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Honors Projects in Finance

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Full-Text Articles in Finance and Financial Management

How Does Contemporary Business Culture Contribute To Unethical Behavior Within The Finance Industry?, Adeline Mcquillan May 2025

How Does Contemporary Business Culture Contribute To Unethical Behavior Within The Finance Industry?, Adeline Mcquillan

Honors Projects in Finance

This thesis examines how contemporary business culture contributes to unethical behavior within the financial industry, specifically focusing on the role of leadership style, codes of conduct, competitive pressures, and regulatory environments in shaping ethical decision-making. A survey was administered to 60 participants, with 32 complete responses retained for analysis. The responses were used to examine trends across demographics and asses the relationship between the identified factors and unethical behavior. Multiple regression analysis evaluated how leadership style, competition, regulation, and codes of conduct impact unethical behavior scores. The results indicated that leadership style and regulatory environment were significantly associated with unethical …


Socially Responsible Investing: The Role Of Investors' Demographics And Educational Background Towards Investments, Amy Maalouf Apr 2025

Socially Responsible Investing: The Role Of Investors' Demographics And Educational Background Towards Investments, Amy Maalouf

Honors Projects in Finance

Socially responsible investing is a crucial strategy to adopt as it fosters positive outcomes for the environment and society. Sustainability is gaining traction in society because investors are creating a beneficial impact in the community. They accomplish this by focusing on factors that involve environmental sustainability, diversity, and human rights. This study employs a survey approach to obtain both quantitative and qualitative data about the educational background and demographics of investors in the stock market. The empirical analysis will incorporate a multivariate regression that attempts to measure the impact of various demographics on one's "socially responsible investing score." A regression …


Assessing The Long-Term Impact Of Initial Market Performance On Investors’ Risk-Taking Behavior, Drew Mahoney Apr 2025

Assessing The Long-Term Impact Of Initial Market Performance On Investors’ Risk-Taking Behavior, Drew Mahoney

Honors Projects in Finance

Since World War II, financial markets have been traditionally analyzed through quantitative models, yet these approaches often fail to account for the psychological and behavioral tendencies of investors. This study examines how investors’ initial experiences with market conditions shape their long-term risk-taking behavior. Findings suggest that individual market experiences, personal background, demographics, and other factors all influence how investors perceive risk. For instance, those who enter the market during periods of volatility may develop a more risk-averse mindset, while investors who experience strong bull markets early on may become overconfident in their future decisions. These insights have significant implications for …


How The Modern Age Of Technology Has Affected Young Individuals' Financial Literacy And Investment Opportunities, Hannah O'Brien Dec 2024

How The Modern Age Of Technology Has Affected Young Individuals' Financial Literacy And Investment Opportunities, Hannah O'Brien

Honors Projects in Finance

The ways technology has impacted the information that is accessible and readily available on financial literacy and investment opportunities is greatly significant and has opened a plethora of new opportunities to the next generations. With online resources free and at the touch of a button individuals can learn about investing before they are an adult (18 years old) that way when they turn 18, they are able to jump on this great opportunity, setting them up for greater financial stability. By conducting a logically set up survey of older and younger individuals, those that had and had not yet invested …


Innovating Under Pressure? Regulatory Intensity And Corporate Innovation, Christy Mak Dec 2024

Innovating Under Pressure? Regulatory Intensity And Corporate Innovation, Christy Mak

Honors Projects in Finance

We investigate the impact of regulatory intensity on innovation outcomes. We examine U.S. publicly listed firms, utilizing a novel firm-level measure of exposure to all federal regulations. The study reveals that highly regulated companies tend to exhibit lower patent value, a reduction in patent filings, and a decrease in patent citations. The results suggest additional costs imposed on firms burdened by heavy regulations. Furthermore, financial distress and political connections mitigate this negative effect. Overall, the paper uncovers a previously undiscovered connection between regulation at an aggregate level and innovation, emphasizing circumstances where regulations may impose costs that outweigh potential benefits.


How The Current Economy Will Affect Generation Z'S Ability To Retire In The Future, Connor Stahl Apr 2024

How The Current Economy Will Affect Generation Z'S Ability To Retire In The Future, Connor Stahl

Honors Projects in Finance

As Gen Z is moving into the workforce, it is becoming more evident that they are going to have a tough time being able to retire. Generation Z, born from 1995 to 2008 is one of the youngest Generations that has seen the most financial strife in their developing years, than any other generation. Even so, this generation has seen a lot of financial struggles they will continue to see them into the future. This study looks at a variety of different factors to help determine the severity of retirement for Generation Z. Some factors that will be looked at …


The Landscape Of Gender Lens Investing In The United States And Performance Analysis, Sarah Monsini Apr 2024

The Landscape Of Gender Lens Investing In The United States And Performance Analysis, Sarah Monsini

Honors Projects in Finance

This study aims to analyze the performance of environmental, social, and governance mutual funds and ETFs, particularly those composed of companies that prioritize the gender diversity pillar of ESG. This method of investing, known as gender lens investing, involves selecting securities with a high social ESG score attributable to strong gender diversity throughout all levels of the company, or in this case, companies that an ETF or mutual fund is invested in. I expect to find that gender diverse ETFs and mutual funds perform better than their benchmarks, promoting the inclusion of policies that facilitate this aspect of ESG in …


Implementing Universal Design For Learning In Financial Literacy Education, Andreas Kotsironis Apr 2024

Implementing Universal Design For Learning In Financial Literacy Education, Andreas Kotsironis

Honors Projects in Finance

The purpose of the study is to understand what students currently know regarding financial literacy, what learning style they use in the classroom, and how to fuse the two into a simple and informational version of financial literacy education. Financial literacy education can be used to increase household savings for retirement, personal financial goals, and risk management purposes. By joining the concept of UDL and Financial Literacy Education, each obstacle listed can be improved upon. Learning styles focus attention onto three different approaches to teaching that are based in auditory, visual, and kinesthetic pedagogies. UDL focuses on curating individual learning …


Import Penetration And Corporate Misconduct: A Natural Experiment, Christopher Dupuis Apr 2024

Import Penetration And Corporate Misconduct: A Natural Experiment, Christopher Dupuis

Honors Projects in Finance

Import penetration from China is largely exogenous to the U.S. product market. Using this natural experiment, we find that heightened China import penetration curbs corporate misconduct of U.S. firms. The effect is more pronounced for firms with weaker corporate governance and firms more vulnerable to product market competition. The findings suggest that when import penetration increases, firms may improve corporate governance, and differentiate themselves through product innovation or corporate social responsibility to cope with the competition. In addition, we address the exogeneity concern derived from the influence of China value penetration. Furthermore, we find that competition related policies such as …


How Will Artificial Intelligence Impact Banking For Financial Institutions And Consumers?, Nicholas Weber Feb 2024

How Will Artificial Intelligence Impact Banking For Financial Institutions And Consumers?, Nicholas Weber

Honors Projects in Finance

Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly emerging as one of the most transformative technologies globally. Much of the consumer and unremitting media sentiment surrounding AI often overreacts, either overestimating or fearing its looming impacts. Herein, we examine how in the financial sector, AI builds upon a long history of computer-assisted automation to increasingly become, or soon to become, integrated to enhance various operational processes such as: data security, risk management, fraud detection, loan adjudication, insurance underwriting and customer interactions. This paper examines not only what impacts AI in the finance sector are anticipated by students, professors and professionals, but also whether …


Investment Behavior: The Difference Between Individual And Professional Investors, Saketh Dantuluri Dec 2023

Investment Behavior: The Difference Between Individual And Professional Investors, Saketh Dantuluri

Honors Projects in Finance

In the modern world, there is greater accessibility to information and investment opportunities. This has led to more people from many different backgrounds to start investing in various markets. Because of this, the modem-day investor can look like many different things and have significantly varied levels of financial knowledge. This study will look into the differences in investment behaviors for individual investors, who typically have lower financial literacy rates, and professional investors, who typically have higher financial literacy rates. The data will be obtained by surveying individuals with various financial literacy rates in order to gauge the differences between individual …


Cryptocurrency In Investing: An Analysis Of Digital Currencies And Understanding Investor Sentiment, Matthew Sprague Dec 2023

Cryptocurrency In Investing: An Analysis Of Digital Currencies And Understanding Investor Sentiment, Matthew Sprague

Honors Projects in Finance

In this paper, there will be discussion pertaining to the use of different cryptocurrencies as a tool within an investment portfolio and how different investors view the idea of investing with cryptocurrency. This includes the validity of cryptocurrency, historical trends, relationships to other asset classes, and the results of surveys taken to those questioned about cryptocurrencies. An outline of how the cryptocurrency markets operate will be included, as well as the creation and value of cryptocurrency. Further, there is discussion about specific investment cases such as a tool for retirement investing and how cryptocurrency can be used in the growing …


Behavioral Market Irrationality: An Exploration Of Financial Literacy Awareness, Behavioral Finance, And Financial System Investing, Ethan Kmiecik Dec 2023

Behavioral Market Irrationality: An Exploration Of Financial Literacy Awareness, Behavioral Finance, And Financial System Investing, Ethan Kmiecik

Honors Projects in Finance

Since the dawn of recordable civilization, monetary systems have shaped the developments of history. From the Akkadian shekel to the Roman denarius, the Spanish piece of eight, the British pound sterling, and the United States dollar. The wellbeing of the civilization is dependent on the (mis)management of the currency system. While currencies touch the lives of nearly every human, the history, fundamentals, and causational relationships of currencies and their derivatives are not universally known. This paper examines the degree of financial and currency system awareness within the surveyed population and how it varies within the sub-categories of the surveyed population. …


The Interaction Between Spending Policies And Asset Allocation For College And University Endowment, Ryan Erickson May 2023

The Interaction Between Spending Policies And Asset Allocation For College And University Endowment, Ryan Erickson

Honors Projects in Finance

The analysis revealed better combinations of asset allocation and spending policy for college and university endowments that efficiently balance the desirable outcomes of stable spending in real terms against maintaining the purchasing power of the endowment over time (intergenerational equity). Using the variability and correlation of historical asset class returns, we created a forward-looking, projection-based, multivariate Monte Carlo simulation of individual asset class returns. The simulation incorporates the relationships between inflation and asset class returns, and the relationships among asset class returns. The projected time series of asset class returns produced a time series of endowment portfolio returns given an …


Special Needs Financial Planning Case Studies: Evaluation Of Three Financial Services Business Models' Approaches To Client Needs, Thomas Williams Apr 2023

Special Needs Financial Planning Case Studies: Evaluation Of Three Financial Services Business Models' Approaches To Client Needs, Thomas Williams

Honors Projects in Finance

Special needs financial planning is the process and organization of a financial plan for a family with a child or children with a disability. A key aspect of special needs financial planning is planning for the life of a child with a disability after the death of their parents. Failing to conduct financial planning for such a family could leave the child with a disability relying on state-provided services with a poor quality of life. The following research outlines how four business models will approach a family with a special needs dependent. The four business models are a Registered Investment …


Effectively Influencing Personal Financial Management And Financial Preparedness Among Athletes, Darnel Shillingford Apr 2023

Effectively Influencing Personal Financial Management And Financial Preparedness Among Athletes, Darnel Shillingford

Honors Projects in Finance

Professional athletes live the dream of millions of people when they sign their first contract to be paid to play sports. For many athletes, they are coming into money that many have never seen before. Handling this money can prove difficult for athletes from a personal finance standpoint, and it is imperative for them to utilize the support systems around them. However, the support systems need to be readily available to the athlete for there to be a significant impact on the budgeting and investing practices of the athlete. Empowering an athlete to take full advantage of their time in …


A Review Of The Effect Of Esg On "Sin" Firms, William Stearns Apr 2023

A Review Of The Effect Of Esg On "Sin" Firms, William Stearns

Honors Projects in Finance

In this study, we examine the impact of ESG on stock returns and portfolio returns for sin stocks. The relationship between ESG and stock prices has been a topic of interest for research in recent years with the increasing emphasis on ESG in society. The present study analyzes the ESG scores for nine specific sin stock industries: tobacco, gambling, alcohol, adult entertainment, firearm, military, nuclear power, bioengineering, and oil and gas. This study is conducted through the use of statistical analysis with data collected from COMPUSTAT, CRSP, and MSCI. Our results reveal that ESG is negatively correlated with sin firm …


The Impact Of Diversity, Equity, And Inclusion In The Fashion Industry, Hannah Dreska Apr 2023

The Impact Of Diversity, Equity, And Inclusion In The Fashion Industry, Hannah Dreska

Honors Projects in Finance

This research study is an examination of diversity, equity, and inclusion in the marketing and infrastructure of companies within the commercial fashion industry. The aim of this paper is twofold. First, this paper examines the purchasing preferences and behaviors of young adults and whether their opinions on diversity and inclusivity impact it. Second, this paper examines the financial impact of companies that adopted an inclusive and diverse approach to their marketing strategies and company infrastructure. I hypothesize that inclusivity and diversity are qualities highly valued by consumers and would thus have a positive financial impact on companies that focus on …


Young Adults And Money: The Covid-19 Pandemic, Michael Mariano May 2022

Young Adults And Money: The Covid-19 Pandemic, Michael Mariano

Honors Projects in Finance

This study looks to explore the relationship between the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the economy and young investors. More specifically, this research looks to answer the question: how have young adults, ages 18-25, responded to the economic distress caused by the COVID-19 pandemic with their investing decisions? Through analyzing a sample of young adults, ages 18-25, this study will develop a deeper and broader perspective on the unique impact that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on the investing decisions of young adults. Using a mix of literary studies on similar historical events and a sample study of young …


Environmental, Social, And Governance Factors Within Investing: Impact On The Financial Performance Of The Energy Sector, Ryan Donahue Apr 2022

Environmental, Social, And Governance Factors Within Investing: Impact On The Financial Performance Of The Energy Sector, Ryan Donahue

Honors Projects in Finance

An emerging social pressure of being environmentally and socially responsible has been an increasingly popular concept through the past decades. Socially responsible investing (SRI), or environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investing is an investment strategy which aims to flood publicly trading companies with capital who operate according to specific morals and standards. Studies has proven investors who factor ESG into their portfolio strategies often see greater return, as firms are able to create more long-term value. The purpose of this study is to analyze the effects of ESG activity and ratings on the financial performance of firms in the energy …


Rise Of Passive Investing: Impacts On Equity Market Functionality, Ryan Donovan Apr 2022

Rise Of Passive Investing: Impacts On Equity Market Functionality, Ryan Donovan

Honors Projects in Finance

Most investments into equity markets can be categorized into two general strategies: active investments and passive investments. These strategies impact equity markets in different ways. Over the past few decades, market participants have witnessed a radical shift from active management to passive management. This paper reviews how this shift impacts market dynamics generally, and liquidity and comovement effects, in particular. Robust statistical analysis of total passive domestic equity assets under management (AUM), individual security, and market index data demonstrates that dramatic increases in passive investment flows correlates with decreased broad market liquidity and increased security-index comovement for securities in the …


The Impact Of Female Leadership On Lgbtq-Supportive Policies, Samantha Bove Apr 2022

The Impact Of Female Leadership On Lgbtq-Supportive Policies, Samantha Bove

Honors Projects in Finance

In the past two decades, gender inequality in c-suites has received a large amount of attention. Thus, the number of women in top management roles has increased substantially. However, the corporate sector has also neglected other marginalized groups, specifically, members of the LGBTQ community. These individuals are important employees and previous literature has established the benefits, both financial and otherwise, that the presence of LGBTQ supportive policies have on American corporations. In this paper, I examine if the presence of women CEOs influences the LGBTQ policies that are implemented in that firm. This will be analyzed using an OLS regression …


Anatomy Of The Short Squeeze: Using Technical And Statistical Analysis To Forecast Price Volatility, Gianni Demerski Apr 2022

Anatomy Of The Short Squeeze: Using Technical And Statistical Analysis To Forecast Price Volatility, Gianni Demerski

Honors Projects in Finance

A short squeeze is a phenomenon in the stock market that occurs when the price of a security surges drastically higher over a short period of time. The main known cause of a short squeeze is due to short sellers aggressively covering their positions creating a short-term artificial increase in the demand for a given stock. The purpose of the present study is to determine whether the stock return volatility of a short squeeze can be forecasted using variables such as trade volume, price patterns, short interest, market capitalization, and a stock’s outstanding shares. The study attempts to determine which …


Understanding Real Estate Market Dynamics: The Covid-19 Effect, Faith Winslow Dec 2021

Understanding Real Estate Market Dynamics: The Covid-19 Effect, Faith Winslow

Honors Projects in Finance

The covid-19 pandemic has led to significant shifts in consumer trends, including in the real estate market. Through multivariable regression, this study investigates how covid-19 has impacted the demand as well as pricing for houses in the United States. The findings contribute to the literature in a few major ways. First, they provide a current look at the impact of covid-19 on the housing market by analyzing monthly, state-level data from before and during the pandemic. Secondly, they provide clarity and supplement journals and research currently in the works. This is the first national study that looks at the effect …


Inditex's Esg Performance In A Global Financial Market, Sara Habig Aug 2021

Inditex's Esg Performance In A Global Financial Market, Sara Habig

Honors Projects in Finance

Zara has become extremely popular as a global fashion enterprise and remains significantly profitable in the fashion industry. With a leading supply chain operation strategy, they have been a leading retailer for many decades. This empirical research study involves research and assessment of Inditex's ESG performance and evaluations based on ASSET4 data source's evaluations, using the Stata software. Results show that Inditex remains a strong competitor in the fast fashion industry when compared to its rivals within 4 different categorical markets: all sample firms in Spain, all global retailers, and all sample firms separated by continent. Inditex consistently outperformed their …


The True Cost Of College: The Impact Of Student Loan Debt On Academic Performance, Marykate Marshall Apr 2021

The True Cost Of College: The Impact Of Student Loan Debt On Academic Performance, Marykate Marshall

Honors Projects in Finance

The cost of college has increased disproportionately compared to wages over the last several decades and as a result, student debt has become more prominent. This study aims to identify and examine the relationship between student loan debt and academic performance. Using an online survey, Bryant Alumni and current juniors and seniors were asked questions pertaining to cumulative GPA at graduation, their financial stress level, demographics, student information, personal finances (including family background), and further education. GPA serves as the dependent variable and factors such as gender, race/ethnicity, the amount of debt, and siblings served as independent variables. The results …


Non-Traditional Alternative Investments, Michael Alfieri Apr 2021

Non-Traditional Alternative Investments, Michael Alfieri

Honors Projects in Finance

This paper investigates the feasibility of non-traditional alternative investments in portfolios. Non-traditional alternative investments are defined by this paper as collectibles, such as classic cars, art, and wine. Some of these assets have been around for decades and are increasingly becoming more available to investors. This asset class is grouped with assets that are not easily tradable like traditional equities and bonds and do not generate cash flows. This makes valuing the intrinsic value of collectibles difficult. However, academic research has shown that non-traditional alternative investments do have a track record worth investing in. Parts of the market are becoming …


Student Loans And Their Effects On Postgraduate Life, Joseph Bartucca Apr 2021

Student Loans And Their Effects On Postgraduate Life, Joseph Bartucca

Honors Projects in Finance

College tuition has been steadily increasing in America throughout the past two decades as demand for a higher education has continued to rise. A college education is invaluable and is inevitably essential in obtaining a successful career. As a result, more and more students have been depending on student loans to finance their way through college. The average college student loan debt has reached about $30,000 per student upon graduation nowadays. Because of these skyrocketing debt amounts, several life goals and aspirations have been impacted, including future employment, further enrollment, family formation, homeownership, and net worth. The objective of this …


Millennials' Retirement Struggle: The Interaction Between Student Loans, Financial Decisions, And Financial Literacy., Rebecca Michaud Apr 2021

Millennials' Retirement Struggle: The Interaction Between Student Loans, Financial Decisions, And Financial Literacy., Rebecca Michaud

Honors Projects in Finance

As millennials grow older and begin their careers in the workforce, saving for retirement begins to become an important part of spending. This paper analyzes a variety of factors and challenges that impact an individual’s retirement savings. This thesis ultimately looks to determine whether the driving force for the general inadequacy of retirement savings is student loan debt, financial decision making, or both. Through both research and survey responses, this thesis will also look at whether a public policy that removes a certain percentage of student loan repayment obligations will have any impact on the amount that young workers are …


Using Macroeconomic Variables To Preserve The Predictive Power Of Bankruptcy Prediction Models Across Time, Edward Golas Nov 2020

Using Macroeconomic Variables To Preserve The Predictive Power Of Bankruptcy Prediction Models Across Time, Edward Golas

Honors Projects in Finance

At its core, bankruptcy prediction is a binary classification problem where a researcher attempts to model a company’s financial status, defined as either bankrupt or non-bankrupt, based upon a slew of financial ratios, market indicators and even macroeconomic variables. Several studies (Altman and McGrough, 1974; Moyer, 1977 and Mensah, 1984) have noted that such models tend to suffer reduced accuracy when predicting bankruptcy for time periods other than the one in which they were trained. A possible solution to this problem is to include macroeconomic variables in the model, since such variables fluctuate over time and are suspected of impacting …