A Theory on REIT’s Advisor Choice and the Optimal Compensation Mechanism

This paper proposes a model which examines the power of monitoring and forcing contract on improving managerial efficiency. We put particular focus on its implication regarding the choice of advisor type used by REITs. This question has long been a puzzling one in real estate literature. Our model provides a theoretical justification regarding the potential appeal of external managerial structure, which is usually regarded as being inferior to internal managerial structure. A crucial driving force regarding advisor choice is the heterogeneity on monitoring power between internal and external advisors and across REIT firms. Provided that the gap of monitoring power is large enough between internal and external advisors, shareholders could make use of the heterogeneity, and induce higher effort levels from external advisors. We motivate the rationale for expecting a “monitoring advantage” over external management from two aspects: the dual-role of external advisory firm and a bigger reputational cost associated with external advisor. Furthermore, we are able to specify the range within which an improved monitoring power is Pareto-optimal for both REIT shareholders and advisors. One implication is that, as agents, it may also be to the benefit of advisors to be better monitored. Finally, we compare the difference between fixed and stochastic forcing contracts. Our findings show that with their imperfect performance measures, the stochastic forcing contracts always dominate the fixed one.     

Rising UI benefits over time

We re-examine a key result in the optimal UI literature that benefits should decline over time. We show that when the population is heterogeneous, Pareto-efficiency may call for multiple payment schedules, some with benefits that fall over time and some with benefits that rise over time.     

A fast Fourier transform technique for pricing American options under stochastic volatility

This paper develops a non-finite-difference-based method of American option pricing under stochastic volatility by extending the Geske-Johnson compound option scheme. The characteristic function of the underlying state vector is inverted to obtain the vector’s density using a kernel-smoothed fast Fourier transform technique. The method produces option values that are closely in line with the values obtained by finite-difference schemes. It also performs well in an empirical application with traded S&P 100 index options. The method is especially well suited to price a set of options with different strikes on the same underlying asset, which is a task often encountered by practitioners.     

Links and interdependence of developed stock markets under global economic crisis conditions

The scope of this article is to determine whether global stock markets behave differently under conditions of economic crisis by studying the interdependence among the price indices of 10 markets, including Dow Jones (DJ), DAX and NIKKEI. The stock markets under examination are those of the USA, Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, The Netherlands, Spain, the United Kingdom and Japan. The sample includes the logarithmic daily closing prices from 1 January 2000 to 20 February 2009, with a total of approximately 2.385 observations analyzed. The empirical findings suggest that the recent deep crisis has increased dramatically their correlation, thus tightening the existing links. Causality also seems to be affected by the crisis, as DJ and DAX cease to exert a dominant influence on the other stock indices. However, in all the other periods, the findings of previous studies (suggesting that DJ and DAX seriously affect the other indices) were verified, independent of the prevailing bear or bull market conditions.     

Comparing Firm Failure Predictions Between Logit,KMV, and ZPP Models: Evidence from Taiwan’s Electronics Industry

This paper applies the Taiwan electronics industry data to detect the discriminatory powers of Logit, KMV, and zero-price probability (ZPP) models that represent respectively the regressive fitting model, the option-based pricing model, and the GARCH time series simulation model. In our circumstances, according to cumulative accuracy profile, receiver operating characteristic, and even Brier score, the KMV performs the worst. The disadvantages for KMV are that the equity market exists some nonlinear characteristics, the unknown market value of asset affected by the change of capital structure is not exogenous, and the failure point is difficult to be estimated correctly. Besides, KMV is however too simple to model the fluctuation of the equity value as the GARCH does. On the other hand, the Logit performs above average. To preclude over-fitting and keep model parsimonious, two significant factors are extracted from as many as forty financial variables for the logistic regression on binary failure data. The result of Logit training has perfect discrimination. However, for the post-sample data, the fitting to categorical but not ordinal data makes Logit have the divergent failure predicted probabilities and highest Briser Score. In practical, ZPP GARCHNorm uses just equity value to predict firm failure but it performs remarkably well supposing that downward price trend or volatility persistence in stock price changes is appropriately caught. It implies that the distorted signals such as overreaction of traders and insider trading would definitely impair the ZPP GARCHNorm. Nevertheless, the larger type I error than type II error in all models indicates that the prediction of non-failed firms should be more examined further than that of failed firms.     

Efficiency of Microfinance Institutions: A Data Envelopment Analysis

This study examines the cost efficiency of 39 microfinance institutions across Africa, Asia and the Latin America using non-parametric data envelopment analysis. Our findings show non-governmental microfinance institutions particularly; under production approach, are the most efficient and this result is consistent with their fulfillment of dual objectives: alleviating poverty and simultaneously achieving financial sustainability. However, bank-microfinance institutions also outperform in the measure of efficiency under intermediation approach. This result reflects that banks are the financial intermediaries and have access to local capital market. It may be possible that bank-microfinance institutions may outperform the non-governmental microfinance institutions in the long run.     

Return dispersion and expected returns

This paper proposes a two-factor asset-pricing model that incorporates market return and return dispersion. Consistent with this model, we find that stocks with higher sensitivities to return dispersion have higher average returns, and that return dispersion carries a significant positive price of risk. In particular, the return dispersion factor dominates the book-to-market factor in explaining cross-sectional expected returns. The return dispersion model outperforms the CAPM, MVM, IVM, and FF-3M when using a set of 5×5 test portfolios constructed from NYSE and AMEX stock returns from August 1963 to December 2005. Return dispersion continues to play an important role in explaining the cross-sectional variation of expected returns, even when market volatility, idiosyncratic volatility, size, book-to-market factors, and a momentum factor are included. This study sheds some light on the ability of return dispersion to explain expected returns beyond the standard asset-pricing factors. Our finding suggests that return dispersion captures two dimensions of systematic risk: the business cycle and fundamental economic restructuring.     

The two-fund separation theorem revisited

This paper resolves two issues regarding the traditional capital asset pricing model with one risk-free asset which seem to have been overlooked in the literature. First, it provides an elementary and complete proof of the two-fund separation theorem which accounts for the fact that asset demand may become undefined if the limiting slopes of the investor’s indifference curves are finite. Second, it shows that an additional limiting condition on investors’ risk aversions is generally necessary to guarantee existence of an equilibrium. Moreover, a generalized existence result is formulated which includes investors who in equilibrium may not invest in risky assets and a simple condition ensuring positive equilibrium asset prices is given.