wealth inequality limits individuals' access to basic services and increases the prevalence of crime and corruption. MDB leaders are not always confident the allocation of limited resources creates optimal value. The capital asset price model (CAPM) was the theoretical framework of this correlational study. Archival data consisting of annual reports and audited financial statements were used to draw a sample (N = 66) of USD $4.857-asset valued loans made by MDBs between 1995-2013 in 7 CA countries. Regression analysis was used to determine the significance of relationships between the independent variables including the risk-free rate of return (Rf), volatility of a project (βp), and expected return on the market (Rm) and the dependent variable, the expected return (rp) used by MDBs. No evidence of a statistically significant relationship between the expected return of individual loans (adjusted for risk-free rate, volatility, and market return) and the expected return used by MDBs was found using correlational analysis. Findings from multiple regression analysis indicated that the expected return used by MDBs underperforms risk-adjusted market expectations. Study findings may help MDB leaders to promote business development and social welfare in CA through private investments, which may result in positive social change.

This thesis contains three essays. In the first essay, I provide new evidence on the failure of the Q theory of investment. The Q theory implies the state-by-state equivalence of stock returns and investment returns. However in the data, I find that investment and stock returns are negatively correlated. I also show that a production economy with time-to-build can explain these empirical facts. When I compute Q theory based investment returns on simulated data of the time-to-build model, they are uncorrelated with simulated stock returns, as in the data. Moreover, the model replicates the empirical negative correlation between stock returns and investment growth which some researchers have interpreted as evidence for irrational markets. In the second essay, I analyze the equilibrium effects of investment commitment on asset prices when the representative consumer has Epstein-Zin utility. Investment commitment captures the idea that long-term investment projects require not only current expenditures but also commitment to future expenditures. The general equilibrium effects of investment commitment and Epstein-Zin preferences generate endogenously time-varying first and second moments of consumption growth and stock returns. As a result, the first and second moments of excess returns are endogenously counter-cyclical, excess returns are predictable, and the equity premium increases by an order of magnitude. This paper also offers novel empirical findings regarding the predictability of returns. In the real and simulated data, the lagged investment rate helps to forecast the mean and volatility of returns. In the third essay, we embed a structural model of credit risk inside a consumption based model, which allows us to price equity and corporate debt in a single framework. Our key economic assumptions are that the first and second moments of earnings and consumption growth depend on the state of the economy which switches randomly, creating intertemporal risk, which agents prefer to resolve quickly because they have Epstein- Zin-Weil preferences. Our model generates co-movement between aggregate stock return volatility and credit spreads, consistent with the data, and potentially resolves the equity risk premium and credit spread puzzles.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Oregon, 2003.
Typescript. Includes vita and abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 83-87). Also available for download via the World Wide Web; free to University of Oregon users.

This study used protocol analysis to identify key variables in the venture capital investment decision-making process. The study used a fictional business plan which was based on six actual business plans. This fictional business plan was presented to ten venture capitalists who were asked to review it to decide whether to interview the investee. The protocols obtained from these subjects were analyzed to determine patterns within the subjects' review. The sections of the business plan which were commonly reviewed first were the deal structure, the executive summary, and the management section. The management section was used by the greatest number of subjects. The market section was used the greatest number of times. The data were also organized by type of operators used in each subject's protocols. Information Search/Retrieval operators were most common, followed by Task Structuring/Set Goal operators. When classified into the four major categories of Task Structuring/Set Goal, Information Acquisition, Analytical/ Inferential, and Choice operators, Analytical/Inferential operators were used most frequently. Choice operators were least used. The phrases were analyzed by the relevant section in the business plan. The market received the greatest number of references, followed by references to the product and to management. However, when references to the income statement and balance sheet were combined as phrases relevant to the financial statements, the financial statements were referred to more frequently than the product or the people. The subjects appeared to use an unidentified choice program within which certain models could be identified as subroutines. The subjects used an elimination-by-aspects model to screen the business plan. If the business plan met the criteria within the elimination-by-aspects model of the subject, the subject used an additive/nonlinear model for the remainder of the review. The results of this study indicate that financial statements provide information important in the venture capital investment decision-making process. This finding is contrary to the advice usually given to potential venture capital investees.

Abstract The purpose of this dissertation is to investigate the valuation of intangible assets in different financial environments. Value relevance of intangible investments has been largely recognized by indicating their close relatedness on future operating performance and valuation of firms. The financial environment of the country (market- or bank-based) is also found to be an important determinant of the economic performance of the firm. This thesis combines these two important issues by examining how a country's financial system affect the firm's investments and valuation of intangible assets. The study consists of four essays and an introductory section. Essay I investigates the firm's investments in human capital in different legal- and financial environments. The results of this study indicate that human capital asset constitutes an essential part of the market value of firms in all our sample countries. The results also suggest that firms make investments in human capital to increase their innovation capabilities and to improve their future benefits. Essay II investigates the firm's investments in R&D capital in different financial systems. The common result concerning both financial system is that the estimated R&D capital constitutes a great part of the firm's unrecorded goodwill. The main finding of the study is that the effects of the firm's past profitability and growth on its estimated R&D capital are stronger in bank-based than market-based financial systems. This result emphasizes the role of bank-based financing over market-based financing in the efficiency of resource allocation to R&D investments. Essay III investigates the stock market's response to the firm's R&D investments in different financial systems by taking account of lead-lag structure between the firm's R&D investments and its market value. The main result of the study is that the stock markets' response to current R&D investments varies between different financial systems with regards to the point in time against which the stock market response is examined. This study suggests that information disclosure policies, level of stock-market expectations and attitude towards risk are the most important potential factors that explain the valuation differences of R&D between market- and bank-based financial systems. Essay IV investigates the effect's of a country's financial system on current R&D investments and the future profitability of the firm. The main results of this study can be summarized as follows: the firm's current R&D investments are more strongly associated with the level of future firm profitability in bank-based than market-based financial system whereas current R&D investments are more strongly associated with the uncertainty of future firm profitability in market-based than bank-based financial system. The findings of this study suggest that differences in the valuation of R&D between market-based and bank-based financial systems mainly depends on the information asymmetry between the firm and its investors.

Thesis: Ph. D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, May, 2020
Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (pages 51-53).
I examine whether mandating the disclosure of investments influences firms' strategic interactions. I exploit an SEC regulation requiring firms to report off-balance sheet purchase obligations, such as commitments to inventory purchases, CAPEX, R&D, and advertising. Motivated by theory on strategic investments, I predict and find that firms respond to the regulation by increasing investments if they have substitutive product market strategies with competitors, and decreasing investments if they have complementary strategies. This two-way finding is consistent with firms using investments to influence competitors' behavior in ways that increase their own profits. I show that changes in investments are concentrated among firms with large market share, which have a greater ability to influence competitors' actions, and that they have real effects on firms' sales and profit margins. Collectively, my results illustrate a novel channel through which financial reporting shapes firms' investments and competition.
by Suzie Noh.
Ph. D.
Ph.D. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management

The apparent decline in conventional crude oil reserves creates concern about how to meet future global oil demand. The Canadian oil sands industry could help to fill the gap in projected world oil supply; however, the oil sands industry in Canada is operating below capacity because local investors lack the funds needed for sufficient development. Foreign direct investment could enhance the quick evolution of the oil sands industry in Canada. The purpose of this case study research was to explore the effects of foreign direct investment on the development of the oil sands industry in Canada by examining the case of a company in Alberta, Canada where foreign direct investment has occurred. The conceptual framework for this study is foreign direct investment and host country economic growth. A purposeful sampling method was used to select 15 professionals from the case study company and professionals familiar with the case from the oil sands industry and government agencies. The data collection methods involved the review of the case study company financial and production records and the use of face-to-face and telephone interviews. Collected data were analyzed using the thematic analysis and percentage analysis approaches. The participants acknowledged the effects of the oil sands sector in the development of the community in areas such as increased population, infrastructural and real estate development. The participants also viewed the industry as a major contributor to the revenue of the various levels of government and an employer of labor. The benefit of the study includes stimulating more interest to the oil sands industry from the government, investors and other scholars. The study could lead to social change, as it provides opportunities for increased revenue for the government, more jobs, improved infrastructural facilities, and improved standard of living.

Numerical methods form an important part of the pricing of financial derivatives and especially in cases where there is no closed form analytical formula. We begin our work with an introduction of the mathematical tools needed in the pricing of financial derivatives. Then, we discuss the assumption of the log-normal returns on stock prices and the stochastic differential equations. These lay the foundation for the derivation of the Black Scholes differential equation, and various Black Scholes formulas are thus obtained. Then, the model is modified to cater for dividend paying stock and for the pricing of options on futures. Multi-period binomial model is very flexible even for the valuation of options that do not have a closed form analytical formula. We consider the pricing of vanilla options both on non dividend and dividend paying stocks. Then show that the model converges to the Black-Scholes value as we increase the number of steps. We discuss the Finite difference methods quite extensively with a focus on the Implicit and Crank-Nicolson methods, and apply these numerical techniques to the pricing of vanilla options. Finally, we compare the convergence of the multi-period binomial model, the Implicit and Crank Nicolson methods to the analytical Black Scholes price of the option. We conclude with the pricing of exotic options with special emphasis on path dependent options. Monte Carlo simulation technique is applied as this method is very versatile in cases where there is no closed form analytical formula. The method is slow and time consuming but very flexible even for multi dimensional problems.

Background: Unawareness of most students about how to save and increase their money and changes in global economic conditions create new opportunities and challenges in international business and investment field. Lack of interest from investment companies, banks, funds, estate sellers and rialtos to this interesting and growing group of people, where even bringing up future clients in this young adults can play a big role in future success of the company. Behavior of students and young people is poorly researched, though they often dispose large sums of their own and their parent’s money. Purpose: understand specifics of Russian and Swedish customers, clarify whether they are planning their finance or not, how are they included into rational income allocation process. Find out how illiteracy in financial sphere between exploring group of people affects the behavior of Swedish and Russian citizens towards planning and what are the main differences between this groups. Method: Content analysis Results and contribution: This thesis extends the higher educational literature in the field of personal finance planning by making a contribution to enrichment of knowledge and identification of the main trends in the behavior of young people. The differences between Russians and Swedes will help state governments to make their society more educated and rationale in choosing ways to invest and disburse money and companies from investing field to attract more clients and gain revenue. The new openings can provide a framework for further research.

BANCO NACIONAL DE DESENVOLVIMENTO ECONÔMICO E SOCIAL
O objetivo deste trabalho foi investigar a validade da hipótese da restrição financeira ao investimento fixo em uma amostra de empresas brasileiras não financeiras de capital aberto, listadas em bolsa de valores, entre 1995 e 2003. O estudo pretende contribuir para o debate dos motivos da reduzida participação do crédito no financiamento ao investimento fixo no Brasil. A teoria da restrição financeira ao investimento postula que, quando existem imperfeições no mercado de capitais, a estrutura de capital é relevante para as decisões empresariais e as decisões de investimento dependem da disponibilidade de recursos internos. A intensidade das restrições financeiras depende do grau de assimetria informacional e das condições financeiras das empresas. Por conseguinte, a sensibilidade do investimento à disponibilidade de recursos internos varia de acordo com as características das empresas. Procurou-se, então, analisar a intensidade das restrições financeiras em função de tamanho, rentabilidade, distribuição de dividendos, liquidez, endividamento e controle de capital. A amostra foi formada por 160 empresas. Foram adotados o modelo de investimento baseado em Fazzari e Petersen (1993), a metodologia empírica desenvolvida por Fazzari, Hubbard e Petersen (1988) e o método de regressão em painel. Os resultados permitiram concluir que as empresas brasileiras listadas em bolsa de valores enfrentaram restrições financeiras aos seus investimentos fixos durante o período estudado.
The purpose of this study was to examine the hypothesis of financial restriction on fixed investment in a sample of Brazilian non-financial public companies, between 1995 and 2003. The study intends to contribute to the debate concerning the reasons for the low share of credit in the financing of fixed investment in Brazil. The theory of financial restriction on investment presupposes that when there are market capital imperfections, the capital structure is important for business decisions and that the investment decisions depend on the availability of cash flow. The intensity of financial restrictions depends on the degree of informational asymmetry and the financial conditions of companies. Consequently the sensitivity of investment to the availability of cash flow varies according to corporate characteristics. Thus an attempt was made to relate the intensity of financial restrictions to size, profitability, dividend pay out, liquidity, indebtedness, and control. 160 corporations were included in the sample. The study adopted an investment model based on Fazzari and Petersen (1993), an empirical methodology developed by Fazzari, Hubbard and Petersen (1988) and a panel regression method. It can be concluded from the results that Brazilian public companies indeed faced financial restrictions on their fixed investments between 1995 and 2003.

PONTIFÍCIA UNIVERSIDADE CATÓLICA DO RIO DE JANEIRO
O principal objetivo da tese foi examinar a relação do conhecimento financeiro com as decisões financeiras pessoais. Para atingir este objetivo foram elaborados três ensaios, sendo o primeiro um exame da relação entre o conhecimento financeiro e a tolerância ao risco. O segundo ensaio verificou a relação do conhecimento financeiro com as decisões de endividamento, enquanto o terceiro investigou como as decisões de investimento são afetadas por esse conhecimento. Foram propostas medidas para avaliar os níveis de conhecimento financeiro básico, de crédito e de investimento, adaptadas a partir da revisão da literatura para o contexto de produtos financeiros brasileiros. Com base nos resultados da pesquisa, realizada com 467 jovens universitários, foram propostos os índices de conhecimento financeiro básico, de crédito e de investimento, usados para verificar a relação do conhecimento financeiro com a tolerância ao risco e com as decisões de endividamento e investimento. Foram estabelecidos modelos econométricos para testar as hipóteses de pesquisa. O grupo estudado apresentou bom nível de conhecimento financeiro, sendo a maior dificuldade relacionada ao conceito dos juros compostos. A compreensão das questões relativas a inflação e ilusão monetária apresentaram bons resultados, o que pode ser atribuído à experiência inflacionária vivida no país. Os resultados mostraram que existe relação entre o conhecimento financeiro e a tolerância ao risco, sugerindo que pessoas com maior conhecimento financeiro seriam mais propensas a escolher produtos financeiros de maior risco. Nos demais ensaios observou-se também relação entre conhecimento financeiro e as decisões financeiras. No que se refere ao uso do crédito, foram encontradas evidências de que pessoas com maiores níveis de conhecimento financeiro de crédito tendem a fazer uso de produtos de crédito menos onerosos. Por outro lado, na avaliação dos investimentos, o estudo revelou que os indivíduos que possuem menor grau de menor conhecimento financeiro são aqueles que não fazem investimentos.Utilizando a técnica de análise de cluster promoveu-se o agrupamento dos sujeitos em categorias de endividamento e de investimento, que em seguida foram analisadas em conjunto com as características sociodemográficas de cada grupo. Nesta análise verificou-se que os mais jovens praticamente não fazem uso de operações de crédito e usam basicamente o cartão de crédito. Estes são também os que fazem menos investimentos.Os resultados deste estudo exploratório trazem importantes contribuições para agenda de programas de educação financeira, identificando grupos mais expostos às operações de crédito mais onerosas, bem como grupos menos preparados para as incertezas financeiras do futuro. As evidências obtidas poderão ser aplicadas em políticas públicas voltadas para melhoria nos padrões de conhecimento financeiroe para melhor utilização dos produtos e serviços financeiros.
The main purpose of the thesis was to assess the relation between financial knowledge and personal financial decisions. So as to achieve such goal, three essays were carried out: the first one addressed the relation between financial knowledge and risk tolerance, while the second analyzed the relation between financial knowledge and debt decisions and the third focused on investment decisions.In order to evaluate the financial knowledge, we proposed some measurements of knowledge on basic financial concepts, on credit and investments, which were extracted from a literature review and adapted to the context of Brazilian financial products. According to the results from a research conducted with 467 young university students, some rates of knowledge on basic financial concepts, on credit and investments were suggested, so as to verify the relation between financial knowledge, risk tolerance and both debt and investment decisions. Some econometric models were set forth to test the hypothesis of such research. The studied group presented a good level of financial knowledge, and the most significant difficulty faced by these individuals was related to compound interests. In answer to questions about inflation and monetary illusion, they showed good results, which may be attributed to the recent inflationary experience lived within the country.The results showed a relation between financial knowledge and risk tolerance, thus suggesting that individuals with higher financial knowledge would be more inclined to opt for higher-risk financial products. The other essays also disclosed a relation between financial knowledge and financial decisions. As refers to the use of credits, some evidences indicate that individuals with higher financial knowledge on credit tend to make use of less onerous credit products. Besides, in relation to investments, we found that individuals with low financial knowledge are those who less likely to invest in financial products.By using the cluster analysis method, we grouped the studied individuals within categories relating to indebtedness and investment, which were subsequently assessed in the light of social and demographic characteristics of each group. Upon such analysis, we verified that the youngest individuals practically refrain from making use of credit operations, and basically use credit cards. They are also the ones who make less investment.The results from such exploratory study bring material contributions to the agenda of financial education programs, as they identified groups which are more exposed to high-cost borrowing, as well as groups which are less prepared to future financial uncertainties. The evidences hereby disclosed may be applied to public policies aimed at the improvement of financial knowledge standards, as well as at a better use of financial products and services.

An advance in information and communication technology (ICT) is one of the most important forces in reshaping the world economy. So far, research on the role of ICT development in the financial globalization process is very limited. This dissertation is composed of three essays, which aim to fill part of this gap. The first essay explores transmission mechanism between Internet development and foreign direct investment (FDI) in developing economies. The second further investigates why developing economies cannot fully benefit from Internet development and provides policy recommendations. The third studies the relationship among financial integration, ICT and macroeconomic volatility in ten Asian economies.
The first essay examines three potential channels: inventory costs, market entry costs and payment of bribes, through which the Internet attracts FDI. It develops a model to explain the role of the Internet in determining inward FDI, and then empirically tests the hypotheses. The empirical findings show that the Internet development in developing economies attracts multinationals, since it reduces their costs of holding inventories and market entry costs. The Internet is found to reduce corruption, but evidence for their combined effects on FDI is mixed. In addition, this study performs Granger causality test and finds a causal relationship from the Internet to inward FDI stocks, rather than vice versa.
The second essay examines how the Internet---a communication network---which is characterized by the presence of positive and negative externalities affects the locational choice of FDI. A two-stage model is developed: at the first stage, multinational corporations do not cooperate and determine the degree of investment in Internet technologies, whereas, at the second stage, these firms engage in a Cournot quantity competition for a homogenous product. This model predicts that positive Internet externalities stimulate FDI while negative Internet externalities discourage FDI. These hypotheses are tested by the panel data estimation and the system general method of moments (GMM) estimator. The empirical findings provide strong evidence that the presence of negative Internet spillovers in developing countries discourages inward FDI, and the presence of positive Internet externalities in developed economies attracts more FDI.
The third essay looks at ten Asian economies committed to ICT development and financial integration, and presents evidence on whether or not they have experienced greater output fluctuations from 1980 to 2003. A two-country dynamic general equilibrium model is used and ICT is assumed to increase the volume and speed of capital flows. This study's model predicts that economies with a high ICT development or/and a high degree of financial integration exhibit greater output fluctuations in the face of monetary policy shocks, but lower output fluctuations in the face of fiscal policy shocks. The empirical findings estimated by using the panel vector autoregression approach support these predictions.

Thesis (MComm (Business Management))--University of Stellenbosch, 2011.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The increase in globalisation and integration of world financial markets has seen a significant enhancement in the amount in foreign investments. This coupled with the downfall of the apartheid regime has given rise to an opportunity for companies to diversify their investment and operational portfolios internationally. Furthermore world foreign direct investment has reached a high during recent years. This indicates that companies are undertaking more opportunities to invest internationally. This study was undertaken from the perspective of South African companies who may be considering to invest abroad. This is due to the fact that a clear research gap regarding their perspective has been found. The gap was found because most studies chose to focus on countries such as the United States of America, China and Japan, while none focused on the point of view of South African companies to the best of the available knowledge. The second factor was that studies did not only focus on the financial considerations, but instead included social and political factors. This study, due to the research gap found, chose to focus on the financial considerations of South African companies when considering making capital investments abroad. The top 50 companies in South Africa were chosen according to the Financial Mail’s Top Companies issue. It was decided that 30 of these companies would be sufficient as the research sample for the study. A questionnaire was drawn up and used as an aide memoire in personal interviews with these executives of the relevant companies. This allowed an opportunity to explore their perceptions and opinions regarding the factors that were selected as important from the literature study. In addition to this the executives provided company information that would be used in the sensitivity analysis. It was found that there are a number of company- and country-specific factors that need be contemplated when considering capital investments abroad. The company-specific factors include the profitability, cash flow, liquidity, solvency and future long-term growth characteristics of the prospective investment opportunity. This should be done in comparison with the host country to ensure that it will be worthwhile to increase the company’s risk factors. The country-specific factors include any restrictions placed on the cross-border movement of capital, the taxation legislation, and the availability of reliable information regarding the foreign market. The availability of foreign financing, availability of foreign exchange hedging instruments, investment incentives and the availability of labour and capital in order to apply the correct operating leverages are also important. The company-specific and country-specific factors need be considered in conjunction with each other. Furthermore all factors need be compared between the home and host countries in order to ascertain whether the advantages of entering into the foreign market are large enough.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die toename in globalisering en integrasie van finansiele markte in die wêreld het ‘n beduidende toename in die hoeveelheid buitelandse investerings na vore gebring. Tesame met die ondergang van apartheid het dit geleenthede aan maatskappye gebied om hul investerings en operasionele portefeuljes internasionaal te diversifeer. Verder het globale buitelandse direkte investering ‘n hoogtepunt in die onlangse jare bereik. Dit toon dat maatskappye meer geleenthede onderneem om internasionaal te investeer. Die studie was onderneem vanuit die perspektief van Suid-Afrikaanse maatskappye wat dit moontlik oorweeg om in die buiteland te investeer. ‘n Duidelike navorsingsgaping is gevind op grond van die verskille tussen die maatskappye se perspektiewe. Die gaping het ontstaan aangesien meeste studies gefokus het op lande soos die Verenigde State van Amerika, China en Japan, met so ver bekend geen studie wat fokus vanuit Suid-Afrikaanse maatskappye se perspektief nie. Die tweede faktor was dat die studies nie slegs op finansiele inagnemings gefokus het nie, maar ook sosiale en politieke faktore ingesluit het. As gevolg van die navorsingsgaping wat gevind is, fokus hierdie studie op die finansiele oorgewings vir Suid- Afrikaanse maatskappye wanneer hulle kapitaalinvesterings in die buiteland oorweeg. Die 50 top maatskapye in Suid-Afrika was gekies volgens die “Financial Mail” se uitgawe van vooraanstaande maatskappye. Daar is besluit dat 30 van hierdie maatskappye ‘n voldoende navorsingsteekproef vir die studie sal wees. ‘n Vraelys was saamgestel om as hulpmiddel te dien vir die persoonlike onderhoude wat met die senior bestuurders gevoer is. Dit het die geleentheid geskep om hul perspektiewe en opinies rakende die belangrike faktore wat uit die literatuurstudie geidentifiseer is, te verken. Die uitvoerende beamptes het ook maatskappy-inligting verskaf wat in die sensitiwiteitsanalise gebruik sou word. Daar was gevind dat ‘n aantal maatskappy- en land-spesifieke faktore bestaan waaroor besin moet word wanneer buitelandse kapitaalinvesterings oorweeg word. Die maatskappy-spesifieke faktore sluit in winsgewendheid, kontantvloei, likiditeit, solvabiliteit en toekomstige langtermyn groei-eienskappe van die voornemende investeringsgeleentheid. Dit moet gedoen word in vergelyking met die land waarin geinvesteer gaan word on te verseker dat dit die moeite werd sal wees om die maatskappy se risikofaktore te verhoog. Die land-spesifieke faktore sluit in enige beperkings wat geplaas word op die beweging van kapitaal oor grense, die belasting-wetgewing, en die beskikbaarheid van betroubare inligting rakende die buitelandse mark. Die beskikbaarheid van buitelandse finansiering, beskikbaarheid van verskansingsinstrumente vir buitelandse valuta, investeringsaansporingsmaatreels en die beskikbaarheid van arbeid en kapitaal om die korrekte bedryfshefboomwerking toe te pas is ook belangrik. Die maatskappy-spesifieke en landspesifieke faktore moet gesamentlik oorweeg word. Verder moet alle faktore tussen die tuisland en die land waarin geinvesteer gaan word, vergelyk word om vas te stel of dit voordelig sal wees om die buitelandse mark te betree.

Dissertation (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2001.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Notwithstanding the importance of institutional financial investments and labour to the South African economy, relatively little attention has been paid by researchers to the interdependence of these two issues. As a result of this gap in the existing literature, a potential exists for inefficient financial investment decision-making by institutional investors with a resultant non-optimal allocation of valuable capital on the JSE Securities Exchange South Africa (previously known as Johannesburg Stock Exchange). The objective of this study thus embodies the evaluation of the impact of labour-related risks on financial investment decision-making regarding long-term insurance assets, given the basic theory available in this regard, so that the resultant recommendations can lead to a better utilisation of the theory by investors in general. The resulting tasks of the study are as follows: • To do a literature study of the basic theory available in this regard. • To obtain information about the relevant aspects, by means of personal interviews with investment practitioners responsible for financial investment decision-making, as far as long-term insurance assets are concerned. • To develop a tool that can be used to measure the degree of labour-related risk at enterprises for the purpose of financial investment decision-making. • To make suitable recommendations based on the critical analysis of the obtained information. Twenty-three interviews were conducted during March and the first half of April 1999 to cover the financial investment decision-making practices of the 47 participating long-term insurers, resulting in a 100 per cent response rate. The personal interviews were structured by using a written discussion guideline that was drafted with reference to the literature study. A distinction was made between the perceived labour-related risks in manual and knowledge worker enterprises. In addition to general information, the discussion guideline required the participating institutions to disclose information about the financial investment decisionmaking process in use at their institutions and to respond with regard to the perceived importance of various labour-related risk factors. The discussion guideline also required the participants to rank certain aspects in order of their significance when the degree of labourrelated risk at enterprises is determined. Finally, questions were asked to determine the relative importance of labour-related risks in general when financial investment decisions are taken. The information obtained during the interviews was summarised on an Excel spreadsheet and subjected to an elaborate statistical analysis to satisfy the objectives of the study. The majority of the data that were obtained during the survey are ordinal, because the discussion guideline made use of an ordinal level of measurement. With this in mind, the mean (as a measure of central tendency) and the range (as a measure of dispersion) are used to describe the data. Spearman's rank correlation coefficient is used as a measure of correlation. The sign test, being one of the simplest non-parametric tests, is used throughout the study to investigate whether the observed differences in opinion regarding manual worker and knowledge worker enterprises are significant. The study highlights the significant role of long-term insurance assets on the JSE Securities Exchange South Africa, as well as the significant differences between manual and knowledge worker enterprises regarding the perceived importance of labour-related risk factors for the purpose of financial investment decision-making. The large number of labour-related risk factors and the existence of significant correlation between many of them reflects the complicated nature of labour-related risks. The respondents regard labour-related risks between moderately and highly important for manual and knowledge worker enterprises when financial investment decisions are taken. Classification trees are introduced as the preferred method to deal with these complexities and to measure labour-related risks in manual and knowledge worker enterprises for the purpose of financial investment decisionmaking. These classification trees are constructed based on the wealth of experience of investment practitioners active in the long-term insurance industry at the time of the survey and with reference to the literature study. Generally, the most critical labour-related aspects to consider when the degree of labourrelated risk at manual and knowledge worker enterprises is determined, are internal to these enterprises and can be managed. Management and the labour force of enterprises should take cognisance of their responsibilities in this regard and the perceived ability they have to significantly influence the degree of labour-related risk at manual and knowledge worker enterprises. Other role players also have important roles to play in this regard, given the impact of the external environment on the degree of labour-related risk. The responsibility of enterprises to disclose the information required by investors to determine the prevailing degree of labour-related risk at enterprises is matched by the responsibility of investment practitioners to request and rationally assess this information. The resulting conclusions and recommendations of this study and the tool that is developed to measure the degree of labour-related risk at enterprises for the purpose of financial investment decision-making are largely based on the perceptions of investment practitioners active in the long-term insurance industry at the time of the survey. With this in mind, it is recommended that future research activities be aimed at enhancing the value of the classification trees developed in this study by applying the tree-growing method on actual cases where the variables can be measured and the eventual outcomes are determined.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Desnieteenstaande die belangrikheid van institusionele finansiele beleggings en arbeid vir die Suid-Afrikaanse ekonomie, het navorsers tot dusver relatief min aandag aan die interafhanklikheid van hierdie twee aspekte gegee. Die leemte in die bestaande literatuur kan lei tot oneffektiewe finansiele beleggingsbesluitneming deur institusionele beleggers met die gevolg dat waardevolle kapitaal nie optimaal op die JSE Sekuriteitebeurs Suid-Afrika (voorheen bekend as die Johannesburgse Effektebeurs) verdeel word nie. Die doelstelling van hierdie studie behels dus die beoordeling van arbeidsverwante risiko's se invloed op finansiele beleggingsbesluitneming met betrekking tot die bates van langtermynversekeraars, gegewe die basiese teorie beskikbaar in hierdie verband, sodat die voortspruitende aanbevelings kan lei tot 'n beter benutting van die teorie deur beleggers in die algemeen. Die take van die studie is as volg: • Om'n literatuurstudie te doen van die basiese teorie wat in hierdie verband beskikbaar is. • Om inligting rakende die relevante aspekte te bekom deur middel van persoonlike onderhoude met beleggingspraktisyns wat vir beleggingsbesluitneming rakende die bates van langtermynversekeraars verantwoordelik is. • Om'n hulpmiddel te ontwikkel wat gebruik kan word om die graad van arbeidsverwante risiko in ondememings te meet vir die doeleindes van beleggingsbesluitneming. • Om toepaslike aanbevelings te maak op grond van die kritiese ontleding van die verkrygde inligting. Drie en twintig onderhoude is gedurende Maart en die eerste helfte van April 1999 gevoer om die beleggingsbesluitnemingspraktyke van die 47 deelnemende langtermynversekeraars te dek. 'n Een honderd persent reaksiekoers is dus behaal. Die persoonlike onderhoude is gestruktureer deur gebruik te maak van 'n geskrewe besprekingsriglyn wat na aanleiding van die literatuurstudie opgestel is. 'n Onderskeid is tussen die waargenome arbeidsverwante risiko's gemaak waar hande-arbeiders en werknemers wat kennis aanwend in ondememings werksaam is. Bo en behalwe algemene inligting, het die besprekingsriglyn ook van die deelnemende instellings gevra om inligting te openbaar rakende die beleggingsbesluitnemingsproses deur hulle gebruik en om 'n mening uit te spreek orntrent die belangrikheid van 'n verskeidenheid arbeidsverwante risikofaktore. Die besprekingsriglyn het ook versoek dat die deelnemers sekere aspekte rangskik in terme van hul belang wanneer die graad van arbeidsverwante risiko by ondememings bepaal word. Ten slotte is vrae gestel ten einde die relatiewe belangrikheid van arbeidsverwante risiko's in die algemeen te bepaal wanneer finansiele beleggingsbesluite geneem word. Die inligting wat tydens die onderhoude verkry is, is op 'n Excel sigblad opgesom en aan 'n omvattende statistiese ontleding onderwerp ten einde die doelstellings van die studie te verwesenlik. Die data wat tydens die opname verkry is, is hoofsaaklik volgens 'n rangorde, aangesien die besprekingsriglyn van 'n ordinale vlak van meting gebruik gemaak het. Met dit in gedagte, is die gemidde1de (as 'n maatstaf van lokaliteit) en die variasiewydte (as 'n maatstaf van spreiding) gebruik om die data te beskryf. Spearman se rangorde korrelasiekceffisient is as 'n maatstaf van korrelasie gebruik. Die tekentoets, een van die mees eenvoudige nie-parametriese toetse beskikbaar, is in die studie gebruik om ondersoek in te stel of die waargenome verskille in mening rakende ondernemings waar hande-arbeiders en werknemers wat kennis aanwend, betekenisvol is. Die studie beklemtoon die betekenisvolle rol wat die bates van langtermynversekeraars op die JSE Sekuriteitebeurs Suid-Afrika speel, sowel as die betekenisvolle verskille rakende die waargenome belangrikheid van arbeidsverwante risiko's vir die doeleindes van beleggingsbesluitneming waar ondernemings hande-arbeiders en werknemers wat kennis aanwend, in diens het. Die groot aantal arbeidsverwante risikofaktore en die betekenisvolle korrelasie wat tussen talle van hulle bestaan, dui op die komplekse aard van arbeidsverwante risiko 's. Die respondente beskou arbeidsverwante risiko' s as tussen redelik belangrik en hoogs belangrik vir sowel ondernemings met hande-arbeiders en die met werknemers wat kennis aanwend wanneer beleggingsbesluite geneem word. Klassifikasiebome word bekend gestel as die gewenste metode om vir hierdie kompleksiteite voorsiening te maak en om arbeidsverwante risiko's in ondernemings wat hande-arbeiders en werknemers wat kennis aanwend, in diens het, vir die doeleindes van beleggingsbesluitneming te meet. Die klassifikasiebome word op grond van die omvangryke ervaring van beleggingspraktisyns (wat ten tye van die opname in die langtermynversekeringsbedryf bedrywig was) en met verwysing na die literatuurstudie opgestel. Oor die algemeen is die mees kritiese arbeidsverwante aspekte wat oorweeg moet word ten einde die graad van arbeidsverwante risiko te bepaal by ondernemings met hande-arbeiders en die met werknemers wat kennis aanwend, intern tot hierdie ondernemings. Sodanige aspekte kan gevolglik bestuur word. Bestuur en die arbeidsmag van ondernemings moet kennis neem van hul verantwoordelikhede in hierdie verband sowel as die waargenome vermoe wat hulle het om die graad van arbeidsverwante risiko by ondernemings wat handearb eiders en werknemers wat kennis aanwend, in diens het wesenlik te beinvloed. Ander rolspelers speel ook 'n belangrike rol in hierdie verb and vanwee die invloed wat die eksterne omgewing op die graad van arbeidsverwante risiko het. Die verantwoordelikheid van ondernemings om die nodige inligting aan beleggers te openbaar ten einde hulle in staat te stel om die heersende graad van arbeidsverwante risiko by die ondernemings te bepaal, stem ooreen met die verantwoordelikheid van beleggingspraktisyns om die inligting te versoek en rasioneel te beoordeel. Die voortvloeiende gevolgtrekkings en aanbevelings van die studie en die hulpmiddel wat ontwikkel is om die graad van arbeidsverwante risiko by ondernemings te meet vir die doeleindes van beleggingsbesluitneming, is grotendeels gebaseer op die persepsies van beleggingspraktisyns wat ten tye van die opname in die langtermynversekeringsbedryf bedrywig was. Met dit in gedagte, word aanbeveel dat toekomstige navorsingsaktiwiteite gerig word op die verhoging van die waarde van die klassifikasiebome wat in hierdie studie ontwikkel is deur die boom-groei metodiek toe te pas op werklike gevalle waar die veranderlikes gemeet en die finale uitkomste bepaal kan word.

This thesis examines the type of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) information that institutional investors seek when making and monitoring investment decisions, as well as the possibilities for this information to be presented in sustainability reports. As a basis, twelve semi-structured interviews were conducted with Swedish state institutional fund holders in the category regions and municipalities. Furthermore, five interviews were conducted with six employees at a large Swedish-Norwegian fund company. The results show that the basic demand for ESG information is governed by the content that the investor's organization's financial policy requires, for example, that the fund company has signed the UN Principles for Responsible Investments (PRI) or follows frameworks such as the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI). Furthermore, sustainability motivations are sought in qualitative form, for example about the fund's sustainability strategy, corporate inclusion and justifications about the fund's actual sustainability impact in the portfolio companies. In addition, motivations for potential future business exclusions is also desired. However, this wish is difficult to cater for as it could potentially create discontent between fund companies and portfolio companies. Such a justification could also contribute to market disorders for the company in question, which could degrade the value of the fund holding. Quantitative data are also requested, such as carbon dioxide emissions for the fund portfolio. However, this cannot always be met in the report as reported data from companies are missing. Furthermore, a necessity for the sustainability reports to be used properly by the investors is that data is presented similarly between funds, so that comparisons between funds are facilitated. Finally, investors point out that much of the ESG information they seek is only useful if all funds report in a similar format, and that the ESG information only becomes truly valuable after a unanimous definition of sustainability is introduced.
I detta examensarbete undersöks vilken typ av ESG-information som institutionella investerare eftersöker när de ska genomföra och övervaka investeringsbeslut, samt hur möjligheterna ser ut för denna information att kunna presenteras i hållbarhetsrapporter. Som underlag genomförs tolv stycken semi-strukturerade intervjuer med svenska statliga institutionella fondinnehavare inom kategorin regioner och kommuner. Vidare genomfördes fem intervjuer med sex stycken anställda på ett stort Svenskt-Norskt fondbolag. Resultaten visar att den grundläggande efterfrågan av ESG information styrs av det innehåll som investerarens organisations finansiella policy kräver, exempelvis att fondbolaget signerat PRI eller följer ramverk såsom GRI. Vidare så eftersträvas hållbarhetsmotiveringar i kvalitativ form, exempelvis kring fondens hållbarhetsstrategi, företagsinkludering samt motiveringar kring fondens faktiska hållbarhetspåverkan i portföljbolagen. Utöver dessa efterfrågas även motivering av potentiella framtida företagsexkluderingar. Denna önskan är dock svår att tillgodose då denna potentiellt skulle kunna skapa osämja mellan fondbolag och portföljbolag. En sådan motivering skulle även kunna bidra till marknadsoroligheter för det aktuella bolaget, vilket kan försämra värdet på fondinnehavet. Slutligen efterfrågas även kvantitativ data, exempelvis koldioxidutsläpp för fondportföljen. Denna kan dock inte alltid tillgodoses i rapporten då nog lång tillbakagången klimatdata saknas. En nödvändighet för att hållbarhetsrapporterna ska nyttjas ordentligt av investerarna är vidare att data presenteras liknande mellan fonder, så att en jämförelse mellan fondalternativ underlättas. Investerarna poängterar slutligen att stor del av den ESG-information de eftersträvar bara är användbar om alla fonder rapporterar på liknande sätt, samt att ESG-informationen först blir riktigt användbar då en samstämmig definition av hållbarhet införs.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Oregon, 2002.
Typescript. Includes vita and abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 116-120). Also available for download via the World Wide Web; free to University of Oregon users.