Exchange traded funds (ETFs) have increased significantly in popularity since they were first introduced in 1993. However, there is still much that is unknown about ETFs in the extant literature. This dissertation attempts to fill gaps in the ETF literature by using three related essays. In these three essays, we compare ETFs to closed ended mutual funds (CEFs) by decomposing the bid-ask spread into its three components; we look at the intraday shape of ETFs and compare it to the intraday shape of equities as well as examine the co-integration factor between ETFs on the London Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange; we also examine the differences between leveraged ETFs and unleveraged ETFs by analyzing the impact of liquidity and volatility. These three essays are presented in Chapters 1, 2, and 3, respectively. Chapter one uses the Huang and Stoll (1997) model to decompose the bid-ask spread in CEFs and ETFs for two distinct periods—a normal and a volatile period. We show a higher adverse selection component for CEFs than for ETFs without regard to volatility. However, both ETFs and CEFs increased in magnitude of the adverse selection component in the period of high volatility. Chapter two uses a mix of the Werner and Kleidon (1993) and the Hupperets and Menkveld (2002) methods to get the intraday shape of ETFs and analyze co-integration between London and New York trading. We find two different shapes for New York and London ETFs. There also appears to be evidence of co-integration in the overlapping two-hour trading period but not over the entire trading day for the two locations. The third chapter discusses the new class of ETFs called leveraged ETFs. We examine the liquidity and depth differences between unleveraged and leveraged ETFs at the aggregate level and when the leveraged ETFs are classified by the leveraged multiples of -3, -2, -1, 2, and 3, both for a normal and a volatile period. We find distinct differences between leveraged and unleveraged ETFs at the aggregate level, with leveraged ETFs having larger spreads than unleveraged ETFs. Furthermore, while both leveraged and unleveraged ETFs have larger spreads in high volatility, for the leveraged ETFs the change in magnitude is significantly larger than for the unleveraged ETFs. Among the multiples, the -2 leveraged ETF is the most pronounced in its liquidity characteristics, more so in volatile times.

The decline in the profitability of credit unions with less than $10 million in assets harms the number of small credit unions available to serve local communities. Grounded in the financial intermediation theory, the purpose of this quantitative correlational study was to examine the relationship between regulatory compliance costs, operation costs, and profitability. The population of this study consisted of federally insured credit unions with less than $10 million in assets and located in the state of Texas. Archival data from the National Credit Union Administration database were collected and analyzed. Multiple regression was used to identify a statistically significant predictive model, F (2, 49) = 3.834, p = .028, R2 =.135. The implications for positive social change include the potential for credit union managers to improve decision-making processes related to current and future operations and investments, which could increase profitability and contribute to the financial prosperity of employees, employees' families, communities, and local economies.

I investigate whether the business relations between mutual funds and brokerage firms influence sell-side analyst coverage and recommendations. Using a comprehensive sample of analyst recommendations in China over the 2004-2008 period, I find that the likelihood of analyst coverage and analysts’ relative recommendations, benchmarked against consensus recommendations, are positively associated with the mutual fund business relationship. I measure the business relation by the weight of a stock in the mutual fund client’s portfolio and the commission revenue generated from the mutual fund clients. My results show that mutual funds take advantage of these optimistic recommendations by selling the stocks. I also find evidence that analysts employed in politically connected brokerage firms inflate their recommendations on state-controlled listed enterprises. Lastly, I examine the short-term and long-term investment returns from a strategy that follows the analyst recommendations. In the short-term, I find positive stock returns, which benefit the client mutual funds. However, I also find evidence that investors recognize the conflict of interest and caps the stock price increases. In the longer-term, the strong buy and buy recommendations yield zero or negative stock returns.

I study the role of auditing in mitigating agency concerns in family firms. Family firms face less severe agency problems due to the separation of ownership and control (Type 1) but more severe agency problems between controlling and noncontrolling shareholders (Type 2). As family firms make up a large part of most free enterprise economies it is important to examine these two agency problems with respect to auditor choice and audit effort. I find that family firms are more likely to choose a specialist auditor than nonfamily firms, consistent with the argument that family firms need to signal their non-expropriating behaviors by choosing specialist auditors. I further find that audit fees are lower in family firms compared to nonfamily firms, consistent with the hypothesis that the Type 1 agency conflict dominates the Type 2 agency conflict in the determination of audit effort and pricing. Moreover, consistent with prior literature that states that effective internal governance demands a quality auditor and more audit effort irrespective of ownership structure, I find that the positive association between family ownership and specialist auditor choice is stronger when internal governance is strong and the negative relation between audit fees and family ownership is weaker when the internal governance is strong. I find that these results on audit fees are robust to the use of alternative measures of concentrated influence such as CEO ownership, inside director ownership, and the presence of one or more founder directors. I also find that the effect of internal governance on audit fees is not limited to one or a few components of internal governance.

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Globally institutional investors are taking an increased interest in companies' environmental, social and governance (ESG) disclosure and their corporate social responsibility (CSR) performance. Although the relationship between a company's Corporate Social Performance (CSP) and its institutional shareholding has been studied in a number of developed economies, this study fills a gap in the literature by investigating this link for JSE listed companies. Using Bloomberg's ESG and individual environmental, social, and governance disclosure scores as proxies for CSP, panel data regression methodologies are applied to a sample of 98 companies (254 company years) listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange from 2013 to 2016 to investigate the link between the different forms of CSP and institutional shareholding in South Africa. The study fails to establish a relationship between institutional shareholding and environmental and social based CSP, but finds a statistically significant positive relationship for governance based CSP. The results imply that, of the three CSP components, South African institutional shareholders in the studied sample mainly consider the governance component in their investment decisions, possibly because good corporate governance is associated with improved financial performance and the adoption of sustainability policies by the company.

The South African Schools Act 84 of 1996 prescribes how schools should manage their finances and involve their stakeholders in financial management decision-making. The relevant literature reveals that principals in many schools situated in township and rural areas play a dominant role in the financial management of their schools which is contrary to the prescriptions of the South African Schools Act. This study aimed to identify financial management decision-making processes utilized in fee-paying public primary schools, the factors that influence financial management decision-making and the role and influence of individual stakeholders in financial management decision-making. The study followed a qualitative research approach with a multiple case study research design. Five fee-paying public primary schools were purposively selected. Participants included governing body chairpersons, principals and financial managers of the schools. Data was collected by means of semi-structured interviews and document analysis. The findings from the data suggest that financial management decision-making processes utilized in fee-paying public primary schools are: needs analysis, budget drafting and procurement processes. The study also reveals that members of school governing bodies (SGB) in fee-paying schools situated in affluence areas are educated professionals who, as required by the South African School Act, exert a strong influence in financial management decision-making in schools. / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2017. / Education Management and Policy Studies / MEd / Unrestricted

The decline in the profitability of credit unions with less than $10 million in assets harms the number of small credit unions available to serve local communities. Grounded in the financial intermediation theory, the purpose of this quantitative correlational study was to examine the relationship between regulatory compliance costs, operation costs, and profitability. The population of this study consisted of federally insured credit unions with less than $10 million in assets and located in the state of Texas. Archival data from the National Credit Union Administration database were collected and analyzed. Multiple regression was used to identify a statistically significant predictive model, F (2, 49) = 3.834, p = .028, R2 =.135. The implications for positive social change include the potential for credit union managers to improve decision-making processes related to current and future operations and investments, which could increase profitability and contribute to the financial prosperity of employees, employees' families, communities, and local economies.

This thesis examines if the correlations between equity sectors have increased over time, mitigating sector diversification. Investors and other financial enthusiasts have started to believe that sector diversification is not a useful investment strategy. To investigate whether correlations among the sectors are rising, this study analyzes numerous aspects regarding sector diversification. Twenty years of monthly sector returns are used to determine whether correlations among the sectors are increasing. Also, the analyzation of sector movement during up and down periods of the market is addressed within the thesis. This study finds that the majority of the sectors move together in times of a financial crisis, like the 2007-2008 market crash. Thus, when sector diversification is most needed, it often fails during times of strife. Furthermore, the study analyzes how the majority of the sectors tend to not move with the market over the twenty-year period. Results suggest the correlations between the sectors have not become closer contrary to popular belief. The importance and usefulness of sector diversification when investing is validated by this study’s results.

This paper investigates the potential procyclical effects of fair value accounting (FVA). If FVA adjustments result in increased accounting profits with the recognition of transitory gains through a firm's profit and loss (P&L), and if management incorrectly assesses the persistence of the unrealised gains, these increased profits may be paid out as dividends. This has the potential to increase leverage and risk for these firms, thereby also possibly amplifying economic cycles. A study by Goncharov and Van Triest (2011:59) on Russian firms found that FVA adjustments are persistent in future earnings; however, no empirical evidence was found to support an increase in dividends in response to unrealised FVA gains. By contrast, when the setting is limited to South African banks only, De Jager (2015:157) found that South African banks have paid the full amount of any unrealised transitory gains as dividends. This study focuses on the effects of FVA adjustments on dividend policy for South African firms, as represented by the firms included in the FTSE/JSE Top 40 Index. This furthers De Jager's (2015) study by extending the investigation of the dividend relevance of FVA adjustments from the major South African banks, to South African large firms in general. The results of a panel regression of the net profit of these firms reveal that unrealised FVA adjustments do have a persistent influence on future earnings, indicating that these adjustments contain both transitory and persistent elements. A further panel regression of the annual dividends declared by these firms indicates that dividend payments do include a portion of unrealised FVA gains, as expected by the persistent nature of a portion of these unrealised FVA gains.