Finance and Financial Management Commons^™

Longevity Risk Management In Singapore's National Pension System, Joelle H. Y. Fong, Olivia S. Mitchell, Benedict S. K. Koh

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Although annuities are a theoretically appealing way to manage longevity risk, in the real world relatively few consumers purchase them at retirement. To counteract the possibility of retirees outliving their assets, Singapore’s Central Provident Fund, a national defined contribution pension scheme, has recently mandated annuitization of workers’ retirement assets. More significantly, the government has entered the insurance market as a public sector provider for such annuities. This article evaluates the money’s worth of life annuities and discusses the impact of the government mandate and its role as an annuity provider on the insurance market.

The Diminishing Returns Of Incentive Pay In Executive Compensation Contracts, Gregg D. Polsky, Andrew Lund

Scholarly Works

For the past 30 years, the conventional wisdom has been that executive compensation packages should include very large proportions of incentive pay. This incentive pay orthodoxy has become so firmly entrenched that the current debates about executive compensation simply take it as a given. We argue, however, that in light of evolving corporate governance mechanisms, the marginal net benefit of incentive-laden pay packages is both smaller than appreciated and getting smaller over time. As a result, the assumption that higher proportions of incentive pay are beneficial is no longer warranted.

A number of corporate governance mechanisms have evolved to duplicate …

A Multiechelon Inventory Problem With Secondary Market Sales, Alexandar Angelus

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

We consider a finite-horizon, multiechelon inventory system in which the surplus of stock can be sold (i.e., disposed) in the secondary markets at each stage in the system. What are called nested echelon order-up-to policies are shown to be optimal for jointly managing inventory replenishments and secondary market sales. Under a general restriction on model parameters, we establish that it is optimal not to both sell off excess stock and replenish inventory. Secondary market sales complicate the structure of the system, so that the classical Clark and Scarf echelon reformulation no longer allows for the decomposition of the objective function …

Charting Your Financial Goals, Benedict Koh

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Every one of us has financial goals but not many of us know how to go about achieving them. We often lack investment knowledge or expertise to design an investment plan that optimises our savings. Consequently, we adopt the default approach of leaving all our savings in bank deposits. By doing so, we have already made an asset allocation decision, one that is very conservative. Over time, we soon realise that this conservative investment plan is simply not working as our savings are not compounding fast enough to keep up with inflation. We need to invest more wisely so that …

W.E. Bowers Ans Associates, Inc. Financial Operations Manual For Construction Cost Accounting, Stephen E. Brown

Purdue Polytechnic Masters Theses

W.E. Bowers and Associates, Inc. typically hires experienced project managers eager to

diversify their work experience. W.E. Bowers and Associates, Inc. verbally instructs

project managers to properly utilize the companies forms and the processes for financial

management of projects. The verbal training typically occurs in a piecemeal fashion. It

occurs only when a new project manager asks

“How To” perform specific tasks. The

project managers all come with different backgrounds and with different backgrounds,

come different business management strategies. The creation of this financial operations

manual will aid in the training of project managers and provide the company with a …

Designing A More Efficient And Fairer Tax System, Knowledge@Smu

Knowledge@SMU

A competent tax system should meet an economy's fiscal needs, but that cannot exist without a tax design that understands, pre-empts, and ultimately shapes human behaviours. Drawing from the UK's Mirrlees Review, Richard Blundell, research director at the London-based Institute of Fiscal Studies, delivered a lecture at Singapore Management University's School of Economics on the principles of the tax reform, and the challenges that await governments in formulating a coherent and economically efficient tax structure.

Supporting Global Metals Markets: The Role Of The London Metals Exchange, Knowledge@Smu

Knowledge@SMU

Most people would expect automobiles and electronics, comprised of many important metal parts, to be sold at relatively stable prices. Little do consumers appreciate, however, the backend market mechanisms that keep these prices stable. A prospective car buyer does not have to monitor his or her dream car's daily price fluctuations, for example, precisely because the parts that go into its manufacture maintain steady prices. This is, in part, the doing of metal exchanges that regulate the demand and supply of metals. Liz Milan, managing director of the London Metals Exchange Asia, explained this and more at a seminar organised …

Cost-Benefit Analysis Of Implementing Wastewater Treatment Facilities In Beer Breweries, Jaffer (Jeff) Shah-Ganai

Agribusiness

The purpose of this study was to both see the effects of wastewater on profitability as well as determine an efficient way of dealing with that wastewater. In addition to finding the most efficient way of treating wastewater, the cost of implementing such a technology was also discussed. Two technologies were specifically talked about and those were an anaerobic digester and a two stage anaerobic digester. Between the three breweries that were discussed, two of them use one of those pieces of equipment; Sierra Nevada has an anaerobic digester and Red Hook has a two stage anaerobic digester.

To analyze …

Qu’Est-Ce Que L’Investissement Socialement Responsable?, Diane-Laure Arjaliès

Business Publications

Cet article étudie l’évolution des formes et des objectifs de l’Investissement socialement responsable (ISR) aux États-Unis et en Europe des années 1920 jusqu’à nos jours. En s’intéressant à la fois aux fondements théoriques et aux caractéristiques des fonds ISR au cours du temps, il dresse un panorama des différents types de fonds en fonction de leur appartenance à un référentiel sociétal ou économique. En montrant la complexité et la diversité de l’ISR d’hier et d’aujourd’hui, cet article permet de mieux appréhender les enjeux de définition et de légitimation rencontrés actuellement par les professionnels du secteur de la gestion d’actifs.

This …

The Relationship Between Vmt And Economic Activity, B. Starr Mcmullen, Nathan Eckstein

TREC Final Reports

Vehicle miles traveled (VMT) in the U.S. have exhibited an upward trend over time similar to that observed for gross domestic product (GDP) and personal income (PI). While conventional wisdom suggests that economic growth leads to more driving and thus higher VMT, it is theoretically possible that the causation could also be the other way around. If causation is from VMT to GDP, then legislation such as the Federal Surface Transportation Policy and Planning Act of 2009’s directive to annually reduce national per capita VMT could potentially have an adverse impact on overall economic activity.

This study uses times series …

Deployment Evaluation Of Accounting Information Systems In Libyan Commercial Banks, Omar Sharkasi, Martin George Wynn

The African Journal of Information Systems

This article reports on the recent implementation and current deployment of accounting information systems in Libyan commercial banks. A case study approach is adopted that moves from an initial screening of the 14 main Libyan banks to a final in-depth study of just three banks. Business process modeling and systems profiling are used to assess the status of the banks in terms of systems use, process change and information systems strategy development. Libyan banks are well advanced in their installation of modern packaged software but could be used to greater effect to optimize business processes and improve efficiencies. Training and …

Errors Spell Checkers Do Not Correct And Style Sheet, Charles J. Higgins

Finance Faculty Works

The article focuses on errors that are not corrected by spell checkers in writing programs and communication devices. It is said that spell checkers may change a written word to an unintended one, as well as may provide autocompletion. A list of words that spell checkers and auto completion programs may confuse is provided. Several words in which writing programs can do little to correct notational styles are also listed.

Specification Sensitivity In Right-Tailed Unit Root Testing For Explosive Behavior, Peter C. B. Phillips, Shu-Ping Shi, Jun Yu

Research Collection School Of Economics

Right-tailed unit root tests have proved promising for detecting exuberance in economic and financial activities. Like left-tailed tests, the limit theory and test performance are sensitive to the null hypothesis and the model specification used in parameter estimation. This paper aims to provide some empirical guidelines for the practical implementation of right-tailed unit root tests, focusing on the sup ADF test of Phillips, Wu and Yu (2011), which implements a right-tailed ADF test repeatedly on a sequence of forward sample recursions. We analyze and compare the limit theory of the sup ADF test under deferent hypotheses and model specifications. The …

Dating The Timeline Of Financial Bubbles During The Subprime Crisis, Peter C. B. Phillips, Jun Yu

Research Collection School Of Economics

A new recursive regression methodology is introduced to analyze the bubble characteristics of various financial time series during the subprime crisis. The methods modify a technique proposed in Phillips, Wu, and Yu (2011) and provide a technology for identifying bubble behavior with consistent dating of their origination and collapse. The tests serve as an early warning diagnostic of bubble activity and a new procedure is introduced for testing bubble migration across markets. Three relevant financial series are investigated, including a financial asset price (a house price index), a commodity price (the crude oil price), and one bond price (the spread …

2011-2012 Revised Operating Budget: Southern University Law Center, Southern University System. Office Of Finance & Administration.

All Southern University System Budgets

The 2011-2012 Revised Operating Budget FY 2012-2013 Budget Request for the Southern University Law Center Campus.

Flagship Funds At Hedge Fund Families, Melvyn Teo

Research Collection BNP Paribas Hedge Fund Centre

Motivated by the stellar performance of flagship funds such as the Renaissance Medallion fund, we ask whether hedge fund firms (e.g. Renaissance Technologies) have incentives to protect the performance of their flagship funds (e.g. Medallion). We find that the flagship fund tends to outperform other funds within the fund family. The fees and redemption terms of non-flagship funds at launch is correlated with the past performance of the flagship fund. Finally, flagship fund performance has a positive impact on net flows into the other funds within the same family.

Predictions For Protection: A System To Measure And Detect Asset Bubbles, Knowledge@Smu

Knowledge@SMU

Millions of lives can be ruined with the bursting of economic bubbles. Just in the past two decades alone, the world has had the misfortune of witnessing two such incidents; first with the dot-com burst, and then most recently, with the housing and sub-prime crisis that led to a global recession. While there is reportedly no cure for the greed, economists have made strides to identify and predict bubbles – thereby paving the way for institutional stopgaps that could well prevent a financial crisis.

Managing Finances In College [Brochure And Video], Laura Heidel, Caleb M. Parrigan

Counseling Concepts and Applications for Student Affairs Professionals (CNS 577)

Managing finances is a very important instrument that should be demonstrated on a daily basis by all students, and also any individual that is working full-time and has a set of expenses that must be paid. Creating a budget helps college students resist physical, mental, and emotional stress. Knowing how to budget your expenses will teach students how to be responsible, how you view money, and the true value of a dollar. Credit cards are also a potential stressor for students. Nellie Mae, a student loan provider, finds that 83% of undergraduates have at least one credit card and the …

L’Entrepreneuse Et La Réunion Examining Roscas And Women’S Entrepreneurship In Bafoussam, Cameroon, Elizabeth Verity

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Microfinance is the wunderkind of many development experts. Its presence is overwhelming in Cameroon but many Cameroonians choose instead to put their hard earned money in the informal financial sector. Heavily rooted in cultural traditions of the West Region, this informal financial sector is where the poorest Cameroonians gain access to credit – not necessarily the “village money lender” as is assumed by many scholars of microfinance. For women, who have the least access to credit, these institutions of informal credit are particularly important. Relying primarily on a survey administered in the markets of Bafoussam, Cameroon, this study explores the …

Regional Differences In Fan Preferences For Minor League Hockey: The Ahl, Rodney Paul, Robert Chatt

Falk College Research Center

Regional differences in fan preferences for minor league hockey in the United States are explored using simple linear regression models. The top-level minor league for the NHL, the American Hockey League (AHL), was studied for the 2008-09 season. Key attributes with respect to attendance are studied for hockey including population, income per capita, promotions, scoring, and winning percentage. In addition, a key socio-economic variable, fighting is also investigated. Major differences are found for fan preferences across geographic regions in relation to population, income per capita, a variety of promotions, and team success. In addition, fan reaction to fighting tends to …