Corporations may experience lower earnings on assets due to the underinvestment of excess cash. Specifically, leaders of nonfinancial firms hold small amounts of cash in mutual fund investments. The primary benefit to understanding mutual funds is the potential to use them to manage excess corporate cash. Using the efficient market hypothesis as a framework for the study, the purpose of this correlational study was to examine the relationship among mutual fund expenses including 12b-1 fees, sales load at purchase, management fees, total capitalization, and performance. Secondary research databases were used, including the Steele Mutual Fund Expert and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, to create a sample of 96 actively managed mutual funds for the years 2010 to 2014. Multiple regression analysis revealed that 12b-1 fees, sales load at purchase, management fees, and total capitalization were not significant predictors of mutual fund performance. Further, in most years, actively managed mutual funds were not able to outpace the benchmark index. However, a small cluster of successful mutual funds (30) exceeded the performance of the S&P 500 by 5.99%. The implications for positive social change include the potential to devise a strategy to invest excess cash, as additional earnings could offset increasing operational costs and ease shareholder concern. Additionally, legislators could use the results of this study to create regulations to promote stable financial markets.

Objective: The study will investigate whether cash liquidity have a negative affect on profitability and share value of companies, listed on Nasdaq OMX Stockholm 2008-2011. Part of the purpose is also to show if the industry risk is of importance for treasury management of these companies. Method: The methodology for the study is key analysis through hypothesis testing and regression analysis Conclusion: The liquidity ratio affects profitability in a negative direction on the entire sample. No other conclusion can be drawn. / Syfte: Studiens syfte är att undersöka om kassalikviditeten har en negativ påverkan på lönsamhet och aktievärde, hos företag noterade på Nasdaq OMX Nordic Stockholm mellan åren 2008 till 2011. Delsyftet är att undersöka om branschrisken har ett positivt samband med kassalikviditeten för dessa företag. Metod: Metoden för studien är nyckeltalsanalys med hjälp av hypotesprövning och regressionsanalys, för företag på Nasdaq OMX Nordic Stockholm. Slutsats: Kassalikviditeten påverkar lönsamheten i negativ riktning på hela urvalet. Inga andra slutsatser kan dras.

Diploma thesis covers the topic about different attitudes to DCF valuation. The first part is an introduction into CAPM theory and a multifactor French-Fama model. This part also indicates different views on financial assets and analyzes an issue of setting discount rates, especially the risk-free rate and equity risk premium. The second part of this paper applies the theory into valuation of Microsoft, GAP and Telefónica O2. There are elaborated forecasts of the financial statements and free cash flows (FCFCE, FCFU), the discount rate composition and analyses of the factors HML and SMB. At the end, there are performed various valuations, which results are discussed together with a development of real market prices.