Hedge funds and financial stability: Regulating prime brokers will mitigate systemic risks

We review key characteristics of the hedge fund industry, and identify conditions under which this sector can pose a threat to financial stability. Direct regulation of hedge funds that increases transparency does not appear feasible, may create a moral-hazard problem, and may reduce market liquidity. Indirect regulation by prime brokers and market discipline by creditors, counterparties, and investors have been effective in limiting the risks from the hedge fund sector. To reduce systemic risks, more regulation of prime brokers is warranted to avoid competitive dynamics from undermining counterparty risk management practices.     

Performance of Ethical Mutual Funds in Spain: Sacrifice or Premium?

There is currently much debate in the economic literature about whether ethical investment involves a financial sacrifice or premium. One of the most common methods of testing this compares the financial performance of ethical investment funds with that of other funds not considered “socially responsible” or ethical. The majority of these research studies evaluate the performance of the ethical funds according to classic measures, whereby different financial markets, in different countries and for different periods of time serve as reference for evaluation. The ultimate conclusion of all of these studies is that there are no significant differences between the performance results of one type of funds and the other. In Spain, ethical investment funds are still an incipient sector of investment. To date, the Spanish market has not been included in any type of analysis of these characteristics. Therefore the main objective of this article is to compare the financial performance of ethical investment funds to that of other funds in the Spanish retail market. We propose the aggregate type of analysis as the Spanish ethical investment funds have experienced a weaker development in comparison to those of other developed countries. In the first step we suggest the financial performance to be compared by style analysis since the asset distribution of the Spanish Social Return Investment (SRI) funds differs from the European trend. In particular, we use the multifactor regression model with style benchmarks. We found that their financial performance is in all cases superior or similar to that achieved by the rest of the funds. In the second step, to achieve a more robust and homogeneous comparison, we used the bootstrap method, comparing ethical and non-ethical fund subsamples by homogeneous groups. No significant differences between these two types of funds have been found. Thus, if we assume the positive o neutral effect of ethical investment on investor utility in the retail Spanish market the financial and social performance (FSP) of ethical funds will be, in aggregate, superior to the FSP achieved by conventional funds. In conclusion, the financial performance of ethical mutual funds in Spain is no sacrifice.     

Running From a Bear: How Poor Stock Market Performance Affects the Determinants of Mutual Fund Flows

Abstract:  Using a proprietary data set to study how past performance affects the determinants of mutual fund flows for a sample of load fund investors, I provide evidence that the determinants of fund flow depend on market conditions for both redemptions and purchases. Specifically, I show that, for redemptions, relative performance and risk adjusted performance are important determinants during a period of record flows into mutual funds. Conversely, during a period of poor performance, absolute performance becomes much more important and relative performance and risk adjusted performance become less important. For purchases, absolute performance, risk adjusted performance, and most relative performance measures become more important during the bear market.     

地方国企非效率投资来源选择：债权资金优先还是股权资金优先？

以2001—2009年地方国有上市公司为样本对地方国企非效率投资来源选择进行研究,结果显示：地方国企非效率投资来源选择首先是债权资金,其次才是股权资金;当拥有较多长期贷款时,企业会更倾向使用债权资金代替股权资金,并且这种选择是理性和不可逆的;在产权保护较强和信贷配置市场化程度较低的地区,企业选择债权资金替代股权资金的动机更强;随着政府干预的增强,债权资金对股权资金的替代作用减弱。     

完善我国应急财政资金管理的途径

应急财政资金管理是我国建设应急管理体系的重要环节。当前我国的应急财政资金使用中存在常规资金规模偏小、筹集比例不合理、资金管理不完善、资金使用缺乏监督等问题。应从完善应急财政资金预算管理制度,拓宽筹资渠道,优化应急财政资金的拨付和使用程序,健全应急财政资金的监管制度等方面,完善我国应急财政管理。     

科研院所科研经费全过程管理模式研究

科研经费是支撑科研活动的重要物质保障,随着科技事业的不断发展,科研经费规模也持续扩大,但由于科研院所的经费管理方式与快速增长的科研经费不完全适应,使得科研经费使用中存在的问题逐渐显现出来。针对经费管理的预算、使用和结算等环节存在的问题,提出以制度为管理底线,以考核为规范上限,各部门人员沟通协助的全过程经费管理模式,以期为强化科研经费管理、规范经费使用提供借鉴。     

香港对冲基金监管法律制度研究

对冲基金是一种特殊的投资工具,其组织形式一般是有限合伙企业或者离岸投资公司,通过风险投资来获得较高的回报,例如进行卖空或者衍生品交易等。作为世界重要的对冲基金离岸中心,香港具备严格而又灵活、适时的监管制度,与中国内陆邻近,世界级的金融服务基础环境,可靠的普通法法律体系以及灵活的税收制度等方面的优势。香港对冲基金监管法律制度主要体现在三个方面的监管,即监管对冲基金、监管基金管理人和监管两者的行为。为吸引更多的基金落户香港,当局也在不断地进行法律更新。香港的经验和做法值得我国内陆参考。     

有限合伙制私募股权投资基金的内部治理

近几年,资本市场的需求使得我国私募股权投资基金呈现良好的发展势头,基于独特的组织形式制度优势,有限合伙制在我国私募股权投资基金领域得到更广泛的应用。但实践中,公司制法人作为有限合伙制私募股权投资基金的普通合伙人的常态化,可能会给其经营管理的运行带来消极影响。对于此类"组织形式有限合伙制、治理结构半公司制"的基金,本文将通过分析其内部构成,内部关系,发现其内部缺陷,从而提出激励和约束机制并存的治理方案。     

Foreign Institutional Ownership and the Global Convergence of Financial Reporting Practices

This paper investigates whether foreign institutional investors affect the global convergence of financial reporting practices. Using several measures of reporting convergence, we show that U.S. institutional ownership is positively associated with subsequent changes in emerging market firms’ accounting comparability to their U.S. industry peers. We identify this association using an instrumental variable approach that exploits exogenous variation in U.S. institutional investment generated by the JGTRRA Act of 2003. Further, we provide evidence of a specific mechanism—the switch to a Big Four audit firm—through which U.S. institutional investors affect reporting convergence. Finally, we show that, for emerging market firms, an increase in comparability to U.S. firms is associated with an improvement in the properties of foreign analysts’ forecasts.     

Performance of Foreign and Global Mutual Funds: The Role of Security Selection,Region‐Shifting,and Style‐Shifting Abilities

We examine the performance of U.S.‐based foreign and global funds after controlling for their regional and style exposure. We show that, on average, the total performance (TP) and security selection abilities of both foreign and global funds are significantly negative and exhibit short‐term predictability. Additionally, R² reflects funds’ security selection abilities, consistent with previous findings for domestic mutual funds. Investors can earn higher abnormal returns and TP in the short run by purchasing past winners with low R² than by purchasing past losers with high R². However, there is no evidence of predictability in the funds' region‐shifting and style‐shifting abilities.