Finance and Financial Management Commons^™

Nonprofit Funding Agencies’ Review Of Grant Recipients, Siobain Mcilvain

Honors Theses - Providence Campus

Nonprofits need to be just as responsible as public corporations. Nonprofit funding agencies have the responsibility for evaluating the organizations they fund to make sure that they are operating with high integrity, maintaining strong internal controls, remaining financially stable, and overall being good stewards of the funds received. This paper will explain the criteria that a funding agency should follow in order to affect this process, as well as how a recipient nonprofit will benefit from following the criteria.

Fiscal Cliff, Steven D. Dolvin

All Chapters

There has been much discussion surrounding the impending "fiscal cliff." So, what exactly is this? Well, it is a combination of items that effectively equate to about $600 billion in potential spending cuts and tax increases. This represents about 4% of US GDP. So, failing to address these issues would likely result in a deep, prolonged recession. Read a good summary here, American Action Forum.

Index Etfs -- Not Created Equal, Steven D. Dolvin

All Chapters

You might expect that all "Large Cap" ETFs are the same, as they would likely track the S&P500 index. However, in an effort to reduce costs, many ETF providers (such as Vanguard) are replacing the standard index with others that charge lower licensing fees. This allows the providers to either reduce the expenses they charge or increase operating margins. As providers make this switch, it could also impact the underlying holdings to the extent that differences occur across the indexes. See article here, Wall Street Journal.

Feasibility Analysis Of A Microbrewery, Dylan Warren Snyder

Agribusiness

No abstract provided.

Diseconomies Of Scale In The Hedge Fund Industry, Melvyn Teo

Research Collection BNP Paribas Hedge Fund Centre

How does fund size impact fund performance in the hedge fund industry? We find unsurprisingly that fund size crimps both raw and risk-adjusted fund returns for the average hedge fund. An increase in fund assets under management from US$20m to US$1bn decreases fund alpha by 2.04 percent per year. However, significant variation exists across funds when funds are grouped by investment strategy and region. Equity long/short, event driven, and macro funds are susceptible to capacity constraints while fixed income and managed futures funds are largely immune to such concerns. Our finding that capacity issues impact macro fund performance raises fresh …

How Skilled Are Hedge Funds? Evidence From Their Daily Trades, Russell Jame

Research Collection BNP Paribas Hedge Fund Centre

We examine the trading skill of hedge funds using transaction-level data. After accounting for trading commissions, we find no evidence that the trades of the average hedge fund outperform across holding periods ranging from one month to one year. However, bootstrap simulations indicate that the trading skill of the top 10% of hedge funds cannot be explained by luck. Similarly, we find that the performance of top hedge funds persists and much of this persistence stems from intra-quarter trading skill. Skilled hedge funds tend to be short-term contrarians and their profits are largely concentrated in smaller, more illiquid stocks. Our …

Communicating In Markets: Is It Worthy To Be Wordy?, Singapore Management University

Perspectives@SMU

In the midst of on-going discussions around complex financial concepts, it is perhaps time to step back and look at the importance of communication, said David G Fernandez, head of JP Morgan’s Emerging Asia Research team, at the Sim Kee Boon Institute for Financial Economics (SKBI) Annual Conference. He notes the importance for policy makers to communicate with market participants in light of the increase in volatility and tail risks in financial markets

The Odd Quarter Research Report, Third Quarter, Volume 1, Issue 2, Bryant University, Archway Investment Fund

Archway Investment Fund

No abstract provided.

Sony Corporation: Reinventing Itself To Rediscover The Technological Edge, Chatterji Dheeman, Hayes Schildwachter, Jeffrey S. Harrison

Robins Case Network

Sony is a global conglomerate with a wide variety of businesses in its portfolio, but a heavy emphasis on electronics and related products. Due to a number of setbacks such as the earthquake in Japan and a weak global economy, the firm has experienced sales declines and negative earnings in recent years. In early 2012 the company announced a major restructuring and new strategy to regain its edge. However, Sony has an uphill battle.

Algorithmic Trading And Changes In Firms Equity Capital, Ekkehart Boehmer, Kingsley Fong, Julie Wu

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

We use a large sample from 2001 to 2009 that incorporates intraday transactions data from 39 exchanges and an average of 12,800 different common stocks to assess the effect of algorithmic trading (AT) on firms’ capital raising activities. Greater AT reduces net equity issues over the next year, but this is only partly driven by AT’s effect on proceeds from new securities issues. Our findings suggest that the main driver of this relationship is AT’s effect on share repurchases.

Grades Matter In Performance: Morningstar Stewardship Grades And Mutual Fund Performance, Aurobindo Ghosh, Jeremy Goh, Wee Seng Ng

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Investors in mutual funds have the unenviable task of disentangling two mutually confounding effects. First, to fathom the future performance of the funds based on current evidence, and second, to assess how well the mutual fund managers will steward their investments under uncertain economic conditions. We corroborate the dependence of weighted risk-adjusted returns (viz. the Star Ratings) on corporate governance score (viz. Stewardship Grade) accounting for fund specific characteristics. We document Stewardship scores Granger cause Star Rating. We propose an objective data-driven corporate governance score based on the components of Stewardship Grade. Both the static and dynamic fixed-effects models show …

Investors Do Respond To Poor Mutual Fund Performance: Evidence From Inflows And Outflows, George D. Cashman, Daniel N. Deli, Federico Nardari, Sriram V. Villupuram

Finance Faculty Research and Publications

Abstract

We examine the relation between mutual fund performance and gross flows for a large sample of actively managed U.S. mutual funds. Unlike previous studies that have only examined periods of generally increasing net flows, our sample includes periods of both increasing and decreasing net flows. We find that outflows are related to performance, with investors withdrawing money from poor performers. We also find that outflows and inflows respond asymmetrically to performance, outflows increase more aggressively following poor performance, and inflows increase more aggressively following good performance. Additionally, we find a symmetric performance net flow relation.

The Impact Of Switching To International Financial Reporting Standards On United States Businesses, Ashley Harper, Linda Leatherbury, Ana Machuca, Jodee Phillips

Faculty Publications and Presentations

There has been controversy brewing among accounting professionals regarding the impact of switching to International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) on United States corporations as deemed to converge in the near future (Deming, 2005). The viewpoint presented in this paper is that the United States should conform to the international standards primarily because a single set of standards creates uniformity and comparability for stakeholders regardless of their geographic location. This paper addresses the potential advantages and disadvantages of moving to a global set of standards as well as how the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) will need to work with the …

"Alternative" Alternative Investments, Steven D. Dolvin

All Chapters

Typical Alternative Investments include such categories as commodities and real estate. However, some investors have branched out into more esoteric assets such as cars and collectibles. As such, there is a growing category of managers offering such funds. See the article here, Wall Street Journal.

Is China’S Outward Investment In Oil A Global Security Concern?, Ilan Alon, Aleh Cherp

Faculty Publications

The dramatic increase in investment by Chinese SOEs in overseas oil assets is primarily driven by energy security concerns. Whether such investment will benefit or harm energy security of other countries is hotly contested. On one hand, this investment can supplement the overall lack of investment in the sector, benefiting all consumers. On the other hand, it may exacerbate environmental and political problems associated with fossil fuels.

The Convergence Of Multinational Standards And Practices In International Financial Reporting, Ashley Harper, Linda Leatherbury, Ana Machuca, Jodee Phillips

Faculty Publications and Presentations

The International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) is pending a move to incorporate a single set of accounting standards across International borders. The definitive decision for uniting the standards appears to be stalemated. The pending move by the United States to adopt financial reporting practices set forth by the IFRS to encompass a single set of reporting standards bears both advantages and disadvantages for multinational corporations. This paper examines some of the difficulties that can arise by using a single set of standards and addresses two significant studies regarding converging reporting standards. The paper concludes by discussing issues that could potentially …

Apple: Head And Shoulders, Steven D. Dolvin

All Chapters

In technical analysis, traders look for patterns in stock prices, which they then use to determine buy/sell decisions. One such pattern is the "head and shoulders," which, as the name suggests, is two small peaks, with a larger one in the middle. Such a pattern is often considered bearish, particularly if the price breaks through the "neckline." Unfortunately (or not, depending on your view of technical analysis), Apple's share price recently exhibited this pattern. See the article here, Yahoo.

2012-2013 Operating Budget: Southern University Law Center, Southern University System. Office Of Finance & Administration.

All Southern University System Budgets

The 2012-2013 Fiscal Year Operating Budget of the Southern University Law Center.

Asian Hedge Funds In A Risk-On, Risk-Off World, Melvyn Teo

Research Collection BNP Paribas Hedge Fund Centre

We analyze the performance of Asia-focused and Asia-based funds in risk-on and risk-off periods between 2002 and 2011. We find that Asian hedge funds, like their US and European counterparts, deliver equity-like payoffs with bond-like risk. They generate returns that are roughly in line with the equity markets in risk-on and neutral states of the world. While their returns do not dominate those of US Treasuries in risk-off situations, they generally outperform the equity market by a significant margin. Indeed, their risk-adjusted returns in riskoff states are on par if not higher than their risk-adjusted returns in risk-on states. Of …

2012-2013 Operating Budget, Southern University And A&M College. Office Of Finance & Administration.

All Southern University System Budgets

2012-2013 Operating Budget of the Southern University Baton Rouge Campus.