This research paper explores differences in company performance levels, as measured by selected company fundamentals and annual return, with regard to the marital status of top executives, specifically the chief executive officer and the chief financial officer. It examines whether the differences in firm performance are determined by the marital status of the respective business executive. Groups of never married, married, and divorced executives are compared against each other to establish if and how the company performance changes between these groups. Summary statistics of the examined variables in conjunction with the results of the simple and multiple regression analyses indicate that marriage clearly has a detrimental effect on a firm’s performance. By contrast, divorce is beneficial as it contributes to improved firm performance. As previous research has revealed, professional performance of top executives, particularly CEOs, as well as money managers is influenced by distractions originating in their personal life events. Because human attention is naturally limited, major life events, such as marriage or divorce, can have detrimental effects on the professional performance of a business executive, and therefore also on the firm performance. Consistent with the results of previous research, the data analysis identifies marital status of CEOs and CFOs as a significant determinant of firm performance.

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Background: The ongoing digitalization in the world with accelerated advancement of technology both develops and challenges the traditional view of means of payment. Legal and economic challenges havebeen recognized in regard to Bitcoin, one of these challenges refer to Bitcoin being defined as property of capital which has caused difficulties in individual income declaration and an overall challenge for cryptocurrencies to act as currencies. Furthermore, Bitcoin is being recognized as an investment possibility, however, since Bitcoin transactions are anonymous it contributes to issues within the public economy as profits made from Bitcoin trades are being evaded.  Purpose: The purpose of this study is to analyze tax evasion among Swedish investors when trading with Bitcoin. Furthermore, this study aims to expand the understanding of Bitcoin traders and determine whether some individuals are more likely to evade taxes in regard to trades with Bitcoin. The intentionis to identify whether there is a connection in demographic- and behavioral factors that indicate whether one is more willing to comply with tax obligations or not. This paper further aims to investigate the STA’s perception of Bitcoin in comparison to the general public as well as how the STA work with the challenges that exist today. Method: This study uses a combination of an inductive and an explorative approach with a mainly quantitative research strategy. Three sources of data have been used: 1) an online survey published in forums for Swedish investors, 2) interviews with the STA 3) court orders provided by the STA. Furthermore, a binary logistic model was performed in SPSS to examine statistically significant results. Conclusion: In regard to taxes linked to trades with Bitcoin, the findings of this study confirm that women are more likely to evade taxes, individuals between the ages of 50 and 79 are less likely to evade taxes in comparison to ages ranging between 18 and 29, individuals who are married are more likely to evade taxes than individuals who are single and investors using platforms registered within Scandinavia are more likely to evade taxes. In addition, the findings of this study indicates that behavioral factors such as morale, trust, awareness, social influence and probability of detection may be influential in tax compliance. Furthermore, the study found a deviation in the perception of taxation linked to Bitcoin where the STA does not recognize taxation linked to Bitcoin as a cause of concern whilst the general public find it to be difficult and an increased risk of tax evasion.

Yes / This paper investigates the role of peer effects in the employee welfare policies of organizations. Using US panel data for a sample of 11,451 firm-year observations from 1996 to 2017, we find that firms’ employee welfare decisions are driven by their peers and show that peer firms play a significant role in defining corporate employee welfare policies. Our findings are robust to various sensitivity checks, including alternative definitions of employee welfare, alternative peer proxies, and several identification strategies. Our additional analysis shows that herding behavior is prevalent in followers, who mimic leaders' behavior, but we do not find any such relationship for industry leaders. Further, we show the evidence suggesting that mimetic and normative isomorphic pressures are driving the peer effects. Finally, we document the economic consequence of peer mimicking in employee welfare policies. Our findings on firms’ peer effects and herding behavior have policy implications.

Background: Generation Z is the first generation to grow up with the Internet as a part of their daily lives, shaping their investment behavior. They favor innovative investments, contrasting Generation X’s preference for stable portfolios. The younger generation displays irrational behavior, contributing to market volatility. Sweden is facing higher interest rates after a prolonged period of low rates. Despite rising interest rates, young shareholders are increasing.  Purpose: This study aims to explore how psychological biases affect investors’ trading activity and the impact of psychological biases on Generation Z and Generation X during elevated interest rates. It focuses on three behavioral biases: overconfidence, herd behavior, and loss aversion. With the growing involvement of young investors in the financial market, this study aims to provide insights for investors, decisionmakers, and other stakeholders to raise awareness of the effects of psychological biases in investment decisions. Method: This study used a quantitative strategy to apply a positivistic, deductive research approach. The data was collected through a survey where which 132 respondents participated. The empirical data was analyzed using simple linear regression, binary logistic regression, and Mann-Whitney U-test.  Conclusion: The results support some of the hypotheses. Results indicate a significant influence of overconfidence on investment behavior and that Generation Z showed larger tendencies of overconfidence than Generation X. Herd behavior affects investment behavior but no generational differences could be found. Additionally, Generation Z was less loss-averse compared to Generation X, although it does not impact investment behavior.

[pt] Grande parte dos objetivos e sonhos das pessoas envolve recursos financeiros. E para que sejam alcançados, a educação financeira é crucial. Durante muito tempo, psicólogos e sociólogos se opuseram às teorias das finanças tradicionais, porque consideram que investidores, tal como qualquer ser humano, não são seres totalmente racionais. Diante de resultados adversos, estudos começaram a se dedicar a entender as relações entre finanças e aspectos psicológicos. Assim, o presente trabalho tem como objetivo analisar vieses comportamentais e possíveis influências exercidas sobre as decisões de investimento a serem tomadas por pessoas com algum conhecimento do mercado de ações. Para alcançar esse objetivo, foram realizadas as seguintes etapas: elaboração de questionário a ser respondido por sujeitos-investidores que tenham algum conhecimento do mercado de ações, de tal modo que possam atribuir graus de importância a critérios, comparativamente; análise das respostas obtidas, com a finalidade de propor uma carteira de investimento para cada perfil identificado, a partir do método AHP; identificação de vieses comportamentais nas decisões de investimento de cada sujeito-investidor e análise comparativa dos resultados obtidos; retorno aos sujeitos das carteiras propostas e questionamento se estão de acordo com o apresentado. Como resultado, observou-se que efetivamente existe uma influência desses vieses na tomada de decisão, o que corrobora a necessidade de uma educação financeira que leve em consideração aspectos comportamentais. / [en] A large part of people s goals and dreams involve financial resources. And for them to be achieved, financial education is crucial. For a long time, psychologists and sociologists opposed traditional finance theories, because they consider that investors, like any human being, are not fully rational beings. Faced with adverse results, studies began to focus on understanding the relationships between finances and psychological aspects. Therefore, the present work aims to analyze behavioral biases and possible influences exerted on investment decisions to be taken by people with some knowledge of the stock market. To achieve this objective, the following steps were carried out: preparation of a questionnaire to be answered by investor-subjects who have some knowledge of the stock market, in such a way that they can attribute degrees of importance to criteria, comparatively; analysis of the responses obtained, with the purpose of proposing an investment portfolio for each identified profile, based on the AHP method; identification of behavioral biases in the investment decisions of each investor-subject and comparative analysis of the results obtained; return to the subjects of the proposed portfolios and question whether they are in accordance with what was presented. As a result, it was observed that there is indeed an influence of these biases on decision-making, which corroborates the need for financial education that takes behavioral aspects into account.

Bakgrund: En stor andel av de svenska invånarna sparar idag i fonder. De senaste åren har utbudet av fonder ökat allt mer, dels genom antalet fondbolag samt spridningen över olika marknader. Fonder allokerade mot tillväxtmarknader, Emerging Markets samt Frontier Markets, är en av de fondtyper som fått större uppmärksamhet på sistone. På grund av lägre grad av transparens från dessa marknader har investerare inte tillgång till lika mycket finansiell information från tillväxtmarknader, de ses även som mindre effektiva jämfört med de mer utvecklade marknaderna. Tillväxtmarknadsfonder tenderar även att ta ut höga avgifter för förvaltningen. Det för oss vidare till att analysera hur förvaltare av tillväxtmarknadsfonder lyckas med sina investeringar sett till den årliga avgift de tar ut för sin förvaltning. Syfte: Syftet med denna uppsats är att studera hur sambandet ser ut mellan fonders årliga avgifter och den riskjusterade avkastningen hos fonder med full allokering mot tillväxtmarknader kategoriserade inom Emerging Markets samt Frontier Markets. Metod: Genom studien har en deduktiv ansats och en kvantitativ metod tillämpats för att undersöka samband mellan flertalet variabler mot den beroende variabeln, Total Expense Ratio. Vi har hämtat in månadsdata från ett urval av 50 fonder via Thomson Reuters som vi sedan analyserat genom nyckeltal samt regressioner. Slutsats: Studiens resultat tyder på att det finns ett negativt samband mellan fondernas riskjusterade avkastning och dess årliga avgift. Vi ser att fonderna med högre avgift tenderar att resultera i en lägre riskjusterad avkastning. / Background: Today most of the swedes saves in mutual funds. The past few years we have seen an increase in the supply of mutual funds. Funds allocated to Emerging Markets and Frontier Markets has gotten more attention as well. These markets have a lower grade of transparency and has a lack of financial information compared to more developed markets. Studies has shown that they are also less efficient than the developed. Mutual funds in Emerging Markets tends to charge higher fees for their management. These factors make it interesting to analyze how the trustees of the mutual funds succeed in their investments related to the Total Expense Ratio that they charge. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to analyze the relationship between mutual funds’ Total Expense Ratio and their risk adjusted return for funds allocated to Emerging Markets and Frontier Markets. Methodology: The authors have used a deductive approach and a quantitative methodology to fulfill the aim of this study. We have gathered data by observing 50 mutual funds and retrieved the data from Thomson Reuters. We have then analyzed the data by calculating key ratios and by regression analysis. Conclusion: The results of this study show that there is a negative relationship between mutual funds’ total expense ratio and their risk adjusted return. We note that mutual funds with higher expense ratios tends to result in lower risk adjusted return.

Bakgrund: Historiskt har många faktorer spelat roll för investerare vid val av investering, framförallt betydande har varit faktorerna finansiell prestation och finansiella prognoser. Under de senaste åren har en rad nya faktorer tagit mer plats och ESG-faktorer har blivit några av de viktigaste aspekterna, både för investerare och andra intressenter. ESG står för Environmental, Social och Governance och är ett mått på investeringens hållbarhet. Även om det ofta diskuteras om ESG som ett helhetsbetyg, så är det mer sällan man diskuterar varje kriterium var för sig. I denna studie har E, S och G separerats för att undersöka om det är hållbarhet inom ett visst område som är mer gynnsamt än ett annat för att uppnå högst riskjusterad avkastning. Syfte: Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka vilket kriterium av E, S och G som genererar högst riskjusterad avkastning på OMXSPI. Metod: Studien har en deduktiv forskningsansats och grundas på en kvantitativ undersökningsmetod. All data har inhämtats från Refinitiv Eikon och man har sedan använt statistiska metoder och skapat regressionsanalyser för att undersöka variablernas samband. Variabeln som används för att mäta riskjusterad avkastning är sharpekvoten. Slutsats: Resultatet av denna studie visar att det finns ett statistiskt säkerställt positivt samband mellan betyget för S året 2018 och riskjusterad avkastning. Resterande år och kriterium finns det både positiva och negativa samband, men inget av dessa är signifikanta. / Background: Historically, many factors have played a role for investors when making decisions about an investment, especially significant have been the factors regarding financial performance and financial forecasts. In recent years, a number of new factors have become important, such as ESG factors. Those have become some of the most important aspects, both for investors and other stakeholders. ESG stands for Environmental, Social and Governance and is a measure of the sustainability of an investment. Although ESG often is discussed as an overall rating, it is less common to discuss each criterion separately. In this study, E, S and G have been separated to investigate whether sustainability focus in one specific area is more favorable than another to achieve the highest risk-adjusted return. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate which criterion of E, S and G that generates the highest risk-adjusted return on OMXSPI. Methodology: The study has a deductive research approach and is based on a quantitative research method. All data were obtained from Refinitiv Eikon and statistical methods with regression analysis were created to investigate the relationship of the variables. The variable used to measure risk-adjusted return is the sharpe ratio. Conclusion: The results of this study show that there is a statistically significant positive relationship between the grade for S year 2018 and risk-adjusted return. The remaining years and criteria have both positive and negative relationships, but none of these are significant.