Finance and Financial Management Commons^™

Farm Succession Planning: Why And How?, Allan Vyhnalek

Cornhusker Economics

If you visit with an ag professional and ask them “What percentage of farmers and ranchers have an estate plan, or an up-to-date estate/succession plan?” the answer will be half, or just less than half. This article will examine why that happens and give some simple steps for anyone to follow to create an up-to-date estate or succession plan. Farmers and ranchers don’t have a plan for a variety of reasons. These might include not ever planning to retire, not wanting to give up control, or not wanting to admit that they will ever pass away. Too often, we don’t …

Inflation: Just How Bad Is It?, Timothy Meyer

Cornhusker Economics

Amidst the chaotic news cycle of politics, the pandemic, and global affairs, a new topic is making headlines – inflation. To some, rising inflation causes greater fear than the other headlines combined; to others, it is nothing more than a minor nuisance. This article will explain why people’s divisive attitudes toward inflation are likely justified.

Laborem Exercens And The Subjective Dimension Of Work In Economics And Finance, Geoffrey Frieson

Department of Finance: Faculty Publications

The objective dimension of work involves the person acting on external objects through the process of economic production. But because persons tend toward self-realization, and because work is an integral part of this process, the person is also the subject of work. The subjective dimension of work involves work as a creative process operating on the person performing the work. In the encyclical Laborem Exercens, John Paul II argues that the subjective dimension of work is primary and that the primary basis of the value of work is the subject: man himself. This does not mean that the economic …

Human Flourishing And The Self-Limiting Assumptions Of Modern Finance, Geoffrey Friesen

Department of Finance: Faculty Publications

Current models in Finance make strong, self-limiting assumptions about the nature of human utility, human relationships, human flourishing, and human growth. These assumptions facilitate tractable solutions to financial problems but ignore subjective determinants of human well-being and value creation within the firm. The philosophical and theological traditions of Catholic teaching, as well as evidence on human flourishing from model social science, call us beyond these models. This paper focuses on three specific areas where a “disconnect” exists between Catholic teaching and current Finance models, highlights the relevance of Catholic teaching, and sketches a framework for more fully integrating human flourishing …

Comparative Performance Of Cooperative Equity Retirement Plans, Jeffrey S. Royer

Department of Agricultural Economics: Faculty Publications

This paper compares the performance of revolving fund, percentage-of-all-equities, and base capital plans, and special plans for redeeming equity held by estates or based on member age. It also examines how the performance of the base capital plan is affected by changes in the base period, relaxing the equity requirements for underinvested members, and a variable cash patronage refund program. The base capital plan performs better than other systematic plans but places financial burdens on young members. Two modifications can mitigate that problem with only a slight diminution in performance. Special plans benefit cooperatives operating revolving fund plans the most.

The Effect Of Unsuccessful Past Repurchases On Future Repurchasing Decisions, Geoffrey C. Friesen, Noel Pavel Jeutang, Emre Unlu

Department of Finance: Faculty Publications

We find that managers are less likely to repurchase stocks when they lose money on past stock repurchases but find no robust evidence that past gains on repurchases influence future repurchasing activity. This asymmetric sensitivity is strongest for young CEOs and those with the shortest tenure. Also, future repurchases are more sensitive to past repurchase losses for CEOs whose previous lifetime experience with the stock market is unfavorable. The sensitivity of future repurchases to past losses costs firms, on average, about 3.7% per year. When this cost is decomposed into systematic and idiosyncratic components, we find that nearly half (1.8%) …

Long-Term Analysis Of A Savings Program In Elementary School, Jennifer Davidson, William Walstad

Department of Economics: Faculty Publications

The prevalence of in-school savings programs (ISSPs) for children and youth is widespread, but research on their effectiveness is limited. This study investigates the long-term effects of an ISSP conducted in one U.S. elementary school. Survey data were collected on the financial behaviors of high school students, who participated in or did not participate in an ISSP while attending the same elementary school at the same time. The results from a probit analysis of data controlling for demographic variables showed that ISSP participants compared with non-participants were more likely to have a bank account in high school. They also were …

Algorithmic Trading And Market Quality: International Evidence, Ekkehart Boehmer, Kingsley Fong, Juan (Julie) Wu

Department of Finance: Faculty Publications

We study the effect of algorithmic trading (AT) on market quality between 2001 and 2011 in 42 equity markets around the world. We use exchange co-location service that increases AT as an exogenous instrument to draw causal inferences of AT on market quality. On average, AT improves liquidity and informational efficiency but increases short-term volatility. Importantly, AT also lowers execution shortfalls for buy-side institutional investors. Our results are surprisingly consistent across markets and thus across a wide range of AT environments. We further document that the beneficial effect of AT is stronger in large stocks than in small stocks.

Arbor Day Foundation Programs: Analysis And Recommendations, Justin Myers, Emily Alston, Cameron Claborn, Charles Erker, Braelyn Isernhagen, Jonathan Jameson

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

We are proposing the enhancement of the current Tree City USA program to include a special recognition program for high-achieving communities. These “Golden Oak” tree cities will be recognized each year based on a variety of metrics detailed in a new and more comprehensive program application. Recommendations:

● Updated application to include more information about both quantitative and qualitative insights

● Special recognition program awarding “Golden Oak” status to communities in village, town, city, and metropolis categories based on either percentile or benchmarking system

● A cumulative “Golden Oak” award given to the State that achieves the highest percentage of …

A Commonly Forgotten Tool In Retirement Planning: Health Savings Accounts, Austin Duerfeldt

Cornhusker Economics

Many individuals are aware of IRAs, 401(k) plans, 403(b) plans, and others when starting to build their retirement portfolio. These plans all have their benefits and drawbacks that need to be accounted for. What surprises many is there is another tool that you may be qualified for and are underutilizing. A Health Savings Accounts commonly referred to as an HSA, has some interesting possibilities that could be useful. An HSA is a type of savings account that lets you set aside money on a pre-tax basis to pay for qualifying medical expenses. While you cannot generally use this money saved …

Stock Market Correlations To Economic Indicators, Anthony K. Quandt

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

For this project, I researched how representative the S&P 500 (a common index of choice to represent the market) is of the economic well-being of the US. I found that stock market data can be used an as indicator of the economic well-being of the U.S.. The results do not indicate that the stock market leads to recovery, but it does suggest that it is correlated with recovery. In my analysis, I compared the S&P 500 performance to four different economic indicators: Real Gross Domestic Product (GDP), The Consumer Price Index (CPI), Average Weekly Private Wages, and Unemployment Rate. A …

Trader Joe’S: A Case Analysis Of Trader Joe's Competitive Strategy, Holden G. Adams

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

Trader Joe’s has been wildly successful since the store was first founded largely due to their ability to distinguish themselves from their competitors. Found across the United States, Trader Joe’s offers its consumers a unique range of private-label products to their target audience. This case analysis delves into Trader Joe’s competitive strategy and how they plan to sustain their competitive edge in the years to come.

Many factors play a role in the success of Trader Joe’s over the past years. Internally, they carry highly sought after products and have a loyal consumer base. They have found a foothold in …

Human Flourishing And The Subjective Dimension Of Work, Geoffrey Friesen

Department of Finance: Faculty Publications

This essay considers the Christian understanding of the subjective dimension of human work and the implications for economics, finance, and the modern firm. The biblical account of people profoundly captures the fullness of human nature and the role of work and economy in developing the full person. People’s reality is both individual and collective, encompassing their subjective interior and objective exterior dimensions of reality. This issue is important because economic models affect economic decisions, and these decisions help shape social reality. Current economic and financial models are problematic because they are self-limiting: They close off certain outcomes by assuming they …

Harvest–Release Decisions In Recreational Fisheries, Mark A. Kaemingk, Keith L. Hurley, Christopher J. Chizinski, Kevin L. Pope

Department of Finance: Faculty Publications

Most fishery regulations aim to control angler harvest. Yet, we lack a basic understanding of what actually determines the angler’s decision to harvest or release fish caught. We used XGBoost, a machine learning algorithm, to develop a predictive angler harvest–release model by taking advantage of an extensive recreational fishery data set (24 water bodies, 9 years, and 193 523 fish). We were able to successfully predict the harvest–release outcome for 99% of fish caught in the training data set and 96% of fish caught in the test data set. Unsuccessful predictions were mostly attributed to predicting harvest of fish that …

Ecosystem-Specific Growth Responses To Climate Pattern By A Temperate Freshwater Fish, Jonathan Spurgeon, Mark A. Pegg, Kevin L. Pope, Lin Xie

Department of Finance: Faculty Publications

Somatic growth patterns among animal populations are maintained through complex processes that vary among ecosystems. Changes in growth patterns may be concomitant with changes in climate; however, understanding how growth will manifest among ecosystems is limited. Information embedded within fish hard-parts (i.e., otoliths, spines, vertebrae) can account for variation in growth patterns resulting from changing climate conditions. Channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus is a freshwater fish species widely distributed across North America with limited information regarding climate influences on growth and differences in climate-growth relations among ecological systems. We assessed growth (total length) response to changing climate conditions for channel catfish …

Resilience Management For Conservation Of Inland Recreational Fisheries, Edward V. Camp, Mark A. Kaemingk, Robert N. M. Ahrens, Warren M. Potts, William E. Pine Iii, Olaf L. F. Weyl, Kevin L. Pope

Department of Finance: Faculty Publications

Resilience thinking has generated much interest among scientific communities, yet most resilience concepts have not materialized into management applications. We believe that using resilience concepts to characterize systems and the social and ecological processes affecting them is a way to integrate resilience into better management decisions. This situation is exemplified by inland recreational fisheries, which represent complex socioecological systems that face unpredictable and unavoidable change. Making management decisions in the context of resilience is increasingly important given mounting environmental and anthropogenic perturbations to inland systems. Herein, we propose a framework that allows resilience concepts to be better incorporated into management …

Coerced Regimes: Management Challenges In The Anthropocene, David G. Angeler, Brian C. Chaffin, Shana M. Sundstrom, Ahjond S. Garmestani, Kevin L. Pope, Daniel R. Uden, Dirac Twidwell, Craig R. Allen

Department of Finance: Faculty Publications

Management frequently creates system conditions that poorly mimic the conditions of a desirable self-organizing regime. Such management is ubiquitous across complex systems of people and nature and will likely intensify as these systems face rapid change. However, it is highly uncertain whether the costs (unintended consequences, including negative side effects) of management but also social dynamics can eventually outweigh benefits in the long term. We introduce the term “coerced regime” to conceptualize this management form and tie it into resilience theory. The concept encompasses proactive and reactive management to maintain desirable and mitigate undesirable regime conditions, respectively. A coerced regime …

Intuit, Inc.'S Small Business And Self Employed Unit: A Strategic Analysis, Cat Nyberg

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

Intuit, Inc. is a business and personal finance software company founded in 1983 by Scott Cook and Tom Proulx. It is headquartered in Mountain View, California, and has offices around the United States and internationally. Intuit’s primary mission is to ‘power prosperity’, whether for small business owners, individuals, or accounting professionals.

Intuit has three major business units: Small Business and Self Employed, Consumer, and Strategic Partner. Each business unit offers one or more flagship software platforms, optimized for specific customer needs in business accounting, professional tax preparation, and individual tax filing. Intuit’s major software flagships are QuickBooks (business accounting and …

Intuit, Inc.’S Small Business And Self Employed Unit: A Strategic Analysis, Cat Nyberg

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

Intuit, Inc. is a business and personal finance software company founded in 1983 by Scott Cook and Tom Proulx. It is headquartered in Mountain View, California, and has offices around the United States and internationally. Intuit’s primary mission is to ‘power prosperity’, whether for small business owners, individuals, or accounting professionals.

Intuit has three major business units: Small Business and Self Employed, Consumer, and Strategic Partner. Each business unit offers one or more flagship software platforms, optimized for specific customer needs in business accounting, professional tax preparation, and individual tax filing. Intuit’s major software flagships are QuickBooks (business accounting and …

Activist Investors: A Corporate Social Responsibility Perspective On Hedge Fund Activism And The Need For Focus On All Stakeholders, Lucy Marie Ankenbauer

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) can result in distinctly different visions when instituted under the enlightened stakeholder theory or the shareholder maximization theory. The critical variation between these two theories is the principal party that businesses consider when instituting strategic decisions. Firms following the enlightened stakeholder theory will base decisions on all the various stakeholders of the company and develop policies which increase long-term firm value. Companies pursuing shareholder value maximization will consider all strategies through the eyes of the stockholders and how these individuals will be affected. Neither theory is more valid than the other, since many factors must be …

Modeling Genomes To Phenomes To Populations In A Changing Climate: The Need For Collaborative Networks, Nika Galic, Allyson G. Hindle, John P. Delong, Karen Watanabe, Valery Forbes, C. Loren Buck

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Condensed Abstract

Climate is changing globally and its impacts can arise at different levels of biological organization; yet, cross-level consequences of climate change are still poorly understood. Designing effective environmental management and adaptation plans requires implementation of mechanistic models that span the biological hierarchy. Because biological systems are inherently complex and dynamic in nature, dealing with complexities efficiently necessitates simplification of systems or approximation of relevant processes, but there is little consensus on mathematical approaches to scale from genes to populations. Here we present an effort that aims to bring together groups that often do not interact, but that are …

Understanding Electricity Bills: Guidance For Nebraska Businesses And Municipalities, Elizabeth M. Regier, Bruce I. Dvorak

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Faculty Publications

This publication is intended to help business owners and municipal managers understand the different types of charges in their electricity bills. By understanding these charges, they may be able to identify ways to reduce their electricity costs.

Strategic Financial Management, Fina-475, Roberto Stein

UNL Faculty Course Portfolios

Strategic Financial Management is the new, case-based capstone course of the Finance Major at the UNL College of Business. Introduced in the Fall 2016 Term, it has since been revised and is being continually updated, to better achieve the its academic goals. In this portfolio, I describe the course’s overall structure, goals and main components. I then detail a number of changes made for the Spring 2018 version of the course, and proceed to analyze data pertaining to the outcomes observed from these changes. Finally, I outline potential strategies and further changes that might be implemented in future iterations of …

Sentiment And Stock Returns: Anticipating A Major Sporting Event, Brian C. Payne, Jiri Tresl, Geoffrey C. Friesen

Department of Finance: Faculty Publications

This study documents the effect of the Super Bowl on the stock returns of firms that are geographically associated with the competing teams. We find significant upward return drift in the 9 trading days leading up to the Super Bowl, a pattern consistent with investors trading in anticipation of the game itself. The ‘‘anticipatory behavior’’ among investors leads to widespread pregame returns, which is not documented in prior studies. These pre-event abnormal returns are positive and statistically and economically significant for all firms, and the size of pre-event returns varies according to each team’s favored status. In addition, firms associated …

Athletes Quality Of Life After Retirement, Kevin Estrada

Nebraska College Preparatory Academy: Senior Capstone Projects

Professional athletes have had a long life of being able to compete in the sport they love. Once retried, most athletes quality of life worsens. Injuries and the dramatic change from competing sets up a former athlete for adversity. Most people believe that athletes are privileged individuals that earn too much money for the work they do. However, consequences such as bankruptcy, depression, and even suicide points otherwise.

●The findings show that although athletes might have a gifted early life the quick change in lifestyle sets them up for failure. Also I agree that former athletes have a worse quality …

Sentiment And Stock Returns: Anticipating A Major Sporting Event -- Online Appendix, Geoffrey C. Friesen, Brian C. Payne, Jiri Tresl

Department of Finance: Faculty Publications

Table 3 (Appendix): Average Daily Raw Returns around NFL Super Bowl Events for Firms Headquartered in Losing, Winning, Favored, and Non-Favored States and the S&P 500

Table 5 (Appendix): Average Daily Abnormal Returns around NFL Super Bowl Events for Firms Headquartered in Losing, Winning, Favored, and Non-Favored States

Table 6 (Appendix): Average Daily Abnormal Returns around NFL Super Bowl Events for Firms Headquartered in Losing, Winning, Favored, and Non-Favored States Conditioned on whether the Firm is in a Losing or Winning State

Table 7 (Appendix) : Sample Split into Size Quintiles

Table 8 (Appendix) : Characteristics of the Matched Sample …

The Relationship Between The Option-Implied Volatility Smile, Stock Returns And Heterogeneous Beliefs, Shu Feng, Yi Zhang, Geoffrey C. Friesen

Department of Finance: Faculty Publications

We study the relationship between stock returns and the implied volatility smile slope of call and put options. Stocks with a steeper put slope earn lower future returns, while stocks with a steeper call slope earn higher future returns. Using dispersion of opinion as a proxy for belief differences, we find that the slope-stock return relation is strongest for stocks with high belief differences. The idiosyncratic component of the put slope fully explains the negative risk-adjusted stock returns. For the call slope, the idiosyncratic component dominates the systematic one, and explains the positive risk-adjusted returns.

Nebraska Extension Program Cost Analysis Spreadsheet, Deborah J. Weitzenkamp Dr.

Kimmel Education and Research Center: Faculty and Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

Hedge Fund Replication With A Genetic Algorithm: Breeding A Usable Mousetrap, Brian C. Payne, Jiri Tresl

Department of Finance: Faculty Publications

This study tests the performance of 14 hedge fund index clones created using parsimonious outof- sample replication portfolios consisting solely of easily accessible assets. We employ a genetic algorithm to integrate two traditional hedge fund replication methods, the factor-based and payoff distribution replication methods, and evaluate over 4500 commonly held stocks, bonds and mutual funds as replicating portfolio components. In-sample performance indicates that hedge funds have return series similar to portfolios of commonly held assets, and out-of-sample results provide evidence that the in-sample relationships can hold with infrequent rebalancing. This hedge fund replication attempt rates well relatively to prior efforts …

Two Essays On Stock Repurchases And Insider Trading, Noel Pavel Nangatie Jeutang

College of Business: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The first essay examines how the outcome of prior repurchasing activity influences future repurchasing decisions. We find strong evidence that future decisions to repurchase equity are negatively influenced by poorly timed past repurchases. Specifically, we show that the past losses on stock repurchases reduce the propensity to engage in additional repurchases in the future. We find almost no evidence that past gains on repurchases positively or negatively influence future repurchasing activity. These results are robust to various firm characteristics, estimation and sampling methods. Further analyses show that losses on past repurchases influence dividend policy. We show that the dividend-repurchase substitution …