When companies go public, the shares they sell tend to be underpriced, and thus exhibit a significant price jump on the first day of trading. As a result, IPO investors materialize significant first-day returns. In the long-run, however, relative to some benchmark, investors appear to lose out by continuing to hold the stocks of firms that have recently gone public. These IPO phenomena are subject of the following study. The thesis addresses two main objectives. First, it systematically surveys relevant empirical evidence and theories that have been proposed to explain IPO underpricing and long-run underperformance. In addition, both anomalies are studied form the viewpoints of two competing finance theories: efficient market hypothesis and behavioral finance. Theories of underpricing are grouped within two broad categories: asymmetric information based models and behavioral theories. While asymmetric information based models assume that one of the IPO transaction parties knows more than others, and that these information frictions give rise to underpricing, behavioral explanations, on the other hand, assume the presence of irrational investors who are the prime cause of underpricing. Theories of poor long-term performance are based on behavioral finance perspective only, where "investor sentiment" plays the main role. On the contrary, proponents of market efficiency strongly argue that the notion of systematic IPOs long-run underperformance is spurious. Secondly, the thesis empirically examines the presence of underpricing and the long-performance of IPOs in European NYSE Euronext markets. In general, the results undoubtedly show that IPOs in the sample are moderately underpriced on average. However, the assessment of IPOs long-run performance provides contentious findings and probably requires further research.

The objective of the thesis is to characterize the importance of information and consequently also of knowledge as the bases for active dealing in the stock market. The fundamental terms of information credibility, disinformation and information asymmetry, which have a cardinal effect on behaviour of particular participants of the market, are mentioned in the thesis. The theory of effective markets and the factors due to which it is not able to explain the development and the real state of the contemporary stock markets, are analysed in more detail in the thesis. A considerable part of the thesis is devoted to the analysis and the definition of information need as a basic requirement for making successful investment decisions of an individual, whereas ways to its fulfilment are implied -- including a description and a division of available information sources. The description and the analysis of several dealing strategies which are directly based on usage of various kinds of information are not missing in the thesis. A part of the work is a presentation and an analysis of the results of a research made among real investors.

Cultural Finance är ett relativt nytt forskningsområde som belyser att kultur kan vara en nyckelfaktor till att förklara individers investeringsbeteende. Syftet med denna studie var att undersöka om kultur kan vara en förklarande faktor till individers investeringsbeteende.  En jämförandestudie genomfördes där svenska (n=124) och spanska (n=109) investerare undersöktes. Studien baserades på kvantitativa enkäter som publicerades i forum med inriktning på investeringar. Resultatet analyserades med hjälp av ett Mann Whitney U test i SPSS version 1.0.0.1275 för att testa om det går att urskilja skillnader i investeringsbeteende mellan Sverige och Spanien. Resultatet visade på att det gick att urskilja skillnader i investeringsbeteende i risktagande och individers motvilja att förlora pengar och att dessa skillnader kan bero på kultur. / Cultural Finance is a relatively new research area that highlights that culture can be a critical factor in explaining the investment behavior of individuals. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether culture can be an explanatory factor for individuals' investment behavior. A comparative study was conducted in which Swedish (n = 124) and Spanish (n = 109) investors were surveyed. The study was based on quantitative questionnaires published in forums focusing on investments. The results were analyzed using a Mann Whitney U test in SPSS version 1.0.0.1275 to test whether differences in investment behavior between Sweden and Spain can be discerned. The results showed that it was possible to discern differences in investment behavior in risk-taking and individuals' reluctance to lose money and that these differences may be due to culture.

This thesis deals with investment analysis tools focused on real estate. Thesis describes investment instruments in the Czech Republic and abroad. The practical part is devoted to equity indices, which focus on Central and Eastern Europe. The thesis describes the possible causes of the financial bubble in real estate stock markets and the impact of financial crisis on the evolution of these equities.

Att spara pengar i aktier blir allt vanligare. Det kan leda till en hög avkastning, men det kan också medfölja en stor risk. Det kräver en viss kunskap och förståelse för vad risk är och kan leda till. Nyckeltal kan hjälpa investerare då de berättar hur företag mår och hur deras framtid ser ut. De teoretiska perspektiv som låg till grund för studien var den effektiva marknadsteorin, beteendeekonomi, Prospect Theory, teorier om riskbenägenhet, portföljteori och teorier om nyckeltal. Syftet med studien var att undersöka hur respondenterna uttrycker sina attityder gentemot risk och vikten av nyckeltal vid köp av aktier. Samt att analysera hur respondenternas uttryckta personliga egenskaper kön, ålder, erfarenhet, utbildningsnivå och självförtroende speglar deras riskbenägenhet och vikten av nyckeltal. Studien är en kvantitativ metod med tvärsnittsdesign. Forskningsansatsen är deduktiv. En enkätundersökning genomfördes och besvarades av 352 respondenter som uttryckt att de sparar i aktier. Data analyserades med en multipel regressionsanalys för att hitta samband mellan variabler. Resultatet visar att över sextio procent av respondenterna väljer det säkrare alternativet före det riskfyllda. Respondenterna är riskaverta. De personliga egenskaperna som har det starkaste sambandet med riskbenägenhet är ett högt självförtroende (R = 0,2111) och kön (R = 0,1970). Resultatet visar även att nyckeltalen är viktigt för över sextio procent av respondenterna. Nyckeltalen som var mest populära är P/E-talet (60 %), direktavkastning (45 %) och EPS (37 %). De personliga egenskaperna som hade det starkaste sambandet med vikten av nyckeltal var ett högt självförtroende (R = 0,2785) och utbildningsnivå (R = 0,2079). / To save money in shares are becoming more and more popular. It can lead to a high revenue, but it also comes with a risk. It takes knowledge and an understanding for what risk is and what it can lead to. Financial ratios can help by telling investors how a firm feels financially and what their future looks like. The theoretical perspectives on which this study was based on were the efficient market theory, behavioral finance, Prospect Theory, theories about risk, portfolio selection and theories about financial ratios. The purpose of this study is to explore how the respondents express their attitudes towards risk and the importance of financial ratios when buying shares. And also to analyze how the respondents expressed personal qualities gender, age, experience, level of education and self- confidence reflects their risk level and the importance of financial ratios. The method in this study is a quantitative method with cross-sectional design. This study takes a deductive approach. The data collection is from a survey that got 352 responses. The data has been analyzed by multiple regression to find relationships between variables. The result shows that over sixty percent of the respondents chose the risk-free alternative over the riskier one. The respondents are risk averse. The personal qualities that have the strongest connection with risk are high self-confidence (R = 0,2111) and gender (R = 0,1970). The results also show that the financial ratios are important for over sixty percent of the respondents. The financial ratio that were most popular were P/E (60 %), yield (45 %) and EPS (37 %). The personal qualities that had the strongest connection with the importance of financial ratios are a high self-confidence (R = 0,2785) and level of education (R = 0,2079).

Bakgrund: Finansiellt beslutsfattande är en central del i den finansiella rådgivningen gentemot privatpersoner och det gemensamma branschorganet SwedSec har uppmärksammat psykologiska fallgropars roll i den finansiella rådgivningen. Den finansiella rådgivarens roll är att, bland annat, hjälpa sina kunder hantera de psykologiska fallgropar de kan råka ut för vid investeringar. Därför finns incitament att undersöka hur rådgivare i rådgivningsprocessen hanterar den eventuella förekomsten av anchoring och framing, samt hur väl de känner till dem. Syfte: Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka finansiella rådgivares kännedom kring anchoring och framing, samt hur de upplever och hanterar fenomenen som en del av rådgivningsprocessen gentemot privatpersoner med ett placerbart kapital under 2 miljoner kronor. Vidare syftar studien till att analysera hur dessa psykologiska fallgropar kan tydas i den finansiella rådgivningsprocessen. Metod: Studien har genomförts med en kvalitativ metod för att uppfylla studiens syfte. Datainsamlingen har bestått av nio semi-strukturerade djupintervjuer med SwedSeclicensierade finansiella rådgivare. Vidare har en abduktiv ansats antagits, för att kunna bidra med en intressant analys kring det studerade ämnet samt nå en slutsats. Slutsats: Studien finner att rådgivarnas kännedom är låg kring behavioral finance i allmänhet och anchoring och framing i synnerhet, även om förekomsten av de psykologiska fallgroparna uppmärksammats i studien. Trots låg kännedom har ungefär hälften av respondenterna utvecklat medvetna strategier för att hantera anchoring och framing. Hos de rådgivare som inte utvecklat medvetna strategier finner studien stöd för en omedveten hantering. Vidare kan studien inte ge stöd för att anchoring och framing utgör ett problem i rådgivningsprocessen gentemot privatpersoner med ett placerbart kapital under 2 miljoner kronor. / Background: Financial decision making is a central part of the financial advisory process for individuals, and the organization SwedSec has acknowledged the role of biases in the advisory process. The role of the financial advisor is, amongst other things, to protect their customers from biases in investments. Therefore, it is of interest to examine how well the advisors manage any presence of anchoring and framing, and the advisor's knowledge of them. Aim: The purpose of this thesis is to examine the financial advisor's knowledge regarding anchoring as well as framing, and how they handle these factors as part of the advisory process towards clients with funds of no more than 2 million SEK. Furthermore, the thesis aims to analyze how these biases can take shape in the advisory process. Method: The thesis has, to fulfill its purpose, used a qualitative method. Empirical data has been gathered through nine semi-structured interviews with SwedSec-licensed financial advisors. Furthermore, the thesis has taken on an abductive approach, to contribute with an interesting analysis of the subject and to reach a conclusion. Conclusion: The thesis finds that the financial advisor's knowledge about behavioral finance in general, along with anchoring and framing in particular, is low. The thesis, however, supports these biases existence in the advisory process. Regardless of the lack of knowledge, about half of the respondents have developed aware methods to handle the biases. The thesis shows that the advisors without aware methods handle the biases unconsciously. Furthermore, the thesis cannot support that anchoring and framing constitutes a problem in the advisory process towards clients with funds under 2 million SEK.

Den svenska ekonomin har gått på högvarv under flera år och har kännetecknats av en lågräntemiljö med god tillgång på kapital. I spåren av finanskrisen under 2008 har flera kapitalkällor vuxit fram och möjliggjort en diversifiering av finansiering. Konkurrens bland kapitalkällorna har pressat priserna, ökat flexibiliteten, skapat längre löptider och ökat valfriheten för fastighetsbolagen. Detta är resultatet av stränga regelverk för bankväsendet och ett ökat intresse från både internationella och nationella investerare. Marknadsfinansiering har alltså fått en mer central roll i fastighetssektorns skuldportföljer. Covid-19-krisen har ställt detta på sin spets och dämpat tillgången på kapital. I den akademiska litteraturen är antalet studier inom forskningsfälten corporate finance och behavioral finance i kristid relativt få. Studiens syfte är att utforska marknadsaktörers uppfattning om krisen och om alternativ för refinansiering av kommersiella fastigheter samt att jämföra den nuvarande situationen med tidigare kriser. Studien bidrar med unikt material eftersom den produceras i inledningen av Covid-19-krisen. Studien är kvalitativ och använder sig av en dokumentstudie samt en intervjustudie om 17 respondenter från den svenska kommersiella fastighetsmarknaden. Dokumentstudien har möjliggjort en djupgående analys av hur tidigare ekonomiska kriser har påverkat fastighetsmarknaden och vilka lärdomar som kan dras. Aktörerna i studien anger att Covid-19 minskar tillgången på kapital för fastighetsmarknaden. Detta eftersom att det råder en stor osäkerhet i marknaden, vilket orsakat att flera kapitalkällor “fryst”. Det går att se signaler som pekar på ett skifte av finansieringskällor för de svenska fastighetsbolagen. Flera vänder sig nu från kapitalmarknaden och mot bankmarknaden för att få hjälp med refinansiering. Covid-19 har realiserat en unik refinansieringsrisk som inte påminner om tidigare kriser, vilket kan förstås mot bakgrund av de senare årens ökade användande av nya finansieringsformer. / The Swedish economy has been booming for several years and has been characterized by a low interest rate environment with good access to capital. In the wake of the financial crisis in 2008, several sources of capital have emerged and enabled diversification of funding. Competition among the capital sources has pushed prices down, increased flexibility, created longer maturities and increased freedom of choice for the real estate companies. This is the result of stringent banking regulations and increased interest from both international and national investors. Market financing has thus been given a more central role in the property sector's debt portfolios. The Covid-19-crisis has put this at its forefront and slowed the supply of capital. In the academic literature, the research fields of corporate finance and behavioral finance in times of crisis are still relatively unexplored. The aim of the study is to explore the market actor’s perception of the crisis and of alternatives for the refinancing of commercial real estate as well as comparing the present situation to earlier crises. This study is produced during the emergence of the Covid-19 crisis in the Spring of 2020 and provides a unique material. The study is qualitative and uses a document study as well as an interview study of 17 respondents from the Swedish commercial real estate market. The document study has enabled an in-depth analysis of how previous economic crises have affected the real estate market and what lessons can be learned to gain an understanding of the study's research issues. The participants in the study indicate that Covid-19 reduces the supply of capital for the real estate market. There is great uncertainty in the market, which has caused several sources of capital to “freeze”. It is also possible to see signals that point to a shift in sources of financing among the Swedish real estate companies. Companies turn from the capital market to the banking sector for refinancing. Covid-19 has realized a unique refinancing risk that is not reminiscent of previous crises, which can be understood in the light of the increased use of new forms of financing in recent years.

[pt] Esta dissertação tem por objetivo investigar a possibilidade de obtenção de retornos anormais – utilizando-se o período entre jan/2005 e dez/2014 como espaço amostral – no mercado acionário brasileiro. Investigou-se, então, a hipótese de reversão à média móvel de 21 dias para os ativos integrantes do Índice Brasil 100 – IBrX-100. Estratégias contrárias com carteiras compradas em ações cujos preços estivessem abaixo da média móvel e vendidas em ações cujos preços estivessem acima da média móvel foram montadas e testadas para os referidos períodos. Por fim, não foram encontradas evidências em favor da reversão à média móvel de 21 dias para o período estudado. / [en] The goal of this study is to investigate the possibility of obtaining abnormal returns – using the period between January/2005 and December/2014 –in the Brazilian stock market. The main hypothesis in focus is the moving average of 21 days reversion of the securities of the Index Brasil 100 – IBrX 100. Contrarian strategies were used with portfolios built by buying stocks whose prices were below the moving average and selling stocks whose prices are above the moving average. There is no evidence in favor of the reversion and in favor of the possibility of abnormal returns in the study period.

Bakgrund: Coronapandemin ledde under åren 2020 och 2021 till en volatil period på börsen där börskraschen våren 2020 var det starkaste ögonblicket. Antalet svenska kvinnliga aktieägare ökade med nio procent under 2020 och deras position på börsen stärktes. Volatiliteten på börsen ledde till att många beslut behövde tas; beslut som eventuellt kan ha påverkats av psykologiska bias och därmed lett till irrationella beslut. Dessa psykologiska bias har under tidigare perioder på börsen visats sig påverka män och kvinnor på olika sätt. Coronapandemins inverkan på aktiemarknaden och skillnaderna mellan könen, både på börsen och vid påverkan av psykologiska bias, ger incitament att undersöka just kvinnors beteende på börsen under denna tidsperiod.  Syfte: Syftet med denna studie är att skapa förståelse för hur den kvinnliga investerarens beteende på börsen påverkats av psykologiska bias under coronapandemin samt vilka förändringar som skett i deras beteende jämfört med före pandemin. Vidare ämnar studien att föra en diskussion kring vad anledningen är till att kvinnor påverkats och hur de psykologiska fallgroparna kan motverkas.  Metod: För att uppfylla studiens syfte har studien genomförts med en kvalitativ metod genom nio semistrukturerade djupintervjuer med kvinnliga aktieinvesterare. En deduktiv- med inslag av induktiv ansats har använts för att tillsammans med existerande teori analysera det aktuella ämnet samt nå en slutsats.  Slutsats: Studiens resultat visar att kvinnliga investerare har påverkats av psykologiska bias under coronapandemin. Främst är det flockbeteende och överkonfidens av de undersökta biasen som har påverkat respondenterna men även dispositionseffekten har haft en stor påverkan. Överkonfidensen hos respondenterna har ökat under perioden medan medvetenheten om flockbeteende har blivit större och därmed har påverkan av flockbeteende minskat. Strategier, kunskap och medvetenhet har i flera fall lett till en minskad påverkan av bias hos respondenterna. Studien visar tendenser på ett annorlunda beteende hos kvinnor än vad som framkommit vid tidigare forskning. / Background: In 2020 and 2021, the Covid-19 pandemic led to a volatile period on the stock market, where the stock market crash was the strongest moment. The amount of Swedish female investors grew by nine percent under 2020 and their position on the stock market strengthened. The volatility on the stock market led to many decisions needed to be made; decisions that eventually could have been affected by psychological biases and therefore led to irrational decisions. During earlier periods on the stock market, these psychological biases have been shown to affect men and women in different ways. The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the stock market and the differences between genders, both on the stock market and regarding the influence of psychological biases, provides incentives to examine the female investors’ behavior on the stock market during this period of time.  Purpose: The purpose of the study is to create an understanding for how the female investors’ behavior on the stock market is affected during the Covid-19 pandemic but also what changes have taken place in their behavior compared to before the pandemic. Further, the study aims to bring forward a discussion about the cause of influence and how these biases can be counteracted.  Method: To fulfill the purpose of the study, a qualitative method has been implemented. Empirical data has been generated through nine semi-structured in-depth interviews with female investors. A deductive- with elements of inductive approach has been used to analyze the topic in question together with existing theory as well as reach a conclusion.  Conclusion: The results of the study suggests that female private investors have been affected by psychological biases during the Covid-19 pandemic. Mainly, herd behavior and overconfidence are the ones with the greatest impact but also the disposition effect has appeared in the respondents’ behavior. Overconfidence has increased throughout the period while the consciousness about herd behavior has increased and therefore decreased in impact. Strategies, knowledge and consciousness have in many cases resulted in a lower impact of psychological biases among the respondents. The study shows tendencies, differently than previous research, regarding the behavior of female investors on the stock market.

[pt] O objetivo desse trabalho é observar, com base no modelo de Chang, Cheng e Khorana (2000), se há indícios de que houve efeito manada no mercado de ações brasileiro no período que compreende entre 2010 e 2015. Esse período é marcado por forte instabilidade política e econômica do Brasil e pode-se notar uma grande volatilidade no índice Bovespa. Essa dissertação de mestrado tem por objetivo avaliar, sob os aspectos de finanças comportamentais, se há ou não indícios de que houve algum movimento de efeito manado em um período recente no mercado de ações brasileiro. Outros estudos já testaram o modelo de Cheng et. Al em outros mercados e no próprio mercado brasileiro em períodos diferentes. Após a análise dos resultados do modelo no período citado, não foi possível encontrar indícios de efeito manada no mercado brasileiro. / [en] The aim of this study is to observe, based on the model of Chang, Cheng and Khorana (2000), if there is evidence that there were herding in the Brazilian stock market in the period that goes from 2010 to 2015. This period was marked by a strong political and economic instability and it is possible to notice a great volatility in the Bovespa index. This dissertation aims at evaluating, under the behavioral finance aspects, whether or not there is any indication that there has been any movement of herding in a recent period in the Brazilian stock market. Other studies have already tested the model of Cheng et. Al in other markets and in the Brazilian market itself in different periods. After analyzing the results of the model in the mentioned period, it was not possible to find evidence of a herd behavior in the Brazilian market.