This thesis consists of four essays on topics relating to the fields of international portfolio choice, trading behavior, and asset pricing. "Direct Foreign Ownership, Institutional Investors, and Firm Characteristics" analyzes portfolios of Swedish stocks held by foreign investors. The analysis reveals that foreigners tilt their portfolios to firms with certain attributes. It is also shown that the seemingly specific preferences of foreign investors are driven by the fact that they are large institutional investors, and are not linked to their national origin. "Foreigners' Trades in Risky Assets: An assessment of  Investment Behavior and Performance" analyzes foreigners' trading activities. It is shown that foreigners trade more than domestic investors. Further, they trade as non-informed trend followers in that they buy stocks that have recently done well. Nonetheless, after the liberalization of Sweden's stock market, foreigners' purchases have led to a permanent price increase and to a reduction in the cost of equity capital. "Exchange Rate Exposure, Risk Premia, and Firm Characteristics" shows that about fifty percent of Swedish listed firms are affected by exchange rate fluctuations. The sign and magnitude of exchange rate exposure are characterized across industries as well as firm attributes. The empirical analysis suggests that exposure can be eliminated through diversification, and that exchange rate risk is not priced. "Conditioning Information in Tactical Asset Allocation" examines whether investors can exploit the predictability in time-varying expected returns on Swedish stocks and bonds. It is shown that dynamic allocation strategies, based on conditioning information, significantly outperform several benchmark portfolios. This superior performance is not only statistically significant, it is economically large. / Diss. Stockholm : Handelshögsk.

Esta pesquisa busca analisar a influência da tributação e da governança corporativa sobre as políticas de dividendos das companhias de capital aberto brasileiras no período de 1986 a 2011, através de estimações Probit e Tobit com dados em painel. Particularmente no Brasil houve diversas mudanças na legislação tributária dentro do período analisado, sendo assim uma boa oportunidade para esse estudo. Os resultados empíricos sugerem que: a) quando houve aumento no Lucro Por Ação, o percentual do lucro distribuído em forma de proventos foi maior nos períodos em que não houve incidência de tributação e menor quando houve incidência de tributação; b) companhias estatais distribuíram menos dividendos do que companhias privadas; c) companhias que distribuíram dividendos também distribuíram Juros Sobre Capital Próprio; d) companhias que possuem governança corporativa tendem a distribuir mais dividendos. / This paper investigates the influence of taxes and corporate governance on dividend policy of Brazilian public companies in the years 1986 to 2011, using panel data Probit and Tobit estimation. There are several tax law changes particularly in Brazil within the period analyzed, creating a good opportunity to study dividend policy. Empirical results suggests that (a) when Earnings Per Share increased, the percentage of profits distributed in the form of dividends was higher in periods in which there was no incidence of taxation and lower when there was incidence of taxation; (b) state owned companies paid less dividends than private companies; (c) companies that paid dividends also paid Interest On Equity Capital; (d) companies under corporate governance best practices tend to pay more dividends.

IFRS standards are getting acceptance day by day rapidly in all over the world. It is because IFRSs are the global and common language, which are more transparent and comparable for the investors and users residing in different nations. IFRSs are mandatory for all companies listed in capital market within EU from the beginning of 2005. As a member state of EU, Swedish banks also adopted mandatory IFRS from 1 January 2005. However, the banks were already implementing IFRS to some extent as most of the standards in SGAAP (Swedish Generally Accepted Accounting Principles) were already directly translated from IAS. After mandatory period, the banks adopted all new, updated and revised standards in accordance with EU recommendations. Nevertheless, there are little or no material effects of adoption of IFRS standards except some particular standards. Such particular standards are: IFRS3, IAS39, IAS27, EU Occupational Pension Directive, IAS32, and Deferred Acquisition Cost. And the main differences between IFRS and SGAAP are IAS1, IFRS3, financial assets, financial instruments, intangible assets, hedge accounting and tax driven. But, the Swedish GAAP no longer exists now for the companies listed in capital market as mandatory IFRS is into force. Furthermore, I examined transparency & accounting quality, information environment, and cost of equity capital of four sample banks after mandatory IFRS adoption. But, I find the level of transparency and financial reporting quality has not been increased over the years. Regarding accounting quality, I also examined earning management, loss recognition, and value relevance. I find little evidence of less earning management, and find unclear evidence regarding loss recognition and value relevance. In other word, I find little evidence of increased accounting quality, although Sweden is a country with strong regulatory enforcements. Moreover, I also find little evidence of improved information environment but find information cost increased; although I find lower information risks after mandatory IFRS adoption. I, however, find lower cost of equity capital after mandatory IFRS adoption because for banks it will be easy to reach wider investors communities residing in different nations. Nevertheless, the evident advantage of IFRS is that the capital market can use information based on common rules.

This thesis seeks to address three important issues relating to the efficient functioning of the Istanbul Stock Exchange. In particular the thesis seeks to answer the following questions 1. What makes markets informationally efficient or inefficient? 2. Has increased stock market volatility had an impact on the equity risk premium and the cost of equity capital to firms? and 3. How is it possible to reconcile the view that markets are weak form efficient and technical analysis is a pervasive activity in such markets? Unlike previous studies, this thesis seeks to examine the issue of efficiency when institutional features specific to the market under investigation are taken into account. Specifically, the thesis adopts a testing methodology which enables us to recognize possible non-linear behaviour, thin trading and institutional changes in testing market efficiency. The results from this investigation show that informationally efficient markets are brought about by improving liquidity, ensuring that investors have access to high quality and reliable information and minimising the institutional restrictions on trading. In addition, the results suggest that emerging markets may initially be characterised as inefficient but over time, with the right regulatory framework, will develop into efficient and effective markets. The second important issue to be examined in this thesis concerns the impact of regulatory changes on market volatility and the cost of equity capital to firms. It is not sufficient to simply examine whether volatility has increased following a fmancial market innovation such as changes in regulation. Rather, it is necessary to investigate why volatility has changed, if it has changed, and the impact of such a change on the equity risk premium and the cost of equity capital to firms. Only then can inferences be drawn about the desirability or otherwise of innovations which bring about increases in volatility. Surprisingly, these issues have not been addressed in the literature. The evidence presented here suggests that the innovations which have taken place in the ISE have increased volatility, but also improved the pricing efficiency of the market and reduced the cost of equity capital to firms. Finally, the thesis tries to identify the conditions under which weak-form efficiency is consistent with technical analysis. It is shown that this paradox can be explained if adjustments to information are not immediate, such that market statistics, in particular statistics on trading volume contain information not impounded in current prices. In this context technical analysis on volume can be viewed as part of the process by which traders learn about fundamentals. Therefore, the thesis investigates the issue whether studying the joint dynamics of stock prices and trading volume can be used to predict weakly efficient stock prices. In summary, the findings of this thesis will be of interest to international investors, stock market regulators, firms raising funds from stock markets and participants in emerging capital markets in general. The implication of the results presented here is that informational efficient emerging markets are brought about by improving liquidity, ensuring that investors have access to high quality and reliable information and minimising the institutional restrictions on trading. In addition, the evolution in the regulatory framework of, and knowledge and awareness of investors in, emerging markets may mean that they will initially be characterised by inefficiency, but over time will develop into informational efficient and effectively functioning markets which allocate resources efficiently. In addition, the results of this thesis have important implications, for emerging markets in general, in identifying the regulatory framework that will achieve efficient pricing and a reduction in the cost of equity capital to firms operating in the economy.

Este trabalho relaciona a estrutura de propriedade das empresas brasileiras de capital aberto com a distribuição de Juros Sobre o Capital Próprio (JSCP), de 1997 a 2008, através de estimações Probit e Tobit com dados em painel. Uma das inovações deste estudo é analisar a distribuição de JSCP sob a ótica dos controladores (beneficiários), e não somente da empresa (investida). Constata-se que a distribuição de JSCP, apesar de reduzir a carga tributária no nível da firma, enseja alíquotas variáveis de acordo com a natureza jurídica dos acionistas. Os resultados empíricos sugerem que: a) a estrutura de propriedade afeta tanto a propensão quanto o montante distribuído de JSCP; b) a presença de investidores institucionais aumenta significativamente a distribuição de proventos em dinheiro através de JSCP vis-à-vis dividendos; c) desvios da relação “uma ação – um voto” estão positivamente relacionados com a distribuição de JSCP; d) empresas maiores, mais lucrativas, sujeitas a melhores práticas de governança corporativa e com maiores oportunidades de crescimento tendem a distribuir mais proventos em dinheiro via JSCP, prática esta que aumenta a riqueza dos acionistas. / This paper investigates the relationship between the ownership structure of Brazilian listed firms and the payout of Interest on Equity Capital (Juros Sobre o Capital Próprio – JSCP) in the period 1997 to 2008, employing panel data Probit and Tobit estimation. One major contribution of this study is the analysis of JSCP payout under the perspective of the shareholders instead of the usual firm-based perspective. We find that JSCP payout, despite reducing the tax burden at the firm level, gives rise to variable tax rates depending on the nature of the shareholder. Empirical results suggest that (a) the ownership structure influences both the propensity and the amount paid out as JSCP; (b) the presence of institutional investors significantly increases cash distributions under the form of JSCP vis-à-vis cash dividend payouts; (c) deviations from the “one-share-one-vote rule” are positively related to JSCP payout; (d) firms that are bigger, more profitable, present better governance practices, and have more growth opportunities tend to payout more cash as JSCP, a practice that increases shareholders’ wealth.

Este trabalho relaciona a estrutura de propriedade das empresas brasileiras de capital aberto com a distribuição de Juros Sobre o Capital Próprio (JSCP), de 1997 a 2008, através de estimações Probit e Tobit com dados em painel. Uma das inovações deste estudo é analisar a distribuição de JSCP sob a ótica dos controladores (beneficiários), e não somente da empresa (investida). Constata-se que a distribuição de JSCP, apesar de reduzir a carga tributária no nível da firma, enseja alíquotas variáveis de acordo com a natureza jurídica dos acionistas. Os resultados empíricos sugerem que: a) a estrutura de propriedade afeta tanto a propensão quanto o montante distribuído de JSCP; b) a presença de investidores institucionais aumenta significativamente a distribuição de proventos em dinheiro através de JSCP vis-à-vis dividendos; c) desvios da relação “uma ação – um voto” estão positivamente relacionados com a distribuição de JSCP; d) empresas maiores, mais lucrativas, sujeitas a melhores práticas de governança corporativa e com maiores oportunidades de crescimento tendem a distribuir mais proventos em dinheiro via JSCP, prática esta que aumenta a riqueza dos acionistas. / This paper investigates the relationship between the ownership structure of Brazilian listed firms and the payout of Interest on Equity Capital (Juros Sobre o Capital Próprio – JSCP) in the period 1997 to 2008, employing panel data Probit and Tobit estimation. One major contribution of this study is the analysis of JSCP payout under the perspective of the shareholders instead of the usual firm-based perspective. We find that JSCP payout, despite reducing the tax burden at the firm level, gives rise to variable tax rates depending on the nature of the shareholder. Empirical results suggest that (a) the ownership structure influences both the propensity and the amount paid out as JSCP; (b) the presence of institutional investors significantly increases cash distributions under the form of JSCP vis-à-vis cash dividend payouts; (c) deviations from the “one-share-one-vote rule” are positively related to JSCP payout; (d) firms that are bigger, more profitable, present better governance practices, and have more growth opportunities tend to payout more cash as JSCP, a practice that increases shareholders’ wealth.

Esta pesquisa busca analisar a influência da tributação e da governança corporativa sobre as políticas de dividendos das companhias de capital aberto brasileiras no período de 1986 a 2011, através de estimações Probit e Tobit com dados em painel. Particularmente no Brasil houve diversas mudanças na legislação tributária dentro do período analisado, sendo assim uma boa oportunidade para esse estudo. Os resultados empíricos sugerem que: a) quando houve aumento no Lucro Por Ação, o percentual do lucro distribuído em forma de proventos foi maior nos períodos em que não houve incidência de tributação e menor quando houve incidência de tributação; b) companhias estatais distribuíram menos dividendos do que companhias privadas; c) companhias que distribuíram dividendos também distribuíram Juros Sobre Capital Próprio; d) companhias que possuem governança corporativa tendem a distribuir mais dividendos. / This paper investigates the influence of taxes and corporate governance on dividend policy of Brazilian public companies in the years 1986 to 2011, using panel data Probit and Tobit estimation. There are several tax law changes particularly in Brazil within the period analyzed, creating a good opportunity to study dividend policy. Empirical results suggests that (a) when Earnings Per Share increased, the percentage of profits distributed in the form of dividends was higher in periods in which there was no incidence of taxation and lower when there was incidence of taxation; (b) state owned companies paid less dividends than private companies; (c) companies that paid dividends also paid Interest On Equity Capital; (d) companies under corporate governance best practices tend to pay more dividends.

Esta pesquisa busca analisar a influência da tributação e da governança corporativa sobre as políticas de dividendos das companhias de capital aberto brasileiras no período de 1986 a 2011, através de estimações Probit e Tobit com dados em painel. Particularmente no Brasil houve diversas mudanças na legislação tributária dentro do período analisado, sendo assim uma boa oportunidade para esse estudo. Os resultados empíricos sugerem que: a) quando houve aumento no Lucro Por Ação, o percentual do lucro distribuído em forma de proventos foi maior nos períodos em que não houve incidência de tributação e menor quando houve incidência de tributação; b) companhias estatais distribuíram menos dividendos do que companhias privadas; c) companhias que distribuíram dividendos também distribuíram Juros Sobre Capital Próprio; d) companhias que possuem governança corporativa tendem a distribuir mais dividendos. / This paper investigates the influence of taxes and corporate governance on dividend policy of Brazilian public companies in the years 1986 to 2011, using panel data Probit and Tobit estimation. There are several tax law changes particularly in Brazil within the period analyzed, creating a good opportunity to study dividend policy. Empirical results suggests that (a) when Earnings Per Share increased, the percentage of profits distributed in the form of dividends was higher in periods in which there was no incidence of taxation and lower when there was incidence of taxation; (b) state owned companies paid less dividends than private companies; (c) companies that paid dividends also paid Interest On Equity Capital; (d) companies under corporate governance best practices tend to pay more dividends.

Este trabalho relaciona a estrutura de propriedade das empresas brasileiras de capital aberto com a distribuição de Juros Sobre o Capital Próprio (JSCP), de 1997 a 2008, através de estimações Probit e Tobit com dados em painel. Uma das inovações deste estudo é analisar a distribuição de JSCP sob a ótica dos controladores (beneficiários), e não somente da empresa (investida). Constata-se que a distribuição de JSCP, apesar de reduzir a carga tributária no nível da firma, enseja alíquotas variáveis de acordo com a natureza jurídica dos acionistas. Os resultados empíricos sugerem que: a) a estrutura de propriedade afeta tanto a propensão quanto o montante distribuído de JSCP; b) a presença de investidores institucionais aumenta significativamente a distribuição de proventos em dinheiro através de JSCP vis-à-vis dividendos; c) desvios da relação “uma ação – um voto” estão positivamente relacionados com a distribuição de JSCP; d) empresas maiores, mais lucrativas, sujeitas a melhores práticas de governança corporativa e com maiores oportunidades de crescimento tendem a distribuir mais proventos em dinheiro via JSCP, prática esta que aumenta a riqueza dos acionistas. / This paper investigates the relationship between the ownership structure of Brazilian listed firms and the payout of Interest on Equity Capital (Juros Sobre o Capital Próprio – JSCP) in the period 1997 to 2008, employing panel data Probit and Tobit estimation. One major contribution of this study is the analysis of JSCP payout under the perspective of the shareholders instead of the usual firm-based perspective. We find that JSCP payout, despite reducing the tax burden at the firm level, gives rise to variable tax rates depending on the nature of the shareholder. Empirical results suggest that (a) the ownership structure influences both the propensity and the amount paid out as JSCP; (b) the presence of institutional investors significantly increases cash distributions under the form of JSCP vis-à-vis cash dividend payouts; (c) deviations from the “one-share-one-vote rule” are positively related to JSCP payout; (d) firms that are bigger, more profitable, present better governance practices, and have more growth opportunities tend to payout more cash as JSCP, a practice that increases shareholders’ wealth.

Capital markets development is an integral part of overall economic growth of any country. Accounting harmonization is aimed to increase the attractiveness of capital markets by creation of synchronized financial reporting environment globally so that the capital is effectively allocated with the lowest costs and increased liquidity. To the date, more than a hundred of countries implemented IFRS into the national accounting frameworks, therefore the need for the assessment of the real impacts on capital markets is obvious. The main goal of this study is to identify whether there is statistical evidence of the relationship between decreased/increased cost of equity capital among Russian listed companies and mandatory adoption of IFRS. Theoretical part includes an overview of the relevant theory, reasons of accounting harmonization as well as potential challenges. There are also described the main findings and real evidences of adoption impacts on the main capital and financial markets. Practical part of this paper is aimed to investigate whether the proposed benefits of IFRS adoption may be similarly observed in an environment of transition economy.