The master thesis focuses on investments in office buildings. The aim of the thesis is to make an evaluation analysis of investment decision with focus on its informational support and criteria applied in making investment decisions on office buildings market. The thesis is divided into four parts. The first part discusses current development on the commercial property market in the Czech Republic and analyzes in detail the development of the Prague office buildings market. The second part is about main factors that affect value of these properties. The third part describes investors operating on the market and the last part analyzes the economic efficiency of two selected investments. This master thesis is a pilot project generalizing criteria that affect investing in office buildings, and which can be further expanded.

The aim of this thesis is to describe the process of investment decision-making from the perspective of theory and describe the methods used in choosing the best options of investment decision and to determine the best investment option for the company.The thesis is divided into two parts. The aim of the first part is to describe metods which are used for evaluation of the effectiveness of the investment. The main part of the thesis is a practical part. The aim of practical part is to describe the proces development of present legislation as a main risk factor of Investment. The other aim of the thesis is to evaluate and recommend the most advantageous variant. Last but not least aim is to create a model which will be helpful also for other companies in the same situation.

The goal of this master thesis is to evaluate an investment project to a biogas power plant. The first part of the master thesis defined the essential theory needed for the capital investment decisions. There is overview of the most important investment criteria like net present value and methods and sources of project financing. In the analytical part I calculate the necessary values like revenues, operational costs and depreciation in order to find out projects cash flow. The investment is then evaluated by investment criteria. In order to make the analysis more accurate the sensitivity analysis is made. In the last part of the thesis there is an overview of results and a investment recommendation.

Infrastructure management agencies are facing multiple challenges, including aging infrastructure, reduction in capacity of existing infrastructure, and availability of limited funds. Therefore, decision makers are required to think innovatively and develop inventive ways of using available funds. Maintenance investment decisions are generally made based on physical condition only. It is important to understand that spending money on public infrastructure is synonymous with spending money on people themselves. This also requires consideration of decision parameters, in addition to physical condition, such as strategic importance, socioeconomic contribution and infrastructure utilization. Consideration of multiple decision parameters for infrastructure maintenance investments can be beneficial in case of limited funding. Given this motivation, this dissertation presents a prototype decision support framework to evaluate trade-off, among competing infrastructures, that are candidates for infrastructure maintenance, repair and rehabilitation investments. Decision parameters’ performances measured through various factors are combined to determine the integrated state of an infrastructure using Multi-Attribute Utility Theory (MAUT). The integrated state, cost and benefit estimates of probable maintenance actions are utilized alongside expert opinion to develop transition probability and reward matrices for each probable maintenance action for a particular candidate infrastructure. These matrices are then used as an input to the Markov Decision Process (MDP) for the finite-stage dynamic programming model to perform project (candidate)-level analysis to determine optimized maintenance strategies based on reward maximization. The outcomes of project (candidate)-level analysis are then utilized to perform network-level analysis taking the portfolio management approach to determine a suitable portfolio under budgetary constraints. The major decision support outcomes of the prototype framework include performance trend curves, decision logic maps, and a network-level maintenance investment plan for the upcoming years. The framework has been implemented with a set of bridges considered as a network with the assistance of the Pima County DOT, AZ. It is expected that the concept of this prototype framework can help infrastructure management agencies better manage their available funds for maintenance.

Alla kommuner har investerat eller är i behov av investeringar, vissa mer än andra. Idag blir immateriella investeringar allt mer väsentliga för alla typer av organisationer, kommuner är inget undantag. För att en investering ska genomföras går kommuner igenom processer som har en stark relation till politiken. Tidigare studier om immateriella investeringar är redan väldigt tunn, kommunala immateriella investeringar är även mer tunn. Syftet med denna studie är att förbättra kunskapen om hur investeringsprocessen i kommunala immateriella investeringar går till, även ge en översiktlig bild på hur hela investeringsprocessen går till vid immateriella investeringar. Det som visats i studien är att det finns faktorer som påverkar kommunerna bland annat vilken syn de har på immateriella investeringarna, vad kommunen är i för situation vad gäller politiken, in- eller utflyttnings takten. Med vår analys hoppas vi att det klargjorts hur den kommunala immateriella investeringsprocessen går till inom kommuner. / All municipalities have invested or are in need of investments, some more than others. Today, intangible investments are becoming more important for all types of organizations, municipalities are no exception. In order for an investment to be implemented, municipalities go through processes that have a strong relationship with politics. Previous studies on intangible investments are already very thin, municipal intangible investments are even thinner. The purpose of this study is to improve the knowledge of how investment appraisals regarding municipal intangible investments are carried out, and also to provide an overview of how the entire investment process is carried out with these kinds of investments. What has been shown in the study is that there are factors that affect the municipalities, such as their view of intangible investments, the municipality's situation in terms of politics, the rate of immigration or emigration. With our analysis, we hope that it has been clarified how the municipal intangible investment process takes place with inmunicipalities.

Bakgrund: Uppsatsen har sitt teoretiska och empiriska fokus på investeringsprocessen. Utifrån detta ska studien redogöra för hur miljömässiga faktorer integreras i investeringsprocessen. Det saknas idag djupa och omfattande redogörelser för hur miljö kan beaktas genom investeringsprocessen. Därför undersöker uppsatsen investeringsprocessen i ett antal utvalda företag, där extra vikt läggs vid hur miljö avspeglas i processen. Vidare är även företagens tillämpning av traditionella investeringskalkyler en del i vad som undersöks. Ambitionen är att på ett vägledande sätt beskriva hur miljömässiga faktorer på ett balanserat sätt kan integreras i investeringsprocessen.  Syfte: Syftet med uppsatsen är att bidra med kunskap för att öka förståelsen för hur miljömässiga faktorer integreras i investeringsprocessen. Studien avser därutöver utveckla en empiriskt testad modell för hur miljömässiga faktorer integreras i investeringsprocessens olika faser.  Metod: Studien är en kvalitativ intervjustudie på sex svenska företag inom tre olika branscher. Till studien hör en omfattande litteratursökning med utgångspunkt i huvudsak två avhandlingar. Data samlades in genom 15 semistrukturerade intervjuer. Materialet analyserades sedermera genom de fem stegen för analys av kvalitativ data. Slutsats: Studiens slutsatser är att miljömässiga faktorer integreras i flera av investeringsprocessens faser. Tillvägagångssättet för integrering av miljömässiga faktorer kretsar kring fyra teman; kvantifiering, kriterier, lagkrav och kongruens mot miljömässiga strategier och mål. Samtliga teman finns med både i initieringsfasen och i bedömningsfasen, med undantag för kvantifiering som är ett strikt tema för bedömningsfasen. Vidare har kvantifiering framförallt teoretiska förankring medan kriterier i den här studien enbart har empirisk förankring. Studien har avslutningsvis resulterat i en modifierad modell för hur miljömässiga faktorer integreras i investeringsprocessens olika faser. / Background: This thesis has its theoretical and empirical focus on the investment process. Based on this, the study will account for how environmental factors are integrated in the investment process. There is currently a lack of deep and comprehensive accounts of how the environment can be taken into account through the investment process. Therefore, the thesis examines the investment process in a number of selected companies, where emphasis is placed on how environmental factors are considered in the process. Furthermore, companies' application of traditional capital budgeting techniques is also a part of the empirical study. The ambition is to, in a guiding way, describe how environmental factors can be integrated in the investment process. Purpose: The aim of this thesis is to increase the understanding of how environmental factors are integrated in the investment process. The study also aims to develop an empirically tested model for how environmental factors are integrated in the various phases of the investment process. Method: This thesis is a qualitative interview study of six Swedish companies in three different industries. The study includes an extensive literature search based on two dissertations. Data were collected through 15 semi-structured interviews. The material was later analyzed through the five steps for analysis of qualitative data. Conclusion: The conclusions of this thesis are that environmental factors are integrated into several phases of the investment process. The approach to integrating environmental factors revolves around four themes; quantification, criteria, legal requirements and congruence with environmental strategies and objectives. All themes are included in both the initiation phase and the integrating phase, with the exception of quantification, which is only emphasised in the integrating phase. Furthermore, quantification has primarily theoretical grounding, while criteria only have empirical grounding. The study has finally resulted in a modified conceptual model for how environmental factors are integrated into the various phases of the investment process.

Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) data has been seen as a tool to implement Sustainability in investment companies. This non-financial data has brought along new type of information into the investment process, resulting in a profound transformation for companies. In order to adapt to the new realities of climate change and social challenges, companies must understand that changes in organization processes are essential to address the outcomes that ESG data will bring. Organizational changes are often caused by internal and external factors, allowing organizations to develop new processes and results that can influence the adoption of a new organizational culture approach. This study analyzes the essential organizational changes in terms of structure and culture. The authors used a multi-case study of two Asset management companies and an external group of experts to do so. The case analysis was conducted through a qualitative content analysis based on semi-structured interviews with nine employees and two external experts within the Asset Management industry. The study results show that ESG plays a vital role in organizational development, forcing structural changes and a new approach toward organizational culture in Asset Management companies.

Med en allt högre fokus på klimatpåverkan i samhället har marknaden för gröna obligationer under det senaste årtiondet blivit en attraktiv plattform för investerare att placera kapital i. Studier i ämnet visar även att finansmarknaden utgör en avgörande roll för att klimatmålen i Parisavtalet ska uppnås och gröna obligationer är ett viktigt verktyg. Marknaden för gröna obligationer är däremot fortfarande otydlig vad gäller definitioner och klassificeringar, vilket ökar komplexiteten i investeringsbeslut. Studien syftar därför till att kartlägga investerares beslutsprocess vid gröna investeringar och belysa vad som är avgörande för investeringsbeslut på en marknad under konstant utveckling.  Arbetet genomförs med en kvalitativ metod i form av litteraturstudie samt semi-strukturerade intervjuer med aktörer som är involverade i investeringsbeslut på den gröna obligationsmarknad. Resultatet visar att den gröna stämplingen på en obligation inte är avgörande för investerare utan att finansiella faktorer såsom avkastning väger tyngre. Såvida skiljer sig beslutsprocessen gällande gröna investeringar jämfört med konventionella främst genom att den har en ökad komplexitet och innehåller kvalitativa faktorer i större utsträckning. Investerare har fortsatt ett stort intresse för hållbar finansiering och är förberedda på de resurser som krävs i investeringsbeslut men utgår snarare från hållbarhetsarbete som helhet än specifikt gröna obligationer. / With an increasing focus on climate impact in society, the market for green bonds has over the past decade become an attractive platform for investors to redirect their funds towards. Studies in the subject also show that the financial market plays a crucial role in achieving the climate goals in the Paris Agreement and that green bonds are an important tool. The market for green bonds, on the other hand, is still unclear in terms of definitions and classifications, which increases the complexity of investment decisions. The study therefore aims to clarify investors' decision-making process for green investments and shed light on what is crucial for investment decisions in a market under constant development. The work is carried out with a qualitative method with a literature study and semi-structured interviews with actors involved in investment decisions on the green bond market. The results show that the green labelling on a bond is not decisive for investors, but that financial factors such as returns weigh more heavily. Therefore, the decision-making process regarding green investments differs from conventional ones, mainly as it has an increased complexity and contains qualitative factors to a greater extent. Investors continue to have a strong interest in sustainable financing and are prepared for the resources required in complex investment decisions but prefer sustainability work in a wider aspect rather than specifically green bonds.

This study examines how the investment opportunity set of the firm affects financing choices the firm makes. In a two-period, one decision, no-tax model, we show that firms characterized by a high level of investment opportunities in future periods issue equity and convertible securities while firms with fewer investment opportunities in future periods issue straight debt. Our empirical design improves upon previous studies in two important ways. First, we treat convertible debt separately from straight debt. Second, in addition to examining the correlation between investment opportunity and debt-asset ratios, we examine the incremental financing decision using discrete choice analysis. We find that the level of investment opportunities of firms making public issues of equity and convertible debt are higher than those issuing straight debt. Also, there is a negative correlation between investment opportunities and debt-asset ratios. We interpret these results to mean that investment opportunities are an important determinant of the firm’s financing policy. The direction of this relationship is the same as that predicted by the tax models of DeAngelo and Masulis (1980) and Dotan and Ravid (1985), and agency models of Myers (1977), Jensen (1986) and Stulz (1990). / Ph. D.

During the last fifteen years, the professional architecture literature has encouraged practicing architects to increase their involvement in real estate development. Such participation may take several forms ranging from early conceptual development to financial investment. A typical scenario involves a developer asking the architect to forgo all or part of his professional fee in return for an investment interest in the project. However, the literature has done little to equip these novice architects/investors with the practical tools necessary to make informed investment decisions. If an architect is considering such an investment, he must do so with an understanding of what he is giving up and what he can expect in terms of future benefits. / M. Arch.