The topic of the thesis is valuation of insurance companies. The thesis is separated into two parts, theoretical and practical. The theoretical part of the thesis describes characteristics of the insurance sector and its specific aspects that play significant role in the operation of insurance companies as well as economical and financial analysis necessary for valuations. Financial ratios used in financial analysis of insurance companies, their interpretation and methods used for valuation are also presented in this part. The practical part of the thesis then describes two methods of valuation, their application and comparison.

The key objective of this thesis is the outline of an alternative capital market modeling framework, the Volatility Asset Pricing Model, VAPM, inspired by the innovative dual approach of Mandelbrot and Hudson using the method based on synthesis of two seemingly antagonistic factors -- the volatility of market prices and their serial dependence determining the capital markets' dynamics. The pilot tests of this model in various periods using the market index as well as a portfolio of selected securities delivered generally satisfactory results. Firstly, the work delivers a brief recapitulation regarding the concepts of a consumer/investor choice under general conditions of hypothetical certainty. Secondly, this outline is then followed by a description of the "classical" methodologies in the risky environment of uncertainty, with assessment of their corresponding key models, i.e. the CAPM, SIM, MIM, APTM, etc., notwithstanding results of the related testing approaches. Thirdly, this assessment is based on evaluation of the underlying doctrine of Efficient Market Hypothesis in relation to the so called Random Walk Model. Fourthly, in this context the work also offers a brief exposure to a few selected tests of these contraversial concepts. Fifthly, the main points of conteporary approaches such as the Fractal Dimension and the Hurst Exponent in the dynamic framework of information entropy are subsequently described as the theoretical tools leading to development of the abovementioned model VAPM. The major contribution of this thesis is considered its attempt to apply the abovementioned concepts in practice, with the intention to possibly inspire a further analytical research.

The Black-Scholes model quickly been used in practice for pricing options in spite of its restrictive assumptions it is based on. Its robustness and especially its simplicity in calculating the option price has speeded this development. During the following years the main focus of scientific work has been empirical testing and analysing consequences of hurting model assumptions. The real functionality of the model - especially the practical execution of arbitrage process that shall guaranty Black-Scholes price - has never been questioned in scientific literature. The Arbitrage process is analysed in this work, resulting in serious doubts about the practical application of the Black-Scholes model. In the case of option mispricing not only the option price itself yet its partial deriviation have to be known in order to realise the arbitrage process. Furthermore arbitrage profits are very small compared with the deviation from Black-Scholes price, thus under the consideration of the transaction costs predicted intervals of arbitrage free option prices may be as high as the Black-Scholes model seems insuitable to value exchange traded options. A CAPM-based option pricing model is developed as an alternative to the Black-Scholes model. The Black-Scholes assumptions have been used almost unchanged and only one additional assumption regarding the utility function of market participients has been made to develop the model. The created model is a generalization of the Black-Scholes model as the Black-Scholes model is one special case of the created model. The CAPM-based approach proves its superiority to the Black-Scholes model in an empirical test of Eurex-traded DAX-calls and moreover the model can explain theoretically Black-Scholes anomalies such as Volatility Smile. / Das Black-Scholes-Optionsbewertungsmodell wurde trotz seiner sehr restriktiven Modellannahmen schnell in der Praxis eingesetzt - seine Robustheit und vor allem die Einfachheit der Berechnung stellten dabei die Haupttriebfeder dar. Das Hauptaugenmerk der wissenschaftlichen Diskussion der folgenden Jahre lag neben der empirischen Überprüfung vor allem in der Untersuchung der Auswirkung der Verletzung seiner Modellannahmen. Die eigentliche Funktionsweise des Modells - insbesondere die praktische Umsetzbarkeit des Arbitrageprozesses, der den Black-Scholes-Preis garantieren soll - wurde hingegen in der Literatur nie in Frage gestellt. In der vorliegenden Arbeit wird dieser Arbitrageprozesses analysiert, mit dem Ergebnis, daß erhebliche Zweifel an der Praxistauglichkeit des Black-Scholes-Modells angebracht sind. So muß z.B. bei einer Fehlbewertung der Option nicht nur der Optionspreis selbst, sondern auch die Ableitungen des fehlbewerteten Optionspreises bekannt sein, um die Arbitrage auch tatsächlich durchführen zu können. Darüber hinaus sind die bei einer Fehlbewertung zu realisierenden Arbitragegewinne im Verhältnis zur Abweichung vom Black-Scholes-Preis sehr gering, so daß die unter Berücksichtigung von Transaktionskosten ermittelten arbitragefreien Intervalle für den Optionspreis so groß werden können, daß das Black-Scholes-Modell für die Anwendung zur Optionsbewertung an den Börsen ungeeignet erscheint. Als Alternative zum Black-Scholes-Modell wird ein CAPM-basiertes Optionsbewertungsmodell hergeleitet. Dabei werden die Annahmen des Black-Scholes-Modells fast unverändert über-nommen und es wird nur eine zusätzliche Annahme an die Nutzenfunktion der Wirtschaftssubjekte gestellt. Das hergeleitete Modell stellt dabei eine Verallgemeinerung des Black-Scholes-Modells dar, da es dieses immer noch als Spezialfall beinhaltet. In der empirischen Untersuchung anhand der DAX-Calls an der Eurex erweist sich das CAPM-basierte Optionspreismodell dem Black-Scholes-Modell als eindeutig überlegen und kann darüber hinaus noch dessen Anomalien wie das Volatility Smile modelltheoretisch erklären.

This paper studies factors that influence the stock return on the Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE) market. To achieve this goal, a stock-fixed effects model is estimated using a panel data sample comprising 100 companies listed on the SSE market during the 72-month period from January 2002 to December 2007. I find that number of trades and book-to-market value in both up and down markets have a significant and positive impact on stock returns during the studied period, whereas stock returns were negatively affected by systematic risk in both up and down markets although less so in up markets. Price to earnings ratio did not show any significant effect on stock returns on the SSE. My overall results indicate that SSE did not satisfy the efficient market hypothesis 1 during the studied period from January 2002 to December 2007.

This thesis investigates the two investment strategies Dogs of Dow and The Magic Formula. We test how the strategies perform when getting weighted to ESG scores and also if they outperform OMXSPI during the years 2012-2022. What we find in our study is that when returns are risk adjusted, both Dogs of Dow and The Magic Formula and their ESG weighted portfolios outperform the benchmark during the period. We also conclude that ESG weighted portfolios yield lower returns than equally weighted Dogs of Dow and The Magic Formula portfolios. The portfolio that produce the highest return was the equally weighted Dogs of Dow portfolio. For the value at risk we find that on a five percent significant level, the portfolios observe values from -1,55% to -1,69%.

This study examines whether modern portfolio theory can be used to improve the Magic Formula investment strategy. With the assets picked by the investment strategy we modify the portfolios by weighting the portfolios in accordance with modern portfolio theory. Through the process of creating efficient frontiers and weighting the portfolios differently we create two alternative portfolios each year. One portfolio that aimsfor maximum Sharpe ratio and one that aims for minimum variance. These weighted portfolios produce higher risk-adjusted returns consistently during the examined period of 2010-2020. We conclude that the Magic Formula can be improved by using modern portfolio theory.

Background: This study discusses the phenomenon of luxury goods as investment assets,focusing on luxury watches in particular. The rise of globalization and increased wealth,particularly among the middle and high-income groups in developing countries, hascreated a larger potential customer base for luxury items. This has led to an increasing interest in luxury goods as investment assets, including collectibles such as cars, art, andwine. The recent development of online niche marketplaces for luxury goods has enabledthe systematic collection of data, facilitating research on Veblen goods as alternativeinvestment assets. Therefore, it is interesting to analyze the financial performance ofinvestments in luxury watches as compared to traditional assets. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to analyze the comparative performance ofinvesting in luxury watches versus traditional assets such as equities and bonds. Methodology: This study collects data on luxury watch prices and characteristics. Thehedonic pricing method is used to regress the price of the watches on their characteristics.The regression results are used to analyze the price impact of the characteristics, as well asto create a watch price index. In order to evaluate the index performance, data is collectedfor the MSCI World Index and the Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index. For all the indices, the financial metrics of the Sharpe ratio, Treynor ratio, CAPM, and Jensen’s alphaare calculated. Conclusion: This study suggests that luxury watches, with their wide price ranges and high resale value, have been a viable option for portfolio diversification during thestudied five-year period between 2018 and 2023. The watch index yields an averagereturn of 2.01 % and a cumulative return of 49.35 %, outperforming the MSCI World Indexwith average returns of 1.38 % and the Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index with -0.01%, and cumulative returns of 31.90 % and -0.15 %, respectively. The watch index alsooutperforms the compared indices in terms of the financial metrics Sharpe ratio, Treynorratio, CAPM, and Jensen’s alpha. The results suggest that the most important valuedrivers for luxury watches are: Brand (Audemars Piguet, Patek Philippe, and VacheronConstantin), Features (Chronograph, tourbillon, and rotating bezel) and Case Material(bronze, rose gold, and yellow gold).

The All-Electric Vehicle (AEV) industry development has intensified and is connected to governmentefforts to minimize greenhouse gas emissions and encourage people to buy electric vehicles. This hasled to all the lights turning on newly established all-electric vehicle makers and some older players. Thegrowth of these companies is depicted in their market capitalization, which has seen an unprecedentedrun. However, one can notice a knowledge gap in the analysis of factors affecting such companies'expected rate of return. This research focuses on analyzing the factors from three of the most knownasset pricing models - CAPM, Fama-French 3 Factor, and Fama-French 5 Factor models. It shows whichof these factors are significant in estimating the expected return rate for nine chosen companies and theimpact of each considerable factor on the return rate.Additionally, we calculate the expected return rate using the beforementioned models to verify whetherthere is an uptrend or not in the electric vehicle market. The current research is limited to companieslisted on the US stock market, with only all-electric vehicle production lines. We make an introductionto the AEV theoretical aspects and related market structure. We also present theoretical concepts behindthe expected rate of return perception.The analysis showed that the market risk premium impacts 100% of the companies. The SMB factorinfluences 55% of the companies while the HML factor only 11%. Finally, RMW affects 66% of thechosen dataset and CMA 77%. For all companies, there is a positive expected return rate. Looking atthe significant coefficients for each model, the results are the following: we can observe that for CAPMand all the companies, 100% of the coefficients are positive. For FF3FM, 93% of the significant factorsare positive, while only 7% are negative. Finally, for FF5FM, out of the 28 significant factors, 65% ofthe coefficients are positive, and 35% are negative.

This thesis studies the increasingly prevalent concept of sustainability in a financial context. Specifically, the question as to whether negative screening implies a cost or a benefit from an investor perspective is derived from past research’s inconclusive findings. The method adopted in order to answer the question is the construction of a negatively screened portfolio. The negative screening is done on an industry basis to see if excluding firms that engage in activities related to ESG risks would increase or decrease portfolio performance. Costs or benefits are primarily estimated as the intercept, also referred to as alpha, from Carhart’s (1997) four-factor model but is complemented by both the CAPM and the Fama-French three-factor model. The results of this study indicate no significant findings, as measured in alpha, achieved from the negative screening. However, the findings suggest a lower Sharpe ratio in the screened portfolio, and that negative screening may be associated with a lower systematic risk similar to what previous research has found.

Previous scholars have viewed expenditures on ESG (environmental, social, governance) in two distinct ways. In one way, it has been viewed as wasteful if it does not directly contribute to the business. The other perspective being that by addressing ESG-issues, one can improve businesses by improving society. In recent times, ESG has become an increasingly common topic due to the increased awareness and debates regarding the environment and sustainability. The increased attention toward ESG issues has resulted in increased ESG reporting by firms. As a result, shareholders and stakeholders can address more of their concerns by knowing how ESG-friendly a firm is. With the increased attention given to ESG in recent years, its actual effects on a firm becomes increasingly interesting. The relationship between ESG and firm performance and the relationship between ESG and stock return has been studied by several researchers over the years. The different studies have come to different conclusions regarding these relationships and the relationships are still inconsistent. In this paper, the relationship between ESG-scores and firm performance, as well as ESG-scores and stock returns in Swedish large-cap firms is examined. This study aims to investigate the relationship between ESG-scores and firm performance and the relationship between ESG-scores and stock returns. Furthermore, the study measures firm performance by measuring total asset turnover, net profit margin, and operating profit margin. Stock returns are measured with the use of historical yearly stock returns. The relationships are investigated with regression analysis. This study has a quantitative approach, where secondary data between the years 2016-2020 has been extracted from the database Refinitiv Eikon. The study finds that the relationship between ESG-scores and total asset turnover is negative, meaning that increased ESG-scores result in less efficient use of assets. The relationship between ESG-score and net profit margin is insignificant, and no conclusion can be drawn from that relationship. The relationship between ESG-scores and operating profit margin is positive, meaning that customers are willing to pay more for a firm's sustainable practices. The relationship between ESG-scores and stock returns is insignificantly negative; thus, we cannot draw any conclusions regarding the relationship, but it could indicate that ESG-scores are accounted for in the stock price.