This thesis examines the degree to which alternative funds deviate from their style-benchmark and how this is related to past performance and fund size, and how it impacts future risk and returns. Additionally the thesis examines how security selection and market timing skills differ across varying degrees of deviation from the benchmark. The thesis uses data for hedge funds, funds of funds, and CTA funds from the Center for International Securities and Derivatives Markets and employs fund???s tracking error relative to their style-benchmark to estimate the level of drift. The style-benchmarks used are the median return for all reporting funds that follow a particular style and funds are assigned a benchmark based on their self-reported style. First, this thesis documents statistically significant differences in the tracking errors of portfolios of funds with the highest tracking error versus funds with the lowest tracking error, implying that some managers drift from their self-reported style-benchmarks. Second, funds??? benchmark-inconsistency is less severe in the case of funds that have a regulatory obligation to disclose their performance, suggesting that the absence of regulation fosters an environment where managers can be more flexible with their investment approach. Third, the tendency to drift from the benchmark is most prevalent amongst funds with superior past performance as well as small funds. Fourth, future total portfolio risk increases as funds display more benchmarkinconsistency, suggesting that managers adopt riskier strategies as they attempt to enhance returns. Fifth, the thesis demonstrates that CTA funds that display drift from their benchmark produce higher absolute and relative returns in subsequent periods regardless of the direction of the general market. In contrast, the findings show for hedge funds and funds of funds, benchmark-inconsistent funds are likely to outperform in bull markets and underperform in bear markets. Finally, this thesis shows that more benchmark-consistent managers have better security selection skill. The main contribution of this thesis is in identifying the group of hedge funds, funds of funds, and CTA funds that are likely to deviate from their self-reported style-benchmark and the risk-return consequences of such deviations. The findings have implications for investors and regulators.

This thesis examines the degree to which alternative funds deviate from their style-benchmark and how this is related to past performance and fund size, and how it impacts future risk and returns. Additionally the thesis examines how security selection and market timing skills differ across varying degrees of deviation from the benchmark. The thesis uses data for hedge funds, funds of funds, and CTA funds from the Center for International Securities and Derivatives Markets and employs fund???s tracking error relative to their style-benchmark to estimate the level of drift. The style-benchmarks used are the median return for all reporting funds that follow a particular style and funds are assigned a benchmark based on their self-reported style. First, this thesis documents statistically significant differences in the tracking errors of portfolios of funds with the highest tracking error versus funds with the lowest tracking error, implying that some managers drift from their self-reported style-benchmarks. Second, funds??? benchmark-inconsistency is less severe in the case of funds that have a regulatory obligation to disclose their performance, suggesting that the absence of regulation fosters an environment where managers can be more flexible with their investment approach. Third, the tendency to drift from the benchmark is most prevalent amongst funds with superior past performance as well as small funds. Fourth, future total portfolio risk increases as funds display more benchmarkinconsistency, suggesting that managers adopt riskier strategies as they attempt to enhance returns. Fifth, the thesis demonstrates that CTA funds that display drift from their benchmark produce higher absolute and relative returns in subsequent periods regardless of the direction of the general market. In contrast, the findings show for hedge funds and funds of funds, benchmark-inconsistent funds are likely to outperform in bull markets and underperform in bear markets. Finally, this thesis shows that more benchmark-consistent managers have better security selection skill. The main contribution of this thesis is in identifying the group of hedge funds, funds of funds, and CTA funds that are likely to deviate from their self-reported style-benchmark and the risk-return consequences of such deviations. The findings have implications for investors and regulators.

<p>Project Portfolio Management is a tool for effective resource allocation, for the selection of those projects with the highest potential to become tomorrow’s new product and service winners. The accurate implementation of project portfolio methodology is ultimately linked to sound innovation management practices. This paper aims to research a financial firm, ABN AMRO – Brazil, to uncover its project portfolio management practices and their role in fostering innovation. This study set out to define how project portfolio management methodology at the organization ultimately contributes to innovation, and to highlight some of the difficulties and challenges in picking the right projects. Thus, the focus of this paper is to understand how project portfolio management aids ABN AMRO Bank – Brazil in making strategic choices that will ultimately lead to innovation. A total of 11 semi-structured interviews were conducted with managers at the institution in order to assess the project portfolio management practices and their focus on innovation. The results indicate an organizational shift from a lack of formal project selection to the implementation of a sound project portfolio methodology that aims at selecting those projects aligned with business strategy. The results also indicated that innovation has a significant role in the process, by functioning as criteria in the recently defined explicit method for portfolio management.</p>

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2006. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

The effects of selected family characteristics on interrelated components of household asset portfolios over a three-year time period were investigated. Specifically, this study attempted to conceptually define mental accounts, to identify own-adjustment and cross-adjustment characteristics of these mental accounts, to explore influences of selected family characteristics on these mental accounts, and to examine substantial effects of income on family portfolio behavior. Based on the behavioral life-cycle hypothesis, consumer demand theory, household production theory, and the stock adjustment hypothesis, a family portfolio behavior model was formulated for studying family saving behavior as reflected in household asset portfolios. A tobit model was utilized to estimate own- and cross-adjustment coefficients of the portfolio components, and short-term and equilibrium effects of family characteristics. The data were from the Survey of Consumer Finances conducted in 1983 and 1986. Findings strongly support the mental account hierarchy hypothesis which was reflected in the own- and cross-adjustment coefficients estimated. In addition, family income and education of the household head showed positive influences on various mental accounts. Age of the household head, employment status, family life cycle stage, house mortgage, home value, other assets, and other debts showed effects on some mental accounts. Income had a substantial influence on family portfolio behavior. The behavior of middle-income families was more consistent with the hypothesis of a mental account hierarchy than the other income groups, which implies diverse preferences for asset characteristics and varying financial needs of families at different income levels. This study has contributed to the body of knowledge of family saving behavior and increased the understanding of adaptivity and dynamics of family saving behavior. The research findings could be utilized by family finance educators and consultants, financial service marketers, and public policy makers in working successfully with different family types, marketing various financial instruments, and designing effective savings policies. In addition, this study has provided empirical evidence to assess existing theoretical models and to inspire the building of new theories. / Graduation date: 1992

In this thesis we will evaluate the effectiveness of using daily return percentiles and power means as momentum indicators for quantitative portfolio selection. The statistical significance of momentum strategies has been well-established, but in this thesis we will select the portfolio size and holding period based on current (2012) trading costs and capital gains tax laws for an individual in the United States to ensure the viability of using these strategies. We conclude that the harmonic mean of daily returns is a superior momentum indicator for portfolio construction over the 1970-2011 backtest period.

The occurence of financial contagion can lead to hazardous results for financial institutions, financial markets as well as for the whole economy. Therefore it can have even serious economic effects on everybody´s life. That is why it is of great interest to deeper understand its characteristics. As classical finance theory seems not to give the best answers to this topic, the young academic field of behavioural finance can deliver new insights. The main purpose of this work is to provide an introduction mainly to professionals in portfolio and risk management and help them to tackle the problem of contagion at an early stage. Therefore not only aspects of behavioural finance are discussed, but the topic contagion is also brought into connection with network analyses and the current regulation process. Our paper can not answer all questions related to contagion, but it can help the reader to better understand its main aspects and enables him to delve deeper into this field.

An investor can generate higher returns on the German stock market if he is using an active portfolio management strategy rather than its passive counterpart. This is possible because the market is not efficient and the DAX, namely the market portfolio, can be outperformed in regard to the average annual return and its variance. Therefore, the CAPM does not hold for the German stock market. The investor has to use the 10 weeks old changes of the ifo business climate index to forecast the DAX movement in the upcoming month. Even though this forecasting method only gave the correct trading signal for 56% of the months between 1991 and 2011, it outperformed the Buy and Hold strategy by 324 basis points. The main reason for this is that the business index was able to warn the investor of months in which the DAX lost over 10% of its value. The superiority of the active strategy was still valid when transaction costs were taken into account and was even stronger when call money was the alternative investment to the DAX rather than cash.

Project Portfolio Management is a tool for effective resource allocation, for the selection of those projects with the highest potential to become tomorrow’s new product and service winners. The accurate implementation of project portfolio methodology is ultimately linked to sound innovation management practices. This paper aims to research a financial firm, ABN AMRO – Brazil, to uncover its project portfolio management practices and their role in fostering innovation. This study set out to define how project portfolio management methodology at the organization ultimately contributes to innovation, and to highlight some of the difficulties and challenges in picking the right projects. Thus, the focus of this paper is to understand how project portfolio management aids ABN AMRO Bank – Brazil in making strategic choices that will ultimately lead to innovation. A total of 11 semi-structured interviews were conducted with managers at the institution in order to assess the project portfolio management practices and their focus on innovation. The results indicate an organizational shift from a lack of formal project selection to the implementation of a sound project portfolio methodology that aims at selecting those projects aligned with business strategy. The results also indicated that innovation has a significant role in the process, by functioning as criteria in the recently defined explicit method for portfolio management.

Based on previous evidence that there are information heterogeneities in capital markets, three essays including empirical frameworks for examining the information processes that impact portfolio investments and corporate investments was proposed. The first essay considers information channels among mutual fund managers (fund-fund networks), and between holding companies and fund managers (fund-company networks). Results show that (1) fund-fund (fund-company) information networks help in generating positive risk-adjusted returns from holdings in absence of fund-company (fund-fund) networks; (2) fund-company networks create information advantage only when the networks are relatively exclusive. Superior networks seem to pick stocks which outperform beyond the quarter. The second essay examines mutual fund managers tendency to deviate from the strategies of their peers. Results indicate a significantly negative relationship between the managers deviating tendency and fund performance, suggesting that the average fund manager is more likely to make erroneous decisions when they deviate from their peers. The third essay investigates the determinants of target choices in corporate acquisitions. Results reveal the influence of various factors, including information asymmetries, which may drive this behavior, including economic opportunities, anti-takeover regimes, competitive responses to other managers, and acquirers size and book-to-market ratios.