Finance and Financial Management Commons^™

The Effects Of Asset Allocation And Active Management On Total Return Of Managed Funds, Florian Halili

Business and Economics Honors Papers

Portfolio managers are charged with maximizing returns for a given level of risk. There are practical problems that arise in creating an efficient portfolio and maintaining a target level of risk and return. This paper will identify two important factors that a manager needs to address in creating and managing a portfolio. The first step in creating a portfolio should be the establishment of the structure of the portfolio or the portfolio policy, what asset classes it holds and in what proportions. The structure of the portfolio is the main factor that shows how a portfolio is exposed to risk. …

Land For Maine's Future Program: Increasing The Return On A Sound Public Investment, Richard Barringer, Hugh Coxe, Jack Kartez, Catherine Reilly, Jonathan Rubin

Economics and Finance

Maine is nowhere a more special place than in the quality of its landscape and the traditions of its land use. Among the mo st privately-owned of all the states, Maine’s natural diversity and beauty combine with its traditions of resource stewardship, open access, and appreciation of nature to distinguish it in the public mind and national imagination. In recent decades, however, these traditions have come under assault from the forces of economic and social change; and the people of Maine have responded. In 1986, Governor Joseph Brennan’s Special Commission on Outdoor Recreation recognized the growing threats to Maine’s natur …

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

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 …

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.

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

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 …

Asset Pricing Theory And The Valuation Of Canadian Paintings, Douglas J. Hodgson, Keith Vorkink

Faculty Publications

The valuation of Canadian paintings is analysed empirically. Using a sample of auction prices for major Canadian painters for the period 1968–2001, we run hedonic regressions to analyse the influence of various factors, including painter identity, on auction prices, as well as to construct a market price index. This index is used in a second-stage analysis in which we analyse the properties of Canadian art viewed as an investment asset. We apply standard asset pricing theory, as incorporated in the capital asset pricing model (CAPM), to the analysis of price movements in the market for Canadian paintings.

Whence Garch? A Preference-Based Explanation For Conditional Volatility, Grant Mcqueen, Keith Vorkink

Faculty Publications

We develop a preference-based equilibriumasset pricing model that explains low frequency conditional volatility. Similar to Barberis, Huang, and Santos (2001), agents in our model care about wealth changes, experience loss aversion, and keep a mental scorecard that a¤ects their level of risk aversion. A new feature of our model is that when perturbed by unexpected returns, investors become temporarily more sensitive to news. Gradually, investors become accustomed to the new level of wealth, restoring prior levels of risk aversion and news sensitivity. The state-dependent sensitivity to news creates the type of volatility clustering found in low frequency stock returns. We …

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

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 …

Corporate Governance And Dividend Policy In Emerging Markets, Todd Mitton

Faculty Publications

In a sample of 365 firms from 19 countries, I show that firms with stronger corporate governance have higher dividend payouts, consistent with agency models of dividends. In addition, the negative relationship between dividend payouts and growth opportunities is stronger among firms with better governance. I also show that firms with stronger governance are more profitable, but that greater profitability explains only part of the higher dividend payouts. The positive relationship between corporate governance and dividend payouts is limited primarily to countries with strong investor protection, suggesting that firm-level corporate governance and country-level investor protection are complements rather than substitutes.

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 …

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

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 …

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

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)}.

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 …

The Interrelations Between Investor Beliefs, Information And Market Liquidity, Stephanie Yates Rauterkus

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

I use two datasets to test the relation between trading volume, the heterogeneity of beliefs and the heterogeneity of belief revisions. The first dataset allows me to construct two groups that proxy for ‘holders’ and ‘non-holders’ of a traded asset. This construct allows me to test the relation between changes in trading volume and changes in the dispersion of beliefs both within and across these two groups. I examine changes in within- and across-group dispersion separately and simultaneously. The second dataset allows me to examine belief revisions more closely by analyzing only those prior and posterior beliefs surrounding an information …

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 …

Health Insurance, Labor Supply, And Job Mobility: A Critical Review Of The Literature, Jonathan Gruber, Brigitte C. Madrian

Faculty Publications

This paper provides a critical review of the empirical literature on the relationship between health insurance, labor supply, and job mobility. We review over 50 papers on this topic, almost exclusively written in the last 10 years. We reach five conclusions. First, there is clear and unambiguous evidence that health insurance is a central determinant of retirement decisions. Second, there is fairly clear evidence that health insurance is not a major determinant of the labor supply and welfare exit decisions of low income mothers. Third, there is fairly compelling evidence that health insurance is an important factor in the labor …