Yes / We study the asset pricing implications arising from imperfect investor protection using a new governance measure. This is defined as the product of institutional quality in a country and the proportion of free float shares, which captures the impact of controlling block holders. Using monthly returns of 4756 blue chip firms from 50 international equity markets for 13 years, we show through tests of variants of the augmented-CAPM, that a two factor CAPM augmented with a factor mimicking portfolio based on our new investor protection metric yields the highest explanatory power, especially for markets that exhibit true variation in ownership types.

The thesis is focused on financial derivatives, their types, development and practical application. The first chapter deals with the definition of derivatives and description of basic types of derivatives and exotic options. The second chapter describes the development of derivatives in Czech Republic in comparison with G10 countries. In the continuous process of derivative products innovation credit, inflation derivatives and derivatives for electricity and weather are developed. The third chapter presents the derivatives in terms of practical application in the form of option structures, which are used for hedging against the currency risk. The structures are applied to the exchange rate development during the financial crisis period and their impact on businesses is analyzed. Then the hedge efficiency of the structures is analyzed due to use of hedge accounting

In recent years socially responsible investing has become an increasingly more popular subject with both private and institutional investors. At the same time, a number of scientific papers have been published on socially responsible investments (SRIs), covering a broad range of topics, from what actually defines SRIs to the financial performance of SRI funds in contrast to non-SRI funds. In this paper, we revisit Markowitz' Portfolio Selection Theory and propose a modification allowing to incorporate not only asset-specific return and risk but also a social responsibility measure into the investment decision making process. Together with a risk-free asset, this results in a three-dimensional capital allocation plane that allows investors to custom-tailor their asset allocations and incorporate all personal preferences regarding return, risk and social responsibility. We apply the model to a set of over 6,231 international stocks and find that investors opting to maximize the social impact of their investments do indeed face a statistically significant decrease in expected returns. However, the social responsibility/risk-optimal portfolio yields a statistically significant higher social responsibility rating than the return/risk-optimal portfolio.

This thesis consists of four self-contained papers related to the change of market structure and the quality of equity market. In Paper [I] we found, by using of a Flexible Dynamic Component Correlations (FDCC) model, that the creation of a common cross-border stock trading platform has increased the long-run trends in conditional correlations between foreign and domestic stock market returns. In Paper [II] we study whether the creation of a uniform Nordic and Baltic stock trading platform has affected weak-form information efficiency. The results indicate that the stock market consolidations have had a positive effect on the information efficiency and turnover for an average firm. The merger effects are, however, asymmetrically distributed in the sense that relatively large (small) firms located on relatively large (small) markets experience an improved (reduced) information efficiency and turnover. Although the results indicate that changes in the level of investor attention (measured by turnover) may explain part of the changes in information efficiency, they also lend support to the hypothesis that merger effects may partially be driven by changes in the composition of informed versus uninformed investors following a stock. Paper [III] analyzes whether the measured level of trust in different countries can explain bilateral stock market correlations. One finding is that generalized trust among nations is a robust predictor for stock market correlations. Another is that the trust effect is larger for countries which are close to each other. This indicates that distance mitigates the trust effect. Finally, we confirm the effect of trust upon stock market correlations, by using particular trust data (bilateral trust between country A and country B) as an alternative measurement of trust. In Paper [IV] we present the impact of the stock market mergers that took place in the Nordic countries during 2000 – 2007 on the probabilities for stock price jumps, i.e. for relatively extreme price movements. The main finding is that stock market mergers, on average, reduce the likelihood of observing stock price jumps. The effects are asymmetric in the sense that the probability of sudden price jumps is reduced for large and medium size firms whereas the effect is ambiguous for small size firms. The results also indicate that the market risk has been reduced after the stock market consolidations took place.

The aim of the diploma thesis is to evaluate consequences of the United Kingdom withdrawal from the European Union to financial sector and provide different view of the issue than studied analysis carried out so far. The thesis proves the size, broad structure and unique position of the British financial sector in Europe and the world. Theoretical part focuses on the historical perspective, to the explanation of how the financial system works, last but not least to the crucial regulatory norms and sector participants. Based on real and specific data, practical part explains the scope of financial sector, its significance and analyses the UK role in the approval process of specific regulatory standards. Lobbying is denoted as an effective way of influencing standards towards national interests. In conclusion, thesis provides an overview of UK losses and benefits after Brexit, including a proposal for modification the practical operation of the financial system and pay attention to problematic areas. It is demonstrated that Britain for its scale of the financial sector has been long-term influencing European regulation of the sector and despite withdrawal from European Union likely remain a global financial centre.