Corporate control rights and the long-run equity risk premium

We address the role of incomplete contracting in the equity market in a long-run growth model. Equity delivers control rights, but holding equity might lead to disutility, since the right to vote is costly to carry. We analyze voting power and its burden in a equilibrium growth model. One of our main contributions is that we test our ex ante equity premium model using data for 44 countries over the years 1989–2005. Higher capital productivity, inflation and valuation of leisure increase the ex ante equity premium, as does lower population growth.     

The impact of blockchain related name changes on corporate performance

This paper examines the impact of blockchain and crypto-related name changes on corporate and financial performance of the corporations. We document several pieces of evidence suggesting that companies who partake in such “crypto-exuberant” naming practices become more volatile and offer substantial and persistent stock market premiums as a reward for their corporate identity change. However, the retroactive name changes harm firm's short-term profitability and have a dampening effect on financial leverage of the company. This paper advances the Dotcom effect literature by providing novel results on the changing traditional pathways of price discovery and information flows after the announcement of corporate name changes to blockchain-related names. The identified contagion channels display that crypto-exuberant companies become more susceptible to cryptocurrency markets, which should interest regulators and investors.     

Foreign acquisitions by UK limited companies: short- and long-run performance

In this paper, we consider the short- and long-run performance of UK firms following foreign acquisitions. Based on a near-exhaustive sample of significant foreign acquisitions by UK companies over the period 1985–1994, we show that short-run returns are insignificantly different from zero irrespective of the location of the acquisition. Further analysis reveals that the distribution of the event period returns is determined by changes in the exchange rate, the presence of the acquiring firm in the target country and by US tax reforms. While long-run returns are not significantly different from zero on average, they show considerable variation by region. Specifically, firms under-perform following acquisition in the US, show insignificant returns following acquisitions in the EU and acquisitions elsewhere show significant positive returns. Examination of the distribution of these returns suggest that, in accordance with the ownership–location–internalisation hypothesis of foreign direct investment (FDI), long-run performance is more likely to depend on the firm-specific advantages such as R&D.     

Earnings management and long-run stock performance following private equity placements

We investigate whether the documented earnings management preceding public equity offerings applies to private placements of equity. We also investigate whether earnings management can help explain long-run stock performance following private placements. Our main findings are: (1) little evidence of upward earnings management around private equity placements, and (2) little predictive power of abnormal accruals for long-run stock performance following private equity placements. These results suggest that earnings management is not responsible for post-offering underperformance, if any, for firms issuing equity privately. Our results are robust to two alternative measures of earnings management and three measures of abnormal returns estimated over two sample periods.     

Insider trading and the long-run performance of new security issues

This paper uses insider trading around new security issues to provide evidence of managerial timing ability. I show that insider sales increase and purchases decrease prior to issues of information-sensitive securities (convertible debt and equity) by industrial firms. I then examine the relation between insider trading and subsequent stock returns. Although not all equity issues are motivated by overvaluation, those where managers sell prior to the issue are more likely to be. I find that industrial firms with abnormal insider selling underperform in the long run, whereas those with abnormal buying do not. There is no evidence of a relation between abnormal selling and future performance for utility offerings, however. Overall, the evidence is consistent with poor long-term performance being due to overvaluation.     

The long-run stock performance of preferred stock issuers

We examine the long-run common stock performance of preferred stock issuers. We find that significant abnormal underperformance is present only for 1 year after the issue. For the longer term we do not find consistently significant abnormal performance. This result contrasts with substantial underperformance of common equity and debt issuers during the 3 or 5 years post-issue. The better long-run performance of preferred issuers relative to common equity and debt issuers is driven primarily by financial firms' motivation to issue preferred stock to satisfy regulatory requirements of capital adequacy.     

试论一价定律与公司理财理念

本文深入地探讨了一价定律与公司理财的基本概念、一般原理以及简单理论模型的内在关联,细致地梳理一价定律在公司理财中的脉络,依据科学研究纲领方法论,构建了基于一价定律理论硬核的公司理财分析框架,以期有助于系统地揭示公司理财的核心理念和财务决策的本质原理。     

企业过度投资与股价崩盘风险

实体经济的过热投资是否会导致股市出现“泡沫”进而引发股市的暴跌风险是当前学术界和实务界关注的一个焦点问题。本文以2004-2013年A股上市公司为样本,从微观层面考察企业过度投资对股价崩盘风险的影响,并从“代理理论”和“管理者过度自信”两种视角分析其背后的作用机理。研究结果表明:(1)企业过度投资显著加剧了股价未来的崩盘风险;(2)股东与经理人之间的代理冲突而非管理者过度自信是导致二者正相关的主要原因;(3)进一步的研究发现,企业过度投资对未来股价崩盘风险的影响具有长期性,且其对股价未来的暴涨不具有预测能力。本文的研究结论不仅丰富了股价崩盘风险、过度投资等相关领域的文献,对于如何抑制实体经济投资过热以降低股价崩盘风险、维护金融市场稳定也具有重要的参考价值。     

Underpricing and long-run performance of Chinese IPOs: the role of underwriter reputation

This study examines the impact of underwriter reputation on IPO underpricing and long-run performance in the China stock market over the period 2001 to 2006. This sample period is notable for the implementation of a verification and approval system that occurred during it, which provided underwriters more freedom to price IPOs. We develop two alternative proxies to measure underwriter reputation based on either the ratio of the total gross proceeds raised or the number of IPOs managed by each underwriter. We find that underwriter reputation does not affect the level of underpricing, but that the level of long-run underperformance is significantly mitigated when IPOs are managed by more prestigious underwriters.     

It's all in the name: Mutual fund name changes after SEC Rule 35d-1

We study how investors respond to ‘superficial’ mutual-fund name changes that occur for no fundamental reasons. We find that such name changes remain widespread even after regulation to curb potentially misleading name changes (SEC Rule 35d-1). Superficial changes are more widespread than previously studied ‘misleading’ changes that are not accompanied by corresponding portfolio adjustments reflecting the investment style suggested by the new name. Superficial changes appear to be driven by managerial incentives. Investors react to superficial changes with increased fund flows but appear to gain no benefit through improved performance or lower fees. On the contrary, name-change funds underperform as a group. Our findings highlight inefficiencies in the mutual-fund market and hold important implications for the stakeholders involved.     

Corporate governance and firm performance

How is corporate governance measured? What is the relationship between corporate governance and performance? This paper sheds light on these questions while taking into account the endogeneity of the relationships among corporate governance, corporate performance, corporate capital structure, and corporate ownership structure. We make three additional contributions to the literature:First, we find that better governance as measured by the Gompers, Ishii, and Metrick [Gompers, P.A., Ishii, J.L., and Metrick, A., 2003, Corporate governance and equity prices, Quarterly Journal of Economics 118(1), 107–155.] and Bebchuk, Cohen and Ferrell [Bebchuk, L., Cohen, A., and Ferrell, A., 2004, What matters in corporate governance?, Working paper, Harvard Law School] indices, stock ownership of board members, and CEO-Chair separation is significantly positively correlated with better contemporaneous and subsequent operating performance.Second, contrary to claims in GIM and BCF, none of the governance measures are correlated with future stock market performance. In several instances inferences regarding the (stock market) performance and governance relationship do depend on whether or not one takes into account the endogenous nature of the relationship between governance and (stock market) performance.Third, given poor firm performance, the probability of disciplinary management turnover is positively correlated with stock ownership of board members, and board independence. However, better governed firms as measured by the GIM and BCF indices are less likely to experience disciplinary management turnover in spite of their poor performance.     

Value, valuation, and the long-run performance of merged firms

We propose an alternative measure of the long-term economic impact of mergers on firm value: post-acquisition changes in intrinsic value. Consistent with the literature on post-acquisition returns, the intrinsic value of merged firms decreases on average in the three years following deal completion, especially for firms with high initial intrinsic values. The loss of intrinsic value is driven primarily by decreases in expected earnings. Finally, using return decompositions, we find evidence that the poor post-acquisition stock returns documented in other studies can be attributed primarily to lost intrinsic value rather than changes in valuation levels.     

Founder CEO management and the long-run investment performance of IPO firms

This study provides a comparative analysis of the long-run investment performance of founder and non-founder CEO led IPO firms in high and low technology environments. We find weak evidence of superior long-run investment performance on the part of founder CEO led IPO firms, since the significance of the results are sensitive to choice of benchmark, portfolio weighting method, and factor regression model. However, in the context of high technology IPO firms, we find consistent evidence to indicate that founder CEO led firms provide significantly higher long-run returns relative to non-founder CEO led firms. Our results suggest that the unique nature of founder CEO leadership is particularly beneficial to IPO firms in high technology environments.     

Corporate diversification and performance: evidence on production efficiency

This study utilizes the COMPUSTAT database to extract 31,002 firm-year observations for the firms publicly traded on US exchanges during the 1995–2001 period, and examines the relationship between corporate international diversification and technical productive efficiency. The parameters of a stochastic frontier function are estimated simultaneously with the firm-specific production inefficiency effects in a panel framework. After controlling for product diversification, industry and firm size, the author finds the degree of international diversification is positively related to production efficiency. The results are robust to the choice of multinationality variables including number of geographic segments, foreign income ratio and foreign tax ratio. In all, the results suggest that multinational corporations are utilizing their operating flexibility.     

Corporate performance and firm perception: The British experience

Previous academic research has presented a theoretical basis for a relationship between attributes of a firm's reputation and its financial performance. For the United States, researchers have analysed the correspondence between market and accounting based measures of US firm performance and external evaluators' perceptions of the qualitative attributes of US firms. In this study, expert surveys on the qualitative performance of British firms conducted by the British publication, the Economist, which are similar in content to surveys conducted by Fortune magazine for US firms, are used to determine the correspondence between qualitative and quantitative measures of British firms' performance. Results indicate that differences may exist between US and Britain in the use of qualitative survey data on a firm's strategic attributes as a forecast of a firm's future quantitative performance measures. Results also indicate that for small firms, certain qualitative factors (e.g. capacity to innovate) may be of greater importance in forecasting accounting and security market returns.     

The long-run performance of initial public offerings and its determinants: the case of China

Existing research finds poor long-run performance of Initial Public Offerings (IPOs), particularly in the US. Using company IPO data from China’s Shanghai Stock Exchange, we find comparable levels of underperformance. In line with US results, initial overoptimism and the size of the offer are important explanatory factors for this underperformance. Additional variables include the earnings per share prior to listing, the decision to switch investment banks at the time of issue and whether the firm issues shares that can be purchased by foreign investors. These factors suggest that firms in China are able to manipulate the issue process. In the context of Chinese economic reforms, of particular note is the positive performance impact of the government shareholding after issue, which supports a signal argument in relation to continuing government support. As a result, we provide an interesting insight into the influence of the regulatory environment and economic transition on the long-run performance of IPOs in China.

企业关联、信息透明度与股价特征

由于声誉和私下沟通机制的存在,关系型交易降低了交易双方对高质量公开信息的需求,并且关系型资产的专用性,也提高了外界通过市场信息对交易行为进行类比解读的成本。因此,依赖关系进行交易的上市公司的股价中包含的公司特有信息将减少,体现为更高的股价同步性和较高的大涨或大跌风险。通过对我国2004年至2007年间首发上市的151家民营企业上市后三年股价特征的考察,本文提供了支持上述推测的经验证据。本文的研究结果为企业间关系如何影响股价特征这一研究领域提供了新的视角和经验证据。     

Corporate investment and changes in GAAP

This paper investigates whether changes in Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) affect corporate investment decisions. Using a sample containing forty nine changes in GAAP, I find that changes in accounting rules affect investment decisions. I then examine two mechanisms through which changes in GAAP affect investment. First, I find that changes in GAAP affect investment, particularly R&D expenditures, when firms have financial covenants that are affected by changes in GAAP. Second, I find evidence suggesting that the process of complying with some changes in GAAP alters managers’ information sets and consequently changes their investment decisions, particularly their capital and R&D expenditures and, to a weaker extent, their acquistion expenditures. This paper contributes to the literature on the real effects of accounting by providing evidence that accounting rules affect investment decisions even when the rule change does not concern the measurement and reporting of investment, and by documenting specific mechanisms through which the relation manifests.     

Corporate governance and firm operating performance

Using a unique dataset provided by Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS), we relate 51 governance provisions to firm operating performance as proxied by return on assets and return on equity. We identify six corporate governance provisions that are significantly and positively linked to return on assets, return on equity or both using at least two of our six regressions. We examine nine governance provisions that have been recently mandated by the three major U.S. stock exchanges, and we find none of them to be significantly and positively related to firm operating performance. Our results reveal that the governance provisions recently mandated by the U.S. stock exchanges are less closely linked to firm operating performance than are those not so mandated.

Intended use of proceeds and the long-run performance of seasoned equity issuers

We investigate the relation between seasoned equity issuers' stated intended use of proceeds and their subsequent long-run stock and operating performance. Stated intended uses of proceeds are: investment, recapitalization, and general corporate purposes. We find that issuers stating recapitalization or general corporate purposes experience abnormally poor performance in the subsequent three years, but issuers stating investment display little or no subsequent underperformance. These results suggest that issuers with specific plans to use the proceeds for investment purposes are credibly signaling profitable investment opportunities, whereas issuers without specific investment plans are more likely to be opportunistic market timers. Consistent with a timing motive, the secondary component of the offering is significantly larger when the issuer is not specific about investment plans.