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How Informative Is Floating Nav When Securities Trade Infrequently?, Kyle D. Allen, George D. Cashman, Drew B. Winters

Finance Faculty Research and Publications

We examine if a floating net asset value (NAV) increases the transparency of risk for investors. Using closed-income fixed income funds we find little evidence that a floating NAV helps investors better understand the value and risk of a fund when a fund's assets trade infrequently. This potentially informs the debate regarding the adoption of a floating NAV in the money market industry. Our results suggest that it is unlikely that the benefits of floating NAV will outweigh the costs.

Determinants Of Industrial Property Rents In The Chicago Metropolitan Area, David E. Clark, Anthony Pennington-Cross

Finance Faculty Research and Publications

Urban economists have long understood the theoretical importance of transportation infrastructure and accessibility on the location choice of households and firms. We utilize a readily available data set of transaction rents in the Chicago metropolitan area to investigate the determinants of industrial property rents. Among the factors considered are proximity to transportation infrastructure, characteristics of the property, the term structure of lease agreements, and local attributes of the neighborhood. Empirical results suggest property, lease, and local demographics play important roles in determining rents. Despite the fact that industrial property tends to locate very close to rail lines and interstate highways, …

The Effects Of Securities Class Action Litigation On Corporate Liquidity And Investment Policy, Matteo P. Arena, Brandon Julio

Finance Faculty Research and Publications

The risk of securities class action litigation alters corporate savings and investment policy. Firms with greater exposure to securities litigation hold significantly more cash in anticipation of future settlements and other related costs. The result is due to firms accumulating cash in anticipation of lawsuits and not a consequence of plaintiffs targeting firms with high cash levels. The market value of cash is significantly lower for firms exposed to litigation risk. Corporate investment decisions are also affected by litigation risk, as firms reduce capital expenditures in response. Our results are robust to endogeneity concerns and possible spurious temporal effects.

Territorial Tax System Reform And Corporate Financial Policies, Matteo P. Arena, George Kutner

Finance Faculty Research and Publications

We examine the effect of a permanent change to a country corporate income repatriation tax system on corporate financial policies. In 2009, Japan and the United Kingdom switched from a worldwide system to a territorial system for the taxation of repatriated foreign earnings, effectively reducing the tax liabilities of most multinational firms when repatriating earnings. We find that after the change firms accumulate less cash, pay out larger amounts through dividends and share repurchases, and invest less abroad. We do not find that the tax system change has significantly affected domestic investments even when controlling for capital constraints.

Network Connections In Reit Markets, George D. Cashman, Stuart L. Gillan, David M. Harrison, Ryan J. Whitby

Finance Faculty Research and Publications

Relationships play a central role across the spectrum of real estate transactions. Whether negotiating prices, securing funding, or acquiring permits, knowing the right people provides multiple channels to facilitate deal making. To better understand the role of relationships in real estate markets, we examine how the connectedness of REIT directors is associated with deal making, growth, and profitability. We find strong evidence that REIT connections are positively associated with both deal making and accounting based measures of profitability, however, those relations do not translate into better market returns or higher valuations. One explanation of these somewhat contradictory results is that …

Political Risk And The Cost Of Capital In Asia-Pacific Property Markets, George D. Cashman, David M. Harrison, Hainan Sheng

Finance Faculty Research and Publications

This study investigates the impact of political risk on the cost of capital for publicly traded real estate firms. More specifically, by using a sample of 102 REITs and listed property trusts, which hold nearly 6,000 distinct investment properties across the Asia-Pacific region, we find strong empirical evidence that increased exposure to political risk increases both the cost of equity financing of a firm and its weighted average cost of capital. Interestingly, no such linkages are apparent between political risk and the cost of debt of a firm. These empirical results are robust to a variety of alternative measures of …

On The Compensation And Activity Of Corporate Boards, Nga Nguyen

Finance Faculty Research and Publications

Within the nexus of contracts that makes up the firm, relatively little is known about the relationship between firms and their directors. Using a unique dataset comprising director compensation and activity, I find that firms use meeting fees and equity-based compensation as substitutes. In addition, paying directors for attending board/committee meetings is associated with more active boards and more active monitoring and advising committees. In contrast, a higher proportion of equity-based compensation is positively associated with monitoring activity but negatively associated with advising activity. Furthermore, more active boards and committees are paid more. Finally, I find that the variation in …

Investor Behavior In The Mutual Fund Industry: Evidence From Gross Flows, George D. Cashman, Federico Nardari, Daniel N. Deli, Sriram V. Villupuram

Finance Faculty Research and Publications

Using a large sample of monthly gross flows from 1997 to 2003, we uncover several previously undocumented regularities in investor behavior. First, investor purchases and sales produce fund-level gross flows that are highly persistent. Persistence in fund flows dominates performance as a predictor of future fund flows. More importantly, failing to account for flow persistence leads to incorrect inferences with respect to the relation between performance and flows. Second, we document that investors react differently to performance depending on the type of fund, and that investor trading activity produces meaningful differences in the persistence of fund flows across mutual fund …

The Information Content Of Option Ratios, Benjamin M. Blau, Nga Nguyen, Ryan J. Whitby

Finance Faculty Research and Publications

A broad stream of research shows that information flows into underlying stock prices through the options market. For instance, prior research shows that both the Put–Call Ratio (P/C) and the Option-to-Stock Volume Ratio (O/S) predict negative future stock returns. In this paper, we compare the level of information contained in these two commonly used option volume ratios. First, we find that P/C ratios contain more predictability about future stock returns at the daily level than O/S ratios. Second, in contrast to our first set of results, O/S ratios contain more predictability about future returns at the weekly and monthly levels …

Measuring The Impact Of Agglomeration On Productivity: Evidence From Chilean Retailers, Sergio Garate, Anthony Pennington-Cross

Finance Faculty Research and Publications

This research extends the agglomeration literature to a country that has not been studied and a market sector that has received little attention. The majority of research that examines how density affects productivity has indirectly measured productivity through worker wages or property prices. The research uses individual supermarkets’ store productivity, proxied by 10 years of annual sales per square foot. Studying supermarkets permits the examination of the effect consumers might have on productivity. Agglomerations (density) could increase or decrease productivity depending on the relative extent of increased competition versus productivity gains, as consumers choose where to shop based on their …

Differential Impacts Of Structural And Cyclical Unemployment On Mortgage Default And Prepayment, Roberto G. Quercia, Anthony Pennington-Cross, Chao Yue Tian

Finance Faculty Research and Publications

The Great Recession (the fourth quarter of 2007 through the second quarter of 2009) has been characterized by high rates of foreclosures and unemployment. Using a sample of community reinvestment loans, we examine the impact of structural unemployment and cyclical unemployment on mortgage terminations (default and prepayment). We find that mortgage default and prepayment are more sensitive to changes in the structural component of the local unemployment rate than in the cyclical component. In addition, depending on whether structural unemployment rates are high or low, borrowers and lenders react differently to the incentives to terminate a loan.

Advisor Choice In Asia-Pacific Property Markets, George D. Cashman, David M. Harrison, Michael J. Seiler

Finance Faculty Research and Publications

This paper examines advisor choice decisions by publicly traded REITs and listed property companies in Asia-Pacific real estate markets. Using a sample of 168 firms, we find robust evidence that firms strategically evaluate and compare the increased agency costs associated with external advisement against the potential benefits associated with collocating decision rights with location specific soft information. Our empirical results reveal real estate companies tend to hire external advisors when they invest in countries: 1) that are more economically and politically unstable, 2) whose legal system is based on civil law, 3) where the level of corruption is perceived to …

The Flash Crash: An Examination Of Shareholder Wealth And Market Quality, Thomas J. Boulton, Marcus V. Braga-Alves, Manoj Kulchania

Finance Faculty Research and Publications

We investigate stock returns, market quality, and options market activity around the flash crash of May 6, 2010. Abnormal returns are negative on the day of and the day after the flash crash for stocks that had trades that executed during the crash subsequently cancelled by either Nasdaq or NYSE Arca. Consistent with studies that suggest that other sources of liquidity withdrew from the markets during the flash crash, we find that the fraction of trades executed by the NYSE increases during this volatile period. Market quality deteriorates following the flash crash as bid-ask spreads increase and quote depths decrease. …

Catering Driven Substitution In Corporate Payouts, Manoj Kulchania

Finance Faculty Research and Publications

This paper investigates catering as a motivation for substitution between share repurchases and dividend payments. I hypothesize that firms cater to investor demand by repurchasing shares when investors place a premium on the stock price of firms that repurchase shares, and by paying dividends when investors place a higher value on dividend-paying firms. I propose a proxy to measure the relative preference for repurchases over dividends — the difference premium. Results show that the decision to repurchase shares or to pay dividends depends on this premium. Firms channel higher fractions of the additional payout dollars toward share repurchases when this …

The Discretionary Effect Of Ceos And Board Chairs On Corporate Governance Structures, Matteo P. Arena, Marcus V. Braga-Alves

Finance Faculty Research and Publications

In this study we analyze the effect of latent managerial characteristics on corporate governance. We find that CEO and board chair fixed effects explain a significant portion of the variation in board size, board independence, and CEO-chair duality even after controlling for several firm characteristics and firm fixed effects. The effect of CEOs on corporate governance practices is attributable mainly to executives who simultaneously hold the position of CEO and board chair in the same firm. Our results do not show a decline in CEO discretionary influence on corporate governance after the enactment of the Sarbanes–Oxley Act and stock exchange …

Commercial Property Rent Dynamics In U.S. Metropolitan Areas: An Examination Of Office, Industrial, Flex And Retail Space, Maria R. Ibanez, Anthony Pennington-Cross

Finance Faculty Research and Publications

This paper is concerned with the market rental rate for space offered by commercial property and how that rental rate evolves over time. Rental rates reflect the value of the services provided by the property and can have a significant impact on the ability of its owners to make monthly debt obligations. We investigate commercial property rent dynamics for 34 large metropolitan areas in the U.S. The dynamics are studied from the second quarter of 1990 through the second quarter of 2009 and the results are compared across four property types or uses (office, industrial, flex, and retail). There is …

Going Overboard? On Busy Directors And Firm Value, George D. Cashman, Stuart L. Gillan, Chulhee Jun

Finance Faculty Research and Publications

Abstract

The literature disagrees on the link between so-called busy boards (where many independent directors hold multiple board seats) and firm performance. Some argue that busyness certifies a director’s ability and that such directors are value enhancing. Others argue that “over-boarded” directors are ineffective and detract from firm value. We find evidence that (1) the disparate results in prior work stem from differences in both sample composition and empirical design, (2) on balance the results suggest a negative association between board busyness and firm performance, and (3) the inclusion of firm fixed effects dramatically affects the conclusions drawn from, and …

Convenience In The Mutual Fund Industry, George D. Cashman

Finance Faculty Research and Publications

Abstract

I examine the role of convenience in the mutual fund industry. I find that investors pay more for relatively convenient funds, and that the flows to convenient funds are less responsive to performance. These findings suggest that investors do not evaluate mutual funds independently, but rather that investors select a primary fund, likely based on beliefs about managerial ability, and then select funds which are relatively convenient to this primary fund.

Highlights

► I find that investors pay a significant premium to invest in convenient mutual funds. ► I find that the flows to convenient funds are indifferent to …

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.

Mortgage Product Substitution And State Anti-Predatory Lending Laws: Better Loans And Better Borrowers?, Raphael W. Bostic, Souphala Chomsisengphet, Kathleen C. Engel, Patricia A. Mccoy, Anthony Pennington-Cross, Susan M. Wachter

Finance Faculty Research and Publications

Mounting foreclosures and disclosures of abusive lending practices led many states to adopt new anti-predatory lending (APL) laws. Researchers have examined the impact of such laws on credit flows and the cost of credit. This research extends the literature by examining whether the market responded to these laws by substituting different mortgage products for those restricted by APL provisions. The evidence indicates that the laws were effective in restricting loans with targeted characteristics, and that the market substituted other product types to maintain access to credit and affordability in the face of these restrictions. The laws reduced the involvement of …

Firm Location And Corporate Debt, Matteo Arena, Michael Dewally

Finance Faculty Research and Publications

This study examines the influence of a firm’s geographical location on corporate debt and provides evidence that the higher cost of collecting information on firms distant from urban areas has significant implications on a wide array of corporate debt characteristics. We find that rural firms face higher debt yield spreads and attract smaller and less prestigious bank syndicates than urban firms. Rural firms attempt to reduce their informational disadvantage by relying more on relationship banking. Our results on the effect of location on corporate debt are robust to the inclusion of an extensive set of firm and issue characteristics.

Accelerated Share Repurchases, Leonce Bargeron, Manoj Kulchania, Shawn Thomas

Finance Faculty Research and Publications

Accelerated share repurchases (ASRs) are credible commitments by firms to repurchase shares immediately. Including an ASR in a repurchase program reduces the flexibility that firms have to alter an announced program in response to subsequent changes in the price and liquidity of its shares, unexpected shocks to cash flow and/or investment, etc. Thus, we investigate whether firms’ decisions to include ASRs in their repurchase programs are associated with factors expected to influence the costs of lost flexibility and the benefits of enhanced credibility and immediacy. We find robust evidence consistent with the costs of lost flexibility and the benefits of …

The Corporate Choice Between Public Debt, Bank Loans, Traditional Private Debt Placements, And 144a Debt Issues, Matteo Arena

Finance Faculty Research and Publications

The main purpose of this study is to examine the determinants of the corporate choice between different forms of debt financing. By analyzing the most comprehensive sample of U.S. corporate debt issues to date, I find that firms that issue 144A debt have significantly lower credit quality and higher information asymmetry than firms that issue traditional non-bank private debt. Further, the study shows that traditional private placements, rather than bank loans, are the favorite private debt source for firms with good credit quality. I also show that the firm characteristics of traditional private debt issuers have significantly changed after 1990 …

The Effect Of Taxes On Multinational Debt Location, Matteo Arena, Andrew H. Roper

Finance Faculty Research and Publications

We provide new evidence that differences in international tax rates and tax regimes affect multinational firms' debt location decisions. Our sample contains 8287 debt issues from 2437 firms headquartered in 23 different countries with debt-issuing subsidiaries in 59 countries. We analyze firms' marginal decisions of where to issue debt to investigate the influence of a comprehensive set of tax-related effects, including differences in personal and corporate tax rates, tax credit and exemption systems, and bi-lateral cross-country withholding taxes on interest and dividend payments. Our results show that differences in personal and corporate tax rates, the presence of dividend imputation or …

The Termination Of Subprime Hybrid And Fixed Rate Mortgages, Anthony Pennington-Cross, Giang Ho

Finance Faculty Research and Publications

Adjustable-rate and hybrid loans have been a larger component of subprime mortgage lending in the mortgage market than prime lending. The typical adjustable-rate loan in subprime is a hybrid of fixed and adjustable characteristics in which the first 2 years are fixed and the remaining 28 years adjustable. Hybrid loans terminate at elevated probabilities even before the first adjustment date. Hybrid loan terminations are sensitive to interest rates and teaser rates (payment shocks). Default probabilities increase dramatically when payment shocks are mixed with low or no equity in the home. This is the mixture of events that helped to trigger …

Pay-Performance Sensitivity And Firm Size: Insights From The Mutual Fund Industry, George D. Cashman

Finance Faculty Research and Publications

I examine the ex ante decision to make an agent's pay-performance sensitivity an inverse function of organization size. I focus on mutual funds and their decision to use compensation contracts that reduce the advisor's marginal compensation as the fund grows (a declining-rate contract) over the dominant contract type, where marginal compensation is unrelated to fund size (a single-rate contract). I find evidence consistent with the view that declining-rate contracts are a mechanism to keep marginal compensation in line with the advisor's declining marginal product. Specifically, I find that funds with greater exposure to diseconomies of scale are more likely to …

The Role Of Geographic Proximity And Industrial Structure In Metropolitan Area Business Cycles, Michael Hollar, Anthony Pennington-Cross, Anthony Yezer

Finance Faculty Research and Publications

Measurement and prediction of aggregate economic fluctuations at the region, state, and metropolitan area level is a major challenge. As data quality and analytical techniques have improved, the analysis of coincident economic cycle indicators (CEI) has progressed from national to regional to state levels. This paper continues the trend of geographic disaggregation by constructing and analyzing CEI at the MSA level. The theoretical advantage of MSA level indexes is that they reflect labor market areas. Given lack of quarterly economic time series at the MSA level, we construct a new variable, the EPI (export price index). The EPI is an …

Upheaval In The Boardroom: Outside Director Public Resignations, Motivations, And Consequences, Michael Dewally, Sarah Peck

Finance Faculty Research and Publications

We investigate the motives and circumstances surrounding outside directors' decisions to publicly announce their board resignations. Directors who leave "quietly" are in their mid-sixties and professional directors, i.e., retirees, who are retiring entirely from professional life. Directors who announce their resignation are in their mid-fifties and active professionals. Half the time they say they are leaving because they are "busy." These directors leave from firms with some weakness in their performance, but with no overt manifestations of cronyism such as excessive compensation of either the CEO or directors. The other half of the time directors leave while publicly criticizing the …

The Duration Of Foreclosures In The Subprime Mortgage Market: A Competing Risks Model With Mixing, Anthony Pennington-Cross

Finance Faculty Research and Publications

This paper examines what happens to mortgages in the subprime mortgage market once foreclosure proceeding are initiated. A multinomial logit model that allows for the interdependence of the possible outcomes or risks (cure, partial cure, paid off, and real estate owned) through the correlation of associated unobserved heterogeneities is estimated. The results show that the duration of foreclosures is impacted by many factors including contemporaneous housing market conditions, the prior performance of the loan (prior delinquency), and the state-level legal environment.

Locating Decision Rights: Evidence From The Mutual Fund Industry, George D. Cashman, Daniel N. Deli

Finance Faculty Research and Publications

Mutual fund advisors make portfolio decisions for their funds on a daily basis. We examine the location of these portfolio decision rights on two dimensions. First, we consider the geographic location of the decision rights. Second, we consider whether the decision rights remain with an advisor or are allocated to an independent sub-advisor. We argue that the allocation of portfolio decision rights involves a tradeoff between the opportunity cost of not matching decision rights with specific knowledge, and the agency costs associated with moving the decision rights to the specific knowledge. The patterns in the location of decision rights are …