Bakalauro baigiamajame darbe nagrinėjamas Lietuvos pensijų fondų pelningumas ir investicinė grąža. Teorinėje dalyje atskleistos pensijų fondų atsiradimo prielaidos, išanalizuota pensijų fondų samprata ir klasifikavimas, pensijų fondams taikomi mokesčiai, apibūdinami pensijų fondų privalumai ir trūkumai bei investavimo strategijos, aptariamas teisinis reglamentavimas, aprašomas pensijų fondų pelningumo, rizikos ir investicinės grąžos skaičiavimas. Tiriamojoje baigiamojo darbo dalyje pateikiama Lietuvoje veikiančių II ir III pakopos pensijų fondų apžvalga; atlikta pensijų fondų mokesčių analizė pagal investavimo kryptis, išanalizuoti pensijų fondų grynųjų aktyvų verčių pokyčiai, apskaičiuoti ir išanalizuoti pensijų fondų pelningumo, grynosios grąžos ir rizikos rodikliai, įvertinta, kiek dalyviai galėjo sukaupti, dalyvaudami pensijų kaupime, nuo pensijų fondų veiklos pradžios iki 2009 m. pirmo pusmečio. / The profitability and return on investment of Lithuanian pension funds are analyzed in the final work of bachelor. The assumptions of pension funds are disclosed in the theoretical part. Also, theoretical part analyzes the concept and classification of pension funds, taxes which are applicabled for pension funds, the advantages and disadvantages of pension funds. Moreover, the investment strategies, legal regulations, the calculation of pension funds profitability, risk and return of pension funds are analyzed in theoretical part. The overview of second and third levels Lithuanian’s pension funds are accomplished in the empirical part. Moreover, empirical part presents the taxation analysis of pension funds according to investment directions, presents values changes of the pension funds net assets. We have calculated and analyzed profitability, net return and risk indexes of pension funds. Also, we assessed how much participants could accumulate by participating in the pension accumulation from the beginning of pension funds till second half of 2009 year.

Bakalauro baigiamajame darbe nagrinėjamos asmens investicijos į finansinius instrumentus, vertinama jų grąža ir rizika. Darbą sudaro dvi dalys: teorinė ir tiriamoji. Teorinėje darbo dalyje, remiantis moksliniais šaltiniais, įvairių autorių nuomonėmis, atlikta asmens investicijų į finansinius instrumentus analizė teoriniu aspektu, pabrėžiant svarbiausius jų bruožus, privalumus ir trūkumus. Analizuojant asmens investicijas, yra pateikta asmeninių finansų samprata, investicijų, kurių pagrindinis šaltinis yra santaupos, koncepcija, nagrinėjama gyvenimo ciklo reikšmė gyventojų finansų valdymui bei apžvelgiami įvairūs finansiniai instrumetai. Bakalauro baigiamojo darbo tiriamojoje dalyje nagrinėjama Lietuvos fizinių asmenų finansinė padėtis, kuri turėjo įtakos gyventojų investavimo galimybėms, pateikiama gyventojų investavimo į įvairius finansinius instrumentus dinamikos analizė Lietuvos finansų rinkoje. Vertinant investicijų grąžą ir riziką buvo pasirinktos trys investavimo alternatyvos: indėliai, investiciniai fondai ir 3-ios pakopos pensijų fondai, kurios, autorės nuomone, yra priimtiniausios ir patraukliausios taupymo ir investavimo formos Lietuvos gyventojui. Atlikus grąžos ir rizikos vertinimą, šios investavimo priemonės yra analizuojamos, lyginamos, išskiriant optimaliausią investavimo būdą grąžos ir rizikos atžvilgiu. Atliktas investicijų tyrimas – žiūrima, kokią investicinę grąžą asmuo būtų uždirbęs per 5 metus, jei būtų investavęs savo turimas laisvas lėšas į įvairius... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / The aim of the bachelor thesis is to analyse personal investment into financial instruments and to evaluate investment return and risk of personal investment into financial instruments. There are two parts of bachelor: theoretical and investigative. In the theoretical part of bachelor there was done analysis of personal investments in various financial instruments, pointing their main features, merits and demerits. While writing theoretical part, there was quoted to different scientific articles and books, their author‘s opinions. There was done personal finance and investments, which is the main source of savings, conception and also pointed the life cycle‘s meaning to personal finance control. In investigative part of bachelor there was done the analysis of financial status of Lithuania‘s citizens, because with the growth of economy increases also interest in financial markets and the possibilities they offer. Because of that larger part of society take part in investment activities. There was also given and analysed the statistics of personal investing in Lithuania‘s financial market. To evaluate investment return and risk, there was chosen three investments forms: deposits, mutual funds and Lithuanian pension funds of additional voluntary accumulation. In bachelor‘s author‘s opinion they are most acceptable and attractive savings and investments forms for a statistical resident. The effectiveness of an investment has been evaluated by comparing the investment return... [to full text]

This thesis examines representations of nationhood, exile, belonging and nostalgia in three Palestinian memoirs: Ghada Karmi’s In Search of Fatima (2002), Mourid Barghouti’s I Saw Ramallah (1997) and Aziz Shihab’s Does the Land Remember Me? (2007). For diasporic Palestinians (such as these three) who are denied access to Palestine as a geographical entity, Palestine exists most strongly in and through narrative. As such, I examine the extent to which these memoirs are acts of nation-building. I explore the impact that living in exile has on the authors’ construction of personal and national identity, and the extent to which exile inhibits their ability to belong. Finally, I suggest that although these memoirs do not offer explicit solutions to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, they are important as measured, reasonable and imaginative acts of nation-building that dramatize and make accessible the plight of the Palestinian nation. / This thesis also examines literary considerations such as memoir as a genre, use of figurative language, and authorial presence.

Problem background and discussion: Emerging countries economies are growing substantially; one of these is India which stock market has been one of the best performing in the world in recent years. Analysts are forecasting further development and some claims that India has the most business- and investment-stimulating political leaders in the world. However, stock markets in emerging countries are highly volatile and normally more risky than in developed economies. One approach to emphasise the more common risks in emerging countries are by including Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) rating into the fundamental investment model. However, there is a conflict of what previous studies suggest regarding ESG investments. Some argues there is a positive relation and others a negative relation between ESG factors and risk- adjusted return. Research question: “Is there a relation between risk-adjusted return and ESG performance at the Indian stock market?” Objective: The objective is to determine if there is a relationship between ESG performance and risk-adjusted return in India. Another objective is to determine if there is a relationship between ESG performance and risk-adjusted return among companies with high Total ESG rating as well as for companies with low Total ESG rating. Theoretical framework: ESG is an established approach to describe sustainability issues, where screening is a process designed to select those companies that meet ESG criteria. A basic description of Capital Asset Pricing Model CAPM, which calculates an asset's expected return, has been used to calculate risk-adjusted return. Efficient Market Hypothesis EMH is the basic theory of market efficiency and is used to explain any non-linear relationship between ESG factors and risk-adjusted returns. Adaptive Market Hypothesis AMH has been taken into account as it deals with financial behaviour. Method: A quantitative study using a deductive approach has been selected to perform this study. The practical approach is a cross sectional study where the relationship in the Indian market has been analysed and significance-tested during 2014. ESG information for 126 companies listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) has been purchased from Sustainalytics, a global leader in research for responsible investment. Empirical findings and analysis: The results of the study demonstrate no significant relationship between Total ESG rating and risk-adjusted return during 2014. In the examination of individual categories, Environmental and Social rating does not have a significant association with the risk-adjusted Return. Though, the results display a negative relationship between Governance rating and risk-adjusted return. This relationship is also obtained among companies in with low Total ESG rating but not companies with high ESG rating. Conclusion: Results implies that investors have not been able to use the information of Total ESG performance to obtain a better risk-adjusted return on the Indian stock market in 2014. However, this can be achieved by using Governance rating.

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Statistically speaking, only between 4% and 6% individuals can afford to retire comfortably. When this fact is combined with changes such as a longer life expectancy, disintegration of family life and increasing pressure on public resources to deal with issues such as aids, the increasing need for personal financial planning for retirement becomes clear. Firstly, a framework was set of requirements which need to be met with regard to financial planning for retirement. This includes the need to diversify the portfolio (as a method to manage the acceptable risk level), as well as principles and techniques relating to diversification. The possibility of using the services of a financial planner to aid with the retirement planning, as well as aspects to be considered in this regard were discussed. It was also demonstrated that a variety of aspects should be considered when deciding on an investment, including market expectations, general economic conditions and the investor's own research, all within a long-term framework. The final aspect considered as part of the framework, was tax. Having set the framework for successful financial retirement planning in Chapter two, a number of pitfalls to be avoided were addressed in Chapter three. These included the investor's planned annual cost of living, since this is the single most important factor which will determine standard of living during retirement. The planned age at which the individual wishes to retire specifically also needs to be taken into account, seeing that this determines the amount of time he has to build up his investment. The planned rate of return on the investment has to be realistic, but also has to at least keep up with inflation. The effect of inflation could also for example mean that adequate present planning may fall short in 20 years' time. A final aspect to be considered is the importance of taking unforeseen events, such as a potential medical disability, into account. Having set the framework of factors to be taken into account, specific investment options were addressed in the main categories of equity, bonds, property and cash, as well as a pension find, provident fund and/or retirement annuity. Less traditional options such as collector's items, financial instruments or the option to start one's own business were also addressed in more detail. Finally, a questionnaire was addressed to professional people, as represented by auditors in the Northwest Province, with the view to determine the current level of retirement planning and whether or not their expectations matched the theoretic framework as discussed in the previous chapters. Suggestions were made as per the results of the questionnaire by linking the results of the questionnaire and the theoretical framework. Gaps were also highlighted, for instance that very few people as per the sample plan to fully retire, and this changing understanding of "retirement" is not fully captured by current literature. It also seems that professional persons, as per the questionnaire, have an over optimistic view regarding their retirement and funds needed during retirement. / Thesis (M.Com. (Business and Management Accounting))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2007.

John D. Caputo and Gianni Vattimo are two of the main thinkers in continental philosophy’s return to religion. This return is accommodated by the basic theoretical framework of irony, which is predominantly an unspoken determinant upon textual meaning. In this continental sense, irony affirms and negates the subject matter that it speaks about. Adopting this framework, Caputo and Vattimo suggest that a new Christian-irony is desirable to avert a collapse back into the violence that results from metaphysics, either modern or classical, by remaining in deconstruction’s loosely held wavering between theism and atheism. The question that remains to be proven, however, is whether their ironic method of writing is not inadvertently continuing the negative effect of the Nietzschean-Heideggerian paradigm by persisting with the literary style of writing that is intrinsic to it, even while openly refuting it by their affirmative Judeo-Christian surface content.

This dissertation consists of three stand-alone essays on fundamental uncertainty, stock return volatility and earnings management. The first study investigates the role of information about firms?? fundamentals contained in analysts?? forecasts (which I label ??non-accounting information??) in understanding stock return volatility. When combined with Ohlson??s (1995) linear information dynamics, the accounting version of the Campbell-Shiller model (Campbell and Shiller 1988a, 1988b; Vuolteenaho 2002) implies that if current non-accounting information is more uncertain, then future stock returns are expected to be more volatile. The empirical evidence supports the theoretical predictions, and the results are valid for measures of both systematic and idiosyncratic volatility. Additional analysis yields some evidence that both favourable and unfavourable news from non-accounting information increases future stock return volatility. Overall, the results highlight the value relevance of information in analysts?? forecasts beyond what is contained in the current financial statements. The second essay extends the theoretical framework of Callen and Segal (2004) and Vuolteenaho (2002) to investigate the association between the uncertainty of accrual information and stock return volatility. The empirical evidence supports the theoretical prediction that the extent of uncertainty in accounting accruals is increasing with the volatility of future stock returns, and the results are valid for measures of both systematic and idiosyncratic volatility. However, when accrual variability is decomposed into fundamental and unexpected portions, I find that the positive relationship between accrual variability and future stock return volatility is dominated by the fundamental component of accrual variability. The findings therefore suggest that the market places little weight on information conveyed by that component of accounting accruals that is most likely to reflect accounting choices, implementation decisions and managerial opportunism. The final essay argues that the presumed articulation among accruals, cash flows and revenues does not capture decisions on expected accruals when large external financing activities are present. The analysis provides evidence that managers?? ??normal?? operating decisions associated with net external financing activities are likely to lead to measurement errors in unexpected accruals that are part of expected accruals, and erroneous conclusions that significant earnings management exists when in fact there is none. This is especially pertinent in cases where the partitioning variable used to identify instances of earnings management is supposed to be uncorrelated with external financing, when in fact it is correlated. The results underscore the importance of additional specification tests being conducted to control for estimation biases in unexpected accruals associated with external financing. I suggest the use of matched-firm approach using industry and external financing matches in order that reliable and warranted inferences are made.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, San Diego, 2007. / Title from first page of PDF file (viewed August 7, 2007). Available via ProQuest Digital Dissertations. Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph.D.) --Murdoch University, 2003. / Thesis submitted to the Division of Arts. Includes bibliographical references (p. 311-317).