Background: In recent years, a record amount of people has turned towards various stock markets to invest in the boom that has been present since the financial crisis. To get the portfolio to be profitable or even more profitable than the market, is a goal that can be hard to achieve, where certain previous research proves that it is possible to outperform the market, while other research proves the opposite. A factor that refutes the individual’s ability to outperform the market is the human beings’ psychological behavior, which can cause irrational investment decisions. To circumvent the psychology behind investment decisions,several investment strategies have been formed throughout history, one of them being a multiple-strategy. Due to the rise in popularity of investing, it is of interest to analyze whether a multiple-strategy is successful in creating profitability.  Purpose: The purpose of the study is to analyze the multiples EV/S and EV/EBITDA as a multiple-strategy to observe which one generates the highest return for the companies on OMX Stockholm.  Methodology: With the aim of best achieving the purpose of the study, a quantitative method has been used with a deductive approach. With a selection of 251 companies through the period 2010-2019, eight portfolios have been created containing the 20 highest respectively the 20 lowest EV/S- or EV/EBITDA-multiples, with a holding period of either three or twelve months.  Results: The study shows that high EV/S- and EV/EBITDA-multiples as well as low EV/EBITDA-multiples successfully outperform the comparing index over a nine-year period. Low EV/S-multiples do not achieve the same performance. The portfolio with highEV/EBITDA-multiples with a holding period of three months yielded the highest return.

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.

Hållbarhetsarbete har erhållit ett ökat intresse de senaste åren och har blivit en allt mer viktig del i företagens arbete. För att mäta hur väl ett företag arbetar hållbart så har ESG-betyget utvecklats vilket konkretiserar och kvantifierar företagens hållbarhetsarbete utifrån tre faktorer, miljömässig hållbarhet, socialt ansvarstagande och bolagsstyrning. Genom den ökade exponeringen av hållbarhet har även investerare börjat ta ställning till hållbarhetsfrågor i sina investeringsbeslut. Denna studentuppsats ämnar undersöka sambandet mellan svenska företags ESG-betyg och dess marknadsvärdering för att kartlägga om investerare anser hållbarhetsarbete som något värdeskapande eller värdesänkande. Sekundärt kommer de tre delarna av ESG-betyget, nämligen miljö, socialt ansvarstagande och bolagsstyrning, att individuellt studeras för att finna ut om någon del av betyget har ett starkare samband med marknadsvärdering än de andra. Företagen som undersöks i studien  är svenska börsnoterade aktiebolag som kvalificerat sig in på Large Cap-listan på Nasdaq Stockholm. Vidare behöver bolagen även ha betygsatts genom ESG-betyg från Thomson Reuters Eikon. Tidsperioden som studeras är 2016-2020. För att studera det eventuella sambandet mellan företagens marknadsvärdering och dess ESG-betyg tar studien avstamp i tidigare studier inom området. Baserat på dessa formuleras en första regressionsmodell och statistiska hypoteser som kommer testas genom regressionsanalys. Resultatet som erhålls genom den slutgiltiga regressionsanalysen är att ESG-betyg och marknadsvärdering har ett svagt positivt samband samt att bolagsstyrning har ett starkt positivt samband med värderingen. Gällande betyg för miljö och socialt ansvarstagande kunde inte något signifikant samband till marknadsvärderingen påvisas. De redovisade resultaten kommer slutligen att diskuteras utifrån ett teoretiskt perspektiv där kopplingar görs till tidigare forskning inom ämnet. Vidare kommer aktieägarteorin, intressentmodellen och effektiva marknadshypotesen ligga till grund för analys av studiens resultat, såväl som diskussionen. För att kunna använda resultatet bortom teorin kommer även praktiska implikationer av uppsatsen att diskuteras.

Stock market prediction has been a hot topic lately due to advances in computer technology and economics. One economic theory, called Efficient Market Hypothesis (EMH), states that all known information is already factored into the prices which makes it impossible to predict the stock market. Despite the EMH, many researchers have been successful in predicting the stock market using neural networks on historical data. This thesis investigates stock prediction using both linear regression and neural networks (NN), with a twist. The inputs to the proposed methods are a number of profit predictions calculated with stochastic methods such as generalized autoregressive conditional heteroskedasticity (GARCH) and autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA). By contrast the traditional approach was instead to use raw data as inputs. The proposed methods show superior result in yielding profit: at best 1.1% in the Swedish market and 4.6% in the American market. The neural network yielded more profit than the linear regression model, which is reasonable given its ability to find nonlinear patterns. The historical data was used with different window sizes. This gives a good understanding of the window size impact on the prediction performance.

Bakgrund Coronapandemin har haft en global påverkan på den finansiella marknaden, inte minst på Stockholmsbörsen, som rasade 11,1 procent under en dag. När det råder en osäkerhet på marknaden ökar informationsasymmetrin mellan marknadsaktörer. Tidigare studier har visat att insiders kunde uppnå överavkastning utifrån insiderinformation under kriser. Insiderhandel kan vanligen tolkas som något olagligt och trots regleringar existerar det fortfarande på marknaden. Antalet misstänkta insiderbrott ökade från 199 till 368 under tidsperioden 2015-2017. Syfte Syftet med denna studie är att analysera om det uppstår överavkastning på Stockholmsbörsen när en vd förvärvar aktier i det egna bolaget genom att studera ett urval av bolag under coronapandemin. Vidare kommer studien även att analysera huruvida det förekommer skillnader i överavkastningen beroende på transaktionsstorlek och storleken på företaget. Metod Studien tillämpar en kvantitativ forskning genom en eventstudie. Vidare tillämpas en deduktiv ansats med sekundärdata från Finansinspektionen och Nasdaq. För att beräkna eventuell överavkastning har den justerade marknadsmodellen använts. Statistiska tester har genomförts i SPSS för att tolka och analysera studiens resultat samt huruvida transaktionsstorlek och företagsstorlek påverkar eventuell överavkastning.Slutsats Utifrån studiens resultat återfinns inga signifikanta resultat under tidsperioden 2019-2021 som visar att det uppstått överavkastning i samband med att företagets vd köpt aktier i bolaget. Studien stödjer inte heller att det återfinns ett samband mellan insiderns avkastning och transaktionsstorlek eller företagsstorlek. Resultatet indikerar på att Stockholmsbörsen kan antas vara effektiv under den studerade perioden / Background: The corona pandemic has had a global impact on the financial market, not least on the Stockholm Stock Exchange, which fell 11.1 percent in one day. When there is uncertainty in the market, the information asymmetry increases. Previous studies have proven that insiders could achieve excess returns based on insider information during crises. Insider trading can usually be interpreted as something illegal and despite regulations, it still exists. The amount of suspected insider crimes increased from 199 to 368 during the period 2015-2017.Purpose: The purpose of this study is to analyze whether there is an excess return on the Stockholm Stock Exchange when a CEO acquires shares in his own company by studying a selection of companies during the corona pandemic. Furthermore, the study will also analyze whether there are differences in the excess return depending on the transaction size and the size of the company.Methodology: The study applies a quantitative research strategy through an event study. A deductive approach is applied with secondary data from Finansinspektionen and Nasdaq OMX Nordic. To calculate excess return, the adjusted market model has been used. Statistical tests have been performed in SPSS to analyze and interpret the results of the study and whether transaction size and company size affect any excess return. Conclusions. Based on the results of the study, there are no significant results during the period 2019-2021 which show that there has been an excess return in connection with the company's CEO buying shares in the company. The study also does not support that there is a connection between the insider's return and transaction size or company size. The result takes us further to the fact that the Stockholm Stock Exchange can be assumed to be efficient during the period studied

Green bonds have rapidly increased in popularity over the past years, and are often seen as afacilitator in achieving the Paris Agreement of limiting global warming to 2°C. The Swedishreal estate sector is one of the most frequent issuers in the Swedish green bond market, as itstands for 49% of the total volume outstanding. Previous research has shown a positive linkbetween issuing green bonds and stock market performance, where stock turnover increasesin relation to the green bond announcement. Researchers argue that it can be explained by thesignaling theory, where issuing green bonds sends a signal to the market that the company iscommitted to the environment. This thesis aims to examine the effects on Swedish real estatecompanies following a green bond issuance. The research method was divided into two partsto capture the short and long term perspective. Firstly, an event-study method was conductedto compute the short term cumulative abnormal returns (CAR) on the issuing companies’stock price, and the cumulative average abnormal returns (CAAR) for the full sample.Secondly, an interview study was conducted to capture the long term effects of the issuingcompany. The results of the event study indicate no statistically significant evidence ofincreased stock price following the green bond announcement. In fact, a slightly negativeimpact is observed in the days following the announcement. This may be due to green bondissuance being perceived as an expected norm in today’s market. The results of the interviewstudy reveal that issuing green bonds can enhance company branding and attract increasedinvestor attention. These findings in our sample support the signaling theory, as itdemonstrates how it signals the company's sustainability strategy and reduces informationasymmetry. Overall, this thesis contributes to the understanding of the effects of green bondissuance on Swedish real estate companies, as it provides valuable insights to involved actors. / Gröna obligationer har ökat kraftigt i popularitet under de senaste åren och ses ofta som enfrämjande faktor för att uppnå Parisavtlalet om att begränsa den globala uppvärmningen till2°C. Den svenska fastighetssektorn är en av de mest frekventa emittenterna på den svenskagröna obligationsmarknaden, då den står för 49% av den totala utestående volymen. Tidigareforskning har visat på ett positivt samband mellan att emittera gröna obligationer ochaktiepriset, där priset på aktien ökar i samband med annonseringen av en grön obligation.Forskarna argumenterar för att det kan förklaras av signaleringsteorin, där utförandet avgröna obligationer skickar en signal till marknaden om att företaget är engagerad i miljön.Detta examensarbete syftar till att undersöka effekterna på svenska fastighetsbolag efter att deemitterat gröna obligationer. Metoden för arbetet har delats upp i två delar för att fånga detkorta och det långa perspektivet. I den första delen genomfördes en event-studie för attberäkna den kortsiktiga kumulativa onormala avkastningen (CAR) på de emitterandebolagens aktiekurs, samt den genomsnittliga kumulativa onormala avkastningen (CAAR) förhela urvalet. I den andra delen genomfördes en intervjustudie för att fånga de långsiktigaeffekterna för det emitterande bolaget. Resultaten från eventstudien indikerar inga statistisktsignifikanta bevis på ett ökat pris på aktien efter annonseringen av en grön obligation.Faktum är att en något negativ påverkan kan observeras under dagarna efter annonseringen.Detta kan bero på att emittering av gröna obligationer uppfattas som en förväntad norm pådagens marknad. Resultaten av intervjustudien visar att emittering av gröna obligationer kanförbättra företagets varumärke och locka till sig en ökad uppmärksamhet från investerare.Dessa resultat i våra observationer stöder signaleringsteorin genom att visa hur signalering avföretagets hållbarhetsstrategi kan minska informationsasymmetri. Sammanfattningsvis bidrarexamensarbetet till förståelsen av effekterna för svenska fastighetsbolag av att emittera grönaobligationer, eftersom det ger en värdefull inblick till de inblandade aktörerna.

Over the past decades, investing and saving in mutual funds has become a popular alternativefor generating returns. Interest continues to grow and is widespread among different types ofinvestors, ranging from small-scale savers to professional investors, as well as differentgeographic markets. As interest and investment has grown, so has the range of fundsavailable, and with it the range of focused funds. Among these are real estate funds, fundsconsisting of holdings in the real estate market including different types of real estatecompanies and property-related assets. The ownership of funds is associated with a fee to cover various costs associated withoperating the fund. These fees can vary greatly in size across fund types and managers andaffect the fund’s performance and returns. Fees in relation to return have been researchedwith varying results and with the rise of focused funds, the authors felt that it should befurther investigated. The purpose of this study was thus formulated to investigate whetherthere is a relationship between fund fees and returns for real estate funds. This in turn toanswer whether it is justified for fund managers to charge a higher fee and to examine if theTheory of an Efficient Market holds or not. For this, a total sample of 69 real estate fundsfrom the Swedish, Norwegian and Finnish markets during a 3 year period from 1th of January2020 to the 31th of December 2022 was examined. In summary, based on the conducted regression analyses, it can be inferred that the results,similar to previous research, vary. However, it can be observed that there is a negativerelationship between fund fees and the risk-adjusted returns of real estate funds whenanalysing funds that have been active throughout the examined period. The analyses alsoreveal that the age and size of the funds have an impact on the risk-adjusted returns, whereyounger funds with large assets generate higher returns. This means that young real estatefunds with large assets and lower fees generate higher returns compared to older funds withsmall assets and higher fees. Consequently, it is not justified for managers to charge higherfees, nor for investors to pay them. Investors seeking to maximise their returns are thereforeadvised to choose real estate funds with low fees. Finally, based on this, it can be assumedthat the Theory of Efficient Markets holds for real estate funds in the Swedish, Norwegian,and Finnish markets.

Does the 4-factor model have a higher degree of explanation than CAPM and the 3-factor model on the Swedish stock market? The purpose of this thesis is to investigate whether the 4-factor model's ability to explain the systematic risk on the Swedish stock market is better than CAPM and the 3-factor model. Furthermore, we want to investigate whether it is possible to create portfolios based on the 4-factor model that generates excess returns. In addition, we will also compare our results with the results of previous international studies to see what results we get in the Swedish market.

According to the efficient market hypothesis the stock price for a company should be evoked immediately when new and unpredicted information about the company’s value is published. A publishing of a qualified audit opinion that disclose previously unknown negative aspects of a limited liability company, should thus result in a negative impact on its share price. Previous studies in the field, on the other hand, show conflicting results. In some cases, a negative impact has been found, in other cases a positive impact has been found while in some cases no impact could be observed. The study's selection framework consists of 223 Swedish listed limited companies which have received a qualified audit opinion during the fiscal years 2011-2018. A stratified random sample was made where 142 companies were examined. This study aims to examine what relationship can be found between an audit opinion and abnormal returns for the company's share. Abnormal returns indicate the difference between expected returns and observed returns. The study is performed according to an event study with event windows of three different extents, from 1 day up to 21 days. The abnormal return on the shares has been studied according to the Market model. The results of the study are in line with previous research and show conflicting results. Over event windows of 21 days and 3 days, the majority shows a positive abnormal return and in contrast, the majority shows a negative abnormal return in terms of the event day only. It can be stated that investors on the Stockholm Stock Exchange react negatively only to going concern opinions. The results may further indicate that the Swedish market is efficient where reactions to new information in auditor opinions are immediate, rather than over time. The results may also indicate that investors are not the primary stakeholders to which the auditing profession should be adapted to in Sweden.

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.