Generalized runs tests to detect randomness in hedge funds returns

The major contribution of this paper is to make use of generalized runs tests (Cho and White, 2011) to analyze the randomness, i.e. the lack of persistence, in both absolute and relative returns of hedge funds. We find that about 42% of the HFR universe exhibit iid absolute returns over the period spanning 2000 to 2012. These funds are mainly found in proportions within the Macro and Equity Hedge strategies. A similar result holds for relative returns. We also find that funds having non-iid returns often exhibit ARCH effects and structural breaks, with largest breaks located within financial crises. Also, only a small percentage displays persistence in their relative performance, 8.2% to 16.7% of the universe, mainly found in proportions within the Relative Value and Event-Driven strategies. The robustness of results is challenged by implementing the tests on a crisis-free period. We find similar results for absolute returns. For relative ones, differences appear across strategies and benchmarks, but still both ARCH and breaks are present. Our work contributes to the hedge fund literature in terms of methodology, portfolio allocation, and performance measurement.     

Pitfalls and perils of financial innovation: The use of CDS by corporate bond funds

We use the financial crisis of 2007–2009 as a laboratory to examine the costs and benefits of teams versus single managers in asset management. We find that when a fund uses complex trading strategies involving the use of CDS team-managed funds outperform solo-managed funds. This may be due to the greater diversity of expertise, experience and skill of teams relative to single managers. During the financial crisis, however, the performance premium of teams becomes negative, which may be because of the slower decision times of teams, which are especially costly during times of rapidly changing market conditions.     

The securitization of gold and its potential impact on gold stocks

We study the market impact of a very successful financial innovation – the SPDR Gold Trust exchange-traded fund (GLD). GLD holds physical gold, and provides traders with a convenient and cost-effective way to gain exposure to gold. We find that after the introduction of GLD, the liquidity of gold company stocks declined, and their adverse-selection risk increased. Over the two-month period after GLD’s introduction, the stocks’ relative effective bid-ask spreads increased by over 15%, while their adverse-selection cost, as measured by the price impact of trades, went up by more than 30%. Gold stocks also experienced significant negative abnormal returns (−12% on average) in the month after GLD started trading. Our findings suggest that GLD attracted traders, especially uninformed traders, away from gold company stocks, and that the resulting negative demand shocks and decrease in the stocks’ liquidity caused their prices to decline. Our results show that existing securities can be seriously adversely affected when a new security enters the market.     

Do social factors influence investment behavior and performance? Evidence from mutual fund holdings

We study the economic significance of social dimensions in investment decisions by analyzing the holdings of U.S. equity mutual funds over the period 2004–2012. Using these holdings, we measure funds’ exposures to socially sensitive stocks in order to answer two questions. What explains cross-sectional variation in mutual funds’ exposure to controversial companies? Does exposure to controversial stocks drive fund returns? We find that exposures to socially sensitive stocks are weaker for funds that aim to attract socially conscious and institutional investor clientele, and they relate to local political and religious factors. The financial payoff associated with greater “sin” stock exposure is positive and statistically significant, but becomes non-significant with broader definitions of socially sensitive investments. Despite the positive relation between mutual fund return and sin stock exposure, the annualized risk-adjusted return spread between a portfolio of funds with highest sin stock exposure and its lowest-ranked counterpart is statistically not significant. The results suggest that fund managers do not tilt heavily towards controversial stocks because of social considerations and practical constraints.     

The influence of pension funds on corporate governance

Although pension funds have gained importance in the last two decades, their role has not been described in detail by economic models. This article focuses on the scope of these institutional investors when they are not satisfied with a management team of a company in which the pension fund holds a block of shares. Stock holdings by pension funds are largely dispersed. Therefore, any intervention by pension funds in corporate governance requires the formation of a coalition of pension funds. The realization of a coordinated intervention, in turn, is subject to the problems related to the provision of public goods, such as free riding. We find that the stock dispersion and the combined share of pension funds, coordination costs and the attractiveness of the exit option are relevant factors for determining the probability of the success of interventions.     

保险公司资产组合与最优投资比例研究

保险公司收益主要来源于承保利润和投资收益,其中承保利润受政策变动、市场条件等外部环境的影响较大,而投资收益则更多地取决于保险公司的投资能力,因此保险公司如何构建资产组合、如何确定最优投资比例就是获取投资收益最大化的重要因素。本文通过理论推导得出了保险公司的资产组合模型并运用非线性规划求解出最优投资比例,进而根据保险公司的投资数据进行了实证研究,为我国保险公司的资产组合及最优投资比例提供了一个可借鉴的思路。     

Stochastic Dominance Analysis of iShares

Abstract

Country indices as represented by iShares exhibit non-normal return distributions with both skewness and kurtosis. Earlier studies provide procedures for determining the statistical significance of stochastic dominance measures and the Sharpe Ratio. This present study uses these refinements to compare the performance of 18 country market indices. The iShares are indistinguishable when using the Sharpe Ratio as no significant differences are found. In contrast, stochastic dominance procedures identify dominant iShares. Although the results vary over time, stochastic dominance appears to be both more robust and discriminating than the CAPM in the ranking of the iShares.     

业绩排序对基金投资风险水平变化的影响

以Brown等人提出的共同基金竞赛假说为基础,通过Spearman检验考察中国开放式基金是否符合竞赛假说得出,总体来看中国开放式基金的竞赛假说并不明显,不同的年份有不同的表现;新基金比老基金表现出了更为典型的竞赛假说特征;Spearman相关系数检验表明新基金比老基金的投资策略更为稳健。     

基于沃尔评分法的财政资金绩效审计评价指标体系研究

随着财政资金绩效审计的不断深入,构建财政资金绩效审计评价指标体系成为当前财政审计工作的核心。本文采用＂沃尔评分法＂的基本原理对评价指标体系的路径进行了构建,并对指标体系的主要内容从经济性、效率性和效果性三个方面进行了初步研究。     

共同基金：中小企业融资途径新思路

中小企业对经济的贡献率越来越大，然而中小企业融资难的问题也越来越突出。本文设想多个企业联合建立共同基金以便于解决各自企业融资难的问题，并基于此思想而构造一种新融资模式。