Finance and Financial Management Commons^™

Post-Jgtrra Dividend Planning, Danny A. Pannese, Paul N. Iannone

WCBT Faculty Publications

The JGTRRA reduced the tax rate on dividends for individuals and lowered the accumulated earnings and personal holding company taxes for corporations until 2008. This article reviews some of the planning techniques corporations and shareholders can use to take advantage of the temporarily lower rates.

One of the key provisions of the Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003 (JGTRRA), if not the prime emphasis of the legislation, is Section 302's reduction in the individual tax rate on corporate dividends received to 15% (5% for individuals in the 15% and 10% brackets). In an emerging trend, the lower …

Obesity, Educational Attainment, And State Economic Welfare, Martin W. Sivula Ph.D.

MBA Faculty Conference Papers & Journal Articles

For the first time in history, estimates of the overweight people in the world rival estimates of those malnourished. The World Health Organization (WHO, 2002) ranked obesity among the top 10 risks to human health worldwide. In the early 1960s, nearly half of the Americans were overweight and 13% were obese. Today some 64% of U.S. adults are overweight and 30.5% are obese. Even more alarming, twice as many U.S. children are overweight than were twenty years ago, a 66% increase. Non-communicable diseases impose a heavy economic burden on already strained health systems. Health is a key determinant of development …

The New Economy And Its Implications To Investors, Elizabeth Misco

Honors Capstones

Capstone submitted as a graduation requirement for the BSU Honors Program.

The Impact Of The Operations Of The Non-Bank Financial Institutions On Financial Sector Stability, Bamisile A. Sesan

Bullion

The Banks and Other Financial institutions Act (BOFIA) defines an NBFI to mean "any individual, body, association or group of persons; whether corporate or unincorporated, other than the banks licenced under the Act which carries on the business of a discount house, finance company and money brokerage and whose principal object include factoring, project financing, equipment leasing, debt administration, fund management, private ledger services, investment management, local purchase order financing, export finance, project consultancy financial consultancy, pension fund management and such other business as the Bank may, from time to time, designate". This paper affords the opportunity to explain and …

Macroeconomics/Structural Policies And Financial Sector Stability: The Challenges, Nnanna O. J

Bullion

The financial system plays an important role in the process of economic growth and development of a country. A financial system consists of various institutions, markets, instruments and operators that interact within an economy to provide financial services. It plays the crucial roles of lubricating the payment mechanism, resource mobilisation and credit allocation. The Nigerian financial sector comprises the regulatory/supervisory authorities, deposit money banks, and other nonbank financial institutions. The objective of this paper is to examine the effect of macroeconomic/ structural policies on the financial sector, as well as the challenges of maintaining financial sector stability in Nigeria. The …

Internationalisation Of Financial Services: Challenges For Financial Sector Stability In Nigeria., Adeola Ade

Bullion

Internationalisation or Globalisation refers to the increasing integration of "economics around the world, particularly through trade and financial flows. lt is the actual movement, the capacity to move and the potential movement across nations of trade, , investment, technology, finance and labour. lt's also involves the effects of these I forces and the consequent liberalization I of the market. This paper focuses on internationalisation as it relates to the financial sector in Nigeria and its most common manifestation, which is liberalization. It aims to identify ways in which we can benefit from this process while remaining realistic about its potential …

Journal Of Actuarial Practice, Volume 11, 2004, Colin Ramsay , Editor

Journal of Actuarial Practice (1993–2006)

ARTICLES (the entire volume)

Product Innovation in Financial Services: A Survey • Christopher O'Brien 5

Phased Retirement for Defined Benefit Plan Participants • Patricia L. Scahill and Jonathan Barry Forman . 43

The Actuarial Value of Life Insurance Backdating • James M Carson and Krzysztof M Ostaszewski . 63

Decision Tree Analysis of Terminated Life Insurance Policies • Robert Keng Heong Lian, Yuan Wu, and Hian Chye Koh . 79

A Comparative Study of Parametric and Nonparametric Estimators of Old-Age Mortality in Sweden • Peter Fledelius, Montserrat Guillen, Jens Perch Nielsen, and Kitt Skovsø Petersen 103

Estimation of Complete …

Journal Of Actuarial Practice - Volume 11 (2004) - Contents And Masthead

Journal of Actuarial Practice (1993–2006)

Contents

Editorial Policy: Topics suitable for this journal include AIDS, annuity products, asset-liability matching, cash-flow testing, casualty rate making, credibility theory, credit insurance, disability insurance, expense analysis, experience studies, FASB issues, financial reporting, group insurance, health insurance, individual risk taking, insurance regulations, international issues, investments, liability insurance, loss reserves, marketing, pensions, pricing issues, product development, reinsurance, reserving issues, risk-based capital, risk theory, social insurance, solvency issues, taxation, valuation issues, and workers' compensation

Review Process

Editor - Colin Ramsay, University of Nebraska

Associate Editors: Robert Brown, University of Waterloo ○ Cecil Bykerk, Mutual of Omaha ○ Ruy Cardoso, …

Rapid Calculation Of The Price Of Guaranteed Minimum Death Benefit Ratchet Options Embedded In Annuities, Eric R. Ulm

Journal of Actuarial Practice (1993–2006)

This paper presents a new method of obtaining quick and accurate values and deltas for discrete look back options using Taylor series expansions. This method is applied to the case of ratchet guaranteed minimum death benefits attached to annuity contracts, and the method is extended to include annuities where a fixed fund is attached to the variable account. Finally, both the speed and the accuracy of the method are compared to Monte Carlo simulation and the exact analytic solution. The Taylor expansion method is shown to be faster and, in most cases, more accurate than the alternative methods.

Approximating The Bias And Variance Of Chain Ladder Estimates Under A Compound Poisson Model, Janagan Yogaranpan, Sue Clarke, Shauna Ferris, John Pollard

Journal of Actuarial Practice (1993–2006)

We consider the problem of estimating the outstanding claims produced by a homogeneous general insurance portfolio. The specific model considered in this paper is one where the number of claims in any loss period follows a Poisson distribution, settlement delays follow the same multinomial distribution, and settlements are single lump sums that are independent identically distributed random variables. Simulations using this model reveal that the development ratios and the outstanding claims estimates produced using the chain ladder method are positively biased. We obtain approximate formulas for the biases using Taylor series expansions of the random variables about their means. The …

Decision Tree Analysis Of Terminated Life Insurance Policies, Robert Keng Heong Lian, Yuan Wu, Hian Chye Koh

Journal of Actuarial Practice (1993–2006)

Statistical methods such as regression and survival analysis have traditionally been used to investigate the factors affecting the duration of terminated life insurance policies. This study explores a different approach: it uses a more recently developed data mining technique called decision trees. By sequentially partitioning the data to maximize differences in the dependent variable (duration in this study), the decision trees technique is good at identifying data segments with significant differences in the dependent variable. This identification can be useful when a company is trying to understand the factors driving or associated with the termination of life insurance policies. Decision …

A Comparative Study Of Parametric And Nonparametric Estimators Of Old-Age Mortality In Sweden, Peter Fledelius, Montserrat Guillen, Jens Perch Nielsen, Kitt Skovso Petersen

Journal of Actuarial Practice (1993–2006)

A recent study of Swedish old-age mortality used a modified GompertzMakeham model with a linear hazard for the force of mortality. We propose an alternative model using smooth two-dimensional kernel hazard estimators and introduce a new estimator based on the multiplicative bias correction for the multivariate marker dependent hazard. The multiplicative bias correction appears to have great potential for estimating mortality rates at the highest ages. We also observe that mortality continues to increase at an exponential rate even in old-age.

Phased Retirement For Defined Benefit Plan Participants, Patricia L. Scahill, Jonathan Barry Forman

Journal of Actuarial Practice (1993–2006)

The demographic makeup of the U.S. workforce is changing. The population between ages SS and 64 is projected to increase significantly by 2020, but employment rates for this age group have not been increasing. Employers will likely need to encourage critical employees in this age group to delay retirement. Phased retirement is one tool for delaying retirement, while also not continuing full-time employment, so it can be a compromise for employers and employees. Both Congress and two administrative agencies have begun to consider changes in pension laws and regulations that would be needed to accommodate phased retirement for employers who …

The Actuarial Value Of Life Insurance Backdating, James M. Carson, Krzysztof Ostaszewski

Journal of Actuarial Practice (1993–2006)

Backdating is a common (and legal) practice in the U.S. whereby a life insurance contract bears a policy date that is prior to the actual application date. This practice often results in the opportunity for some insureds to reduce the annual premium paid. Using cash flow projections and U.S. mortality, lapse, and interest rate data, we provide a model of the actuarial value of term life insurance backdating. Results indicate that the benefits to the applicant of backdating a term life insurance policy increase as the applicant age (and hence premium) increases. Increasing mortality, lapse, and interest rates, as well …

Credibility Theory And Geometry, Elias S.W. Shiu, Fuk Yum Sing

Journal of Actuarial Practice (1993–2006)

We present a geometric approach to studying greatest accuracy credibility theory. Our main tool is the concept of orthogonal projections. We show, for example, that to determine the Buhlmann credibility premium is to find the coefficients of the minimum-norm vector in an affine space spanned by certain orthogonal random variables. Our approach is illustrated by deriving various common credibility formulas. Several equivalent forms of the credibility factor Z are derived by means of similar triangles.

Product Innovation In Financial Services: A Survey, Christopher O'Brien

Journal of Actuarial Practice (1993–2006)

This paper considers product innovation in insurance and other financial services, an area where actuaries have an important role. It considers the proposition that there is no unique formula for success and that what works well in one situation may not work well in another. It first examines the sources of ideas for new products and, in particular, the role played by consumers, which is generally regarded as weak. It then looks at how ideas are implemented, with particular importance attributed to cross-functional teams and the formality of the product development process. Then it considers how success is measured (with …

Estimation Of Complete Period Life Tables For Singaporeans, Siu-Hang Li, Wai-Sum Chan

Journal of Actuarial Practice (1993–2006)

Complete period life tables, with death rates for every year of age, are not available in Singapore. This study constructs such tables for Singaporeans from the limited mortality information contained in the abridged life tables provided by the Singapore Department of Statistics. We find that linear interpolation, Whittaker graduation, and the Coale-Kisker method together can generate complete life tables that are smooth and continuous. The validity of the complete life tables generated by our method is further confirmed by (1) comparing the life expectancies calculated from our estimated life tables with those provided by the Singapore Department of Statistics, and …

Risk Sharing And The Market For Corporate Control: A Case For Golden Parachutes, Atreya Chakraborty

Accounting and Finance Faculty Publication Series

The predictability of security returns has received considerable attention in the literature, and yet the predictability of bond returns beyond the US markets has remained far less explored. Here we plan to remedy the shortcoming, and in that effort we analyse the ability of several predetermined information variables in predicting bond returns in the European market. We test if variables, commonly used for that matter in the context of other markets (such as inverse relative wealth, term spread, real bond yield and a January dummy) are also useful predictors of European bond returns. Due to some particularities of the sample …

Campbell Soup Company In 2004 (A), Roger R. Schnorbus

Robins School of Business White Paper Series, 1980-2022

As fiscal 2004[1] began, Doug Conant, the President and CEO of the Campbell Soup Company could take pride in the results of his 3-year transformation plan instituted in fiscal 2001 to revitalize the company. The key initiatives of the plan were to restore revenue and profitability growth and stimulate shareholder wealth.

Conant, who became President and CEO in January of 2001, called the plan, “the single most comprehensive commitment to revitalization ever undertaken in the 132-year history of Campbell Soup Company.”

The financial results achieved in fiscal 2002, the first year of the plan, were a mixed bag. Although net …

Privatizing Telecoms And Residual State Influence On Financial Performance, Burkhard N. Schrage, Paul M. Vaaler

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

We test competing theoretical perspectives explaining likely shareholder returns from material investment decisions announced by privatizing telecommunications firms (telecoms) with varying levels of residual state ownership. A principal-agent perspective suggests that decrease in residual state ownership in privatizing telecoms leads to more positive shareholder returns. Over time, this effect increases. An alternative credible privatization perspective suggests that retention of substantial (though not controlling) residual state ownership leads to more positive shareholder returns, but only in the short run. Over time this ownership effect fades quickly. We examine empirical support for these competing perspectives with an event study analyzing cumulative abnormal …

The Impact Of The Costs Of Subscription On Measured Ipo Returns: The Case Of Asia, Joseph K.W. Fung, Louis T. W. Cheng, Kam C. Chan

GFCB Working Paper Series

Asian initial public offerings (IPOs) require investors to pay subscription funds up-front upon submission of applications, and these funds are locked-up for one to three weeks without interest. Hence, the IPO process entails an explicit financing cost (opportunity cost) whether investors borrow funds or use their own funds to apply for IPO shares. The IPO subscription costs are not trivial, especially in a high interest rate environment or when an IPO is highly oversubscribed. These costs should be considered in any comparison of IPO returns across countries.

Asymptotic Dynamics And Value-At-Risk Of Large Diversified Portfolios In A Jump-Diffusion Market, Kian Guan Lim, Xiaoqing Liu, Kai Chong Tsui

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

This paper studies the modelling of large diversi ed portfolios in a nancial market with jump-di usion risks. The portfolios considered include three categories: equal money-weighted portfolios, risk minimizing portfolios, and market indices. Reduced-form dynamics driven jointly by one Brownian Motion and one Poisson process are derived for the asymptotics of such portfolios. We prove that derivatives written on a portfolio can be priced by treating the asymptotic dynamics as the underlying process if the number of assets in the portfolio is su ciently large. Analytical and Monte Carlo Value-at-Risk (VaR) can be computed for the portfolios based on their …

Estimating Credit Risk Premia, Kian Guan Lim

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

This paper investigates the nature of the credit risk premium adjustments in the Jarrow-Lando-Turnbull model of credit risk spreads. The adjustments relate the equivalent martingale measures to the empirical measures of unconditional transition probabilities. We provide a modi ed version of the risk adjustment that allows a linear partition of the credit spread into an unconditional default component, a recovery component, and the risk premium adjustment. The risk adjustments are related to conditional default risk, illiquidity risk, and other factors not related to recovery e ects. The log-transform of these risk adjustments can be speci ed as linear regressions on …

Volume 1, Liberty University

Liberty Business Review

No abstract provided.

The Institutional And Individual Contributors To Research In Financial Education: 1991-2002, Kam C. Chan

GFCB Working Paper Series

This paper provides an account of the contributors in financial education research during 1991-2002. We present the top institutions and individuals in financial education research that were published in Financial Practice and Education and Journal of Financial Education. In terms of institutional and individual contributors, doctoral programs faculty and institutions contribute significant large number of articles in financial education research. Similarly AACSB accredited academic programs also contribute significantly to the financial education literature. The findings in this study provide information to the potential college bound students, donors, and job applicants.

Corporate Diversification And Stock Returns, Tatiana Isakovski

Theses and Dissertations in Business Administration

There are considerable empirical evidences in favor of and against the corporate diversification. A number of previous studies have found that industrial and geographic diversification have a negative effect on the value of the firm and the stock returns. In contrast, a growing stream of literature provides evidence in support of the diversification premium. There is no consensus on whether the documented discount can be attributed to corporate diversification per se or to the firms' characteristics other than diversification. In this study, we re-examine the impact of industrial and/or geographic diversification on the stock returns.

The investigation of the comprehensive …

Corporate Stability And Economic Growth, Kathy S. He, Randall Morck, Bernard Yeung

CRIF Seminar series

Greater instability in a country's list of top corporations is associated with faster economic growth. This faster growth is primarily due to faster growth in total factor productivity in industrialized countries, and faster capital accumulation in developing countries. These findings are consistent with the view that economic growth is more closely tied to the rise of new large firms than to the prosperity of established large firms. Although a stable list of leading corporations is highly correlated with government size, it is unrelated to other possible policy goals, such as (successful) income equalization and avoiding economic crises, it is related …

Stimulating Firm-Specific Investment Through Risk Management, Heli Wang, Jay B. Barney, Jeffrey J. Reuer

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

This article suggests a rationale for firm risk management that has been largely ignored in financial economics literature. It presents an argument for harnessing the influence of a company’s stakeholders who, whether as employees, suppliers or customers, make a valuable investment specific to the company. Such investments are crucial for a firm’s competitive advantage, yet because they are firm-specific and therefore cannot be transformed or transferred, stakeholders are often concerned about the risks involved in making them. A company’s efforts to manage risk can therefore persuade stakeholders to make even greater firm-specific investments, bringing benefits to shareholders and stakeholders alike.

The Effect Of Taxes On The Pricing Of Defaultable Debt, Kian Guan Lim, Fenghua Song, Mitchell Craig Warachka

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Empirical studies have documented the dependence of corporate credit spreads on default risk, equity premiums, and taxes. However, taxes have previously not been incorporated into reduced-form credit risk models. Therefore, we first extend the existing literature by considering a default intensity that depends on taxes as well as the default-free short rate and a market index. Consequently, we establish a theoretical basis to explain previous empirical findings regarding the significant impact of taxation on defaultable bond prices. Unlike previous models, tax implications for defaultable debt cannot be constructed from a sum of tax effects on zero coupon bonds. Our empirical …

Market Valuation Of Corporate Diversification In The Presence Of Internal Capital Markets In Emerging Countries, Supannee Buasook

Theses and Dissertations in Business Administration

This study examines the valuation of corporate diversification in three emerging countries: Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines. Over the period of study (1992–2001 for Thailand and 1994–2001 for Indonesia and the Philippines), it is found that there is evidence of diversification discount in all three countries. The largest amount of discount exists in the Philippines (60.1%), followed by Indonesia (25.5%) and Thailand (15.1%).

Then, the sample is divided into two sub-periods: before the crisis (1992–1996) and after the crisis (1997–2001). Before the crisis, the diversification discount existed only in the Philippines, with the average of 49%. There is not enough …