Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Finance and Financial Management Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

2004

Discipline
Institution
Keyword
Publication
Publication Type

Articles 91 - 120 of 142

Full-Text Articles in Finance and Financial Management

2003-2004 Financial Summary, Morehead State University. Budget & Financial Planning Office. Jan 2004

2003-2004 Financial Summary, Morehead State University. Budget & Financial Planning Office.

Morehead State University Financial Summaries Archive

2003-2004 Financial Summary of Morehead State University.


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

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 Jan 2004

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 Jan 2004

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 Jan 2004

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 Jan 2004

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 Jan 2004

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 Jan 2004

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 Jan 2004

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 Jan 2004

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 Jan 2004

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 …


Mutual Fund Tournaments: Evidence From Global And International Funds, Michael R. Melton, Thomas S. Zorn, Richard A. Defusco Jan 2004

Mutual Fund Tournaments: Evidence From Global And International Funds, Michael R. Melton, Thomas S. Zorn, Richard A. Defusco

Department of Finance: Faculty Publications

For a sample of global and international equity mutual funds, we test the proposition that managers likely to end up as “losers” manipulate fund risk differently from interim winners. In contrast with Brown, Harlow, and Starks (1996) who found robust support for the tournament model, we found no evidence of tournament like behavior for international and global mutual funds. A possible explanation of this behavior is that investors in these funds are primarily seeking diversification and therefore are less sensitive to relative performance.


Employee Investment Decisions About Company Stock, James J. Choi, David Laibson, Brigitte C. Madrian, Andrew Metrick Jan 2004

Employee Investment Decisions About Company Stock, James J. Choi, David Laibson, Brigitte C. Madrian, Andrew Metrick

Faculty Publications

Recent high-profile cases have illustrated the dangers of employee investment in company stock. These debacles are unlikely to be the last ones, or even the most severe. Companies with more than 50 percent of retirement assets in company stock are common, and fractions over 80 percent continue to prevail at such large companies as Procter & Gamble, Anheuser- Busch, and Pfizer.1

The concentration of retirement wealth in company stock is a clear violation of diversification principles. Recently, several studies have quantified the economic costs of this concentration. Muelbroek (2002) uses a Sharperatio approach and finds that the average diversification …


Business Week Board Rankings And Subsequent Stock Returns, Steven D. Dolvin Jan 2004

Business Week Board Rankings And Subsequent Stock Returns, Steven D. Dolvin

Scholarship and Professional Work - Business

Recent corporate bankruptcies have placed renewed focus on the role of a firm's board of directors; therefore, I study rankings of the best and worst boards of directors as published by Business Week. Similar to prior studies examining survey data, I find that the portion of the rankings determined via investment manager survey is biased by the "halo effect." However, I also find that the rankings as a whole, and particularly the portion calculated via quantitative analysis, do provide information that can be used in a trading strategy capable of generating positive abnormal returns, thereby implying that board strength does …


Risk Sharing And The Market For Corporate Control: A Case For Golden Parachutes, Atreya Chakraborty Jan 2004

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 …


Do Outside Blockholders Influence Corporate Governance Practices?, Sarah Peck Jan 2004

Do Outside Blockholders Influence Corporate Governance Practices?, Sarah Peck

Finance Faculty Research and Publications

This study investigates whether block acquisitions lead to changes in board and CEO compensation characteristics and finds that block purchasers do not play a significant role in improving the firm’s governance practices. However, the majority of professional investors have sold their block within a year, suggesting that they do not own their stock long enough to alter governance policies nor to benefit from such changes. For the smaller number of firms where a new blockholder maintains their investment for more than a year, the use of equity based CEO compensation increases while the use of cash based compensation decreases.


The Impact Of Hardening In The Homeowner's Insurance Market On Ohio Residential Real Estate Brokerage Markets, Joseph Coleman, James E. Larsen Jan 2004

The Impact Of Hardening In The Homeowner's Insurance Market On Ohio Residential Real Estate Brokerage Markets, Joseph Coleman, James E. Larsen

Finance and Financial Services Faculty Publication

A recently released study sponsored by the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) documents hardening in the homeowner’s insurance market nationwide; i.e., property insurance premiums have increased sharply and coverage availability has often been limited. The NAR study did not, however, investigate the impact of this hardening on residential real estate transactions, nor did it include an examination of the transactional impact resulting from the increasing propensity of insurance companies to require property modifications as a condition of issuing a policy. In the present study, survey data collected from 406 members of the Ohio Association of REALTORS® (OAR) is used to …


Shareholder Proxy Access To The Ballot: What Will Be The Implications Of The Sec's Proposed Shareholder Access Rule If It Is Adopted From Governance, Implementation And A Public Perspective?, Bryan J. Shea Jan 2004

Shareholder Proxy Access To The Ballot: What Will Be The Implications Of The Sec's Proposed Shareholder Access Rule If It Is Adopted From Governance, Implementation And A Public Perspective?, Bryan J. Shea

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

.


Surveying Cost Growth, Michael A. Greiner, Vince Sipple, Edward D. White Jan 2004

Surveying Cost Growth, Michael A. Greiner, Vince Sipple, Edward D. White

Faculty Publications

Cost growth that weapon systems incur throughout their acquisition life cycle concerns those who work in the acquisition environment. One way to reduce the amount of unexpected cost growth is to develop better cost estimates. In attaining better cost estimates though, it is often helpful to understand and account for potential cost drivers. Several cost studies, some of which specifically focus on the aircraft industry, have been performed documenting and investigating these growth factors. Overviews of these various cost growth studies are presented as other tools for the cost estimators and program managers.


The Impact Of Augmenting Traditional Instruction With Technology-Based, Experiential Exercise, David R. King, William W. Jennings Jan 2004

The Impact Of Augmenting Traditional Instruction With Technology-Based, Experiential Exercise, David R. King, William W. Jennings

Management Faculty Research and Publications

Traditional instruction, under an experiential learning model, is neither the sole nor a sufficient means of learning. Learning systems that engage students as contributors to learning offer opportunities for educators. The availability of technology to support experiential exercises represents one opportunity to augment traditional instruction. In a quasi-experiment, traditional-only instruction was compared with traditional instruction augmented with a technology-based, experiential exercise. The two instructional methods were evaluated based on student learning, intended behavior, and satisfaction. Our findings suggest that augmented instruction significantly increased student learning and satisfaction. The implications for students are clear. However, there are also noteworthy implications for …


The Mutual Find Scandal: A Day Trading Simulation, Matt Becker Jan 2004

The Mutual Find Scandal: A Day Trading Simulation, Matt Becker

Presidential Scholars Theses (1990 – 2006)

The 6.9 trillion dollar mutual fund industry has come under fire due to questionable practices conducted by mutual fund companies. Individual investors trying to diversify with a small amount of money have historically turned to mutual funds. Mutual funds were used as a safe vehicle for investors rather than buying thirty different stocks in order to diversify away unsystematic risk. The perception that mutual fund companies were acting in the best interests of individual investors has been challenged in the past year. Elliot Spitzer, the New York Attorney General, brought to light some illegal and highly questionable activities of mutual …


The Mitigation Of Asymmetric Information Through The Use Of Earnouts, David Robert Beard Jan 2004

The Mitigation Of Asymmetric Information Through The Use Of Earnouts, David Robert Beard

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

We examine the use of a contracting method in mergers and acquisitions known as an earnout. In this type of transaction, the bidder agrees to pay the target an initial amount for the acquisition plus future payments contingent on the achievement of performance milestones. Theory suggests that the contingent payment associated with earnouts should reduce adverse selection problems facing both parties in the merger. The purpose of this dissertation is to study the ability of earnouts to mitigate problems associated with asymmetric information and problem of agency. Specifically, we answer the following questions in analyzing these transactions. First, empirical evidence …


Asymptotic And Numerical Solutions For Diffusion Models For Compounded Risk Reserves With Dividend Payments, Sally S. L. Shao, C. L. Chang Jan 2004

Asymptotic And Numerical Solutions For Diffusion Models For Compounded Risk Reserves With Dividend Payments, Sally S. L. Shao, C. L. Chang

Mathematics and Statistics Faculty Publications

We study a family of diffusion models for compounded risk reserves which account for the investment income earned and for the inflation experienced on claim amounts. We are interested in the models in which the dividend payments are paid from the risk reserves. After defining the process of conditional probability in finite time, martingale theory turns the nonlinear stochastic differential equation to a special class of boundary value problems defined by a parabolic equation with a nonsmooth coefficient of the convection term. Based on the behavior of the total income flow, asymptotic and numerical methods are used to solve the …


Re-Examining Venture Capitalist Certification And Insider Selling Decisions During The 1990s., Nicholas S. Koshiw Jan 2004

Re-Examining Venture Capitalist Certification And Insider Selling Decisions During The 1990s., Nicholas S. Koshiw

University Avenue Undergraduate Journal of Economics

This paper addresses the validity of certification and insider selling hypotheses within the context of new issues. Comparisons of venture capital backed and non venture-backed issues with similar offering characteristics show that issuers with venture capital affiliation are more underpriced than non venture-backed IPOs and insider selling results in decreased underpricing. These results contradict the findings of previous venture capital certification studies {Barry (1990), Megginson and Weiss (1991), and Lin and Smith (1997)}, but are consistent with recent work that examines grandstanding {Lee and Wahal (2002)} and insider selling decisions during hot market periods {Ljungqvist and Wilhelm (2003)}.


An Examination Of The Role Of Local Authorities In Local Sport Provision And The Implications For Their Role In The Local Sports Partnership Initiative, Dara Sugrue Jan 2004

An Examination Of The Role Of Local Authorities In Local Sport Provision And The Implications For Their Role In The Local Sports Partnership Initiative, Dara Sugrue

Theses

The broad aim of this study is to analyse the current role of Irish local authorities in relation to the provision of local sport. Particular emphasis is placed on the potential contribution of Irish local authorities to the Local Sports Partnership initiative. The research considers how the local authorities need to evolve if their role within such a partnership arrangement is to be optimised.

A variety of methods were employed to analyse the prevailing and future role of the local authorities in relation to local sports development. These included a questionnaire, semi-structured interviews, analysis of certain local authority documentation and …


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

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 …


An Investigation Of The Equity Premium Using Habit Utility And Equity Returns: Australian Evidence, Lurion De Mello Jan 2004

An Investigation Of The Equity Premium Using Habit Utility And Equity Returns: Australian Evidence, Lurion De Mello

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The gap between the return on stocks and the return on the risk free assets represented by bonds is named the 'Equity Premium' or 'Equity Risk Premium'. In the history of asset pricing models, one of the most serious problems for the equity premium is that the average equity premium is too large to be explained by standard general equilibrium asset pricing models. Researcher's have tried to use variables such as dividend yield's to explain the gap between stocks and bonds with mixed results. After retrieving around a one percent equity premium with the most standard consumption base asset pricing …


Book Review. The Price Of Progress: Public Services, Taxation And The American Corporate State, 1877-1929 By R. Rudy Higgens-Evenson, Ajay K. Mehrotra Jan 2004

Book Review. The Price Of Progress: Public Services, Taxation And The American Corporate State, 1877-1929 By R. Rudy Higgens-Evenson, Ajay K. Mehrotra

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.


The Pricing And Performance Of Convertible Preferred Stock Offerings Following Issuance, Vitaly S. Guzhva Jan 2004

The Pricing And Performance Of Convertible Preferred Stock Offerings Following Issuance, Vitaly S. Guzhva

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation is a comprehensive study of convertible-preferred-stock pricing and performance following issuance. It is the first major academic study that identifies significant abnormal performance of corporate contingent claims following issuance. The research utilizes both option-based contingent claims valuation models and econometric techniques to investigate the sources of superior investment performance of convertible securities as an asset class that has persisted for the past thirty years. Two main issues are examined: potential underpricing of convertible preferred stocks at issuance and their subsequent investment performance. Underpricing is examined based on a robust contingent-claims valuation model. Using two samples of convertible preferred …


Identifying The Potential Advantages And Disadvantages Of Creating A Separate Foundation For Development At The University Of Kentucky, David Shellhorse Jan 2004

Identifying The Potential Advantages And Disadvantages Of Creating A Separate Foundation For Development At The University Of Kentucky, David Shellhorse

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

Statement of Issue

The question of whether or not the University of Kentucky should create a legally independent, institutionally related foundation to receive, hold, invest, and administer the private gift support of the University has been an ongoing debate between UK administrators for many years. This study seeks to identify the potential advantages and disadvantages of creating such a foundation by: (1) conducting a qualitative analysis consisting of personal interviews with officials from the University of Kentucky, the University of Louisville, Western Kentucky University, and Murray State University; and (2) conducting a quantitative regression analysis to determine whether or not …