The study investigates whether the main capital market theories and pricing models provide a reasonably accurate description of the working and efficiency of capital markets, of the pricing of shares and options and the effect the risk/return relationship has on investor behaviour. The capital market theories and pricing models included in the study are Portfolio Theory, the Efficient Market Hypothesis (EMH), the Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM), the Arbitrage Pricing Theory (APT), Options Theory and the BlackScholes (8-S) Option Pricing Model. The main conclusion of the study is that the main capital market theories and pricing models, as reviewed in the study, do provide a reasonably accurate description of reality, but a number of anomalies and controversial issues still need to be resolved. The main recommendation of the study is that research into these theories and models should continue unabated, while the specific recommendations in a South African context are the following: ( 1) the benefits of global diversification for South African investors should continue to be investigated; (2) the level and degree of efficiency of the JSE Securities Exchange SA (JSE) should continue to be monitored, and it should be established whether alternative theories to the EMH provide complementary or better descriptions of the efficiency of the South African market; (3) both the CAPM and the APT should continue to be tested, both individually and jointly, in order to better understand the pricing mechanism of, and risk/return relationship on the JSE; (4) much South African research still needs to be conducted on the efficiency of the relatively new options market and the application of the B-S Option Pricing Model under South African conditions. / Financial Accounting / M. Com. (Accounting)

The study investigates whether the main capital market theories and pricing models provide a reasonably accurate description of the working and efficiency of capital markets, of the pricing of shares and options and the effect the risk/return relationship has on investor behaviour. The capital market theories and pricing models included in the study are Portfolio Theory, the Efficient Market Hypothesis (EMH), the Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM), the Arbitrage Pricing Theory (APT), Options Theory and the BlackScholes (8-S) Option Pricing Model. The main conclusion of the study is that the main capital market theories and pricing models, as reviewed in the study, do provide a reasonably accurate description of reality, but a number of anomalies and controversial issues still need to be resolved. The main recommendation of the study is that research into these theories and models should continue unabated, while the specific recommendations in a South African context are the following: ( 1) the benefits of global diversification for South African investors should continue to be investigated; (2) the level and degree of efficiency of the JSE Securities Exchange SA (JSE) should continue to be monitored, and it should be established whether alternative theories to the EMH provide complementary or better descriptions of the efficiency of the South African market; (3) both the CAPM and the APT should continue to be tested, both individually and jointly, in order to better understand the pricing mechanism of, and risk/return relationship on the JSE; (4) much South African research still needs to be conducted on the efficiency of the relatively new options market and the application of the B-S Option Pricing Model under South African conditions. / Financial Accounting / M. Com. (Accounting)

This study tests for the market efficiency of the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) after the year 2000 to determine the effect of technological advancements on market efficiency. Data that is used is the NSE 20 share index over the period 2001 to 2015; and the NSE All Share Index (NSE ASI) from its initiation during 2008 to 2015. We cannot accept the Efficient Market Hypothesis (EMH) for the NSE using the serial correlation test, the unit root tests and the runs test. However, we can accept the EMH for the more robust variance ratio test. Overall, the results of the market efficiency are mixed. The most significant finding is that the efficiency of the NSE has increased since the year 2000 which suggests that advancements in technology have contributed to the increase in the market efficiency of the NSE. / Business Management / M. Com. (Business Management)

Department of Statistics / MSc (Statistics) / The ripple e ect of a stock market crash due to extremal dependence is a global issue with key attention and it is at the core of all modelling e orts in risk management. Two methods of extreme value theory (EVT) were used in this study to model equity risk and extremal dependence in the tails of stock market indices from four African emerging markets: South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya and Egypt. The rst is the \bivariate-threshold-excess model" and the second is the \point process approach". With regards to the univariate analysis, the rst nding in the study shows in descending hierarchy that volatility with persistence is highest in the South African market, followed by Egyptian market, then Nigerian market and lastly, the Kenyan equity market. In terms of risk hierarchy, the Egyptian EGX 30 market is the most risk-prone, followed by the South African JSE-ALSI market, then the Nigerian NIGALSH market and the least risky is the Kenyan NSE 20 market. It is therefore concluded that risk is not a brainchild of volatility in these markets. For the bivariate modelling, the extremal dependence ndings indicate that the African continent regional equity markets present a huge investment platform for investors and traders, and o er tremendous opportunity for portfolio diversi cation and investment synergies between markets. These synergistic opportunities are due to the markets being asymptotic (extremal) independent or (very) weak asymptotic dependent and negatively dependent. This outcome is consistent with the ndings of Alagidede (2008) who analysed these same markets using co-integration analysis. The bivariate-threshold-excess and point process models are appropriate for modelling the markets' risks. For modelling the extremal dependence however, given the same marginal threshold quantile, the point process has more access to the extreme observations due to its wider sphere of coverage than the bivariate-threshold-excess model. / NRF

This thesis investigates the factors to consider when implementing a business to business market entry strategy within the automotive industry. The aforementioned is conducted through an exploratory case study at a global industrial firm providing a comprehensive range of products and services within the motor vehicle industry. The case study is made on the foundation of existing theory, previous empirical research and interviews with relevant companies within the industry. The thesis provides an overview of the factors to be considered when executing a business to business market entry strategy on the automotive market based on existing literature and empirical research. Furthermore, the six main challenge areas that the case company faces in its work with entering a new market is displayed. These challenges are; (1) internal communication, (2) customer relations, (3) technical requirements, (4) strategic initiatives, (5) management support and (6) organizational alignment. In addition to the six challenges, potential strategic initiatives are discussed within each of the challenge areas. The six challenge framework can be used as a framework for other industrial firms striving to implement an industrial business to business market entry strategy. The main theoretical contribution of this thesis is the identification of challenges during a market entry within the automotive industry. Furthermore, the thesis concludes that the implementation of a market entry strategy can provide greater challenges than the development of the strategy itself, which is supported by both literature and empirical findings. Related to this, a misalignment between the business type and the marketing strategy type within the case company is identified. / Detta examensarbete undersöker vilka faktorer som bör beaktas vid implementering av strategier för att ta sig in på en ”business-to-business”-marknad inom fordonsindustrin. Detta görs genom en explorativ fallstudie på ett globalt industriföretag som säljer ett stort antal produkter och tjänster till fordonsindustrin. Fallstudien är grundad i litteratur, tidigare empiriska studier och intervjuer med relevanta företag inom industrin. Examensarbetet ger en översikt av de faktorer som bör beaktas då man implementerar en “business to business”-marknadsstrategi inom fordonsindustrin baserat på existerande litteratur och en empirisk undersökning. De sex främsta utmaningarna som fallstudieföretaget står inför identifieras, vilka är (1) intern kommunikation, (2) kundrelationer, (3) tekniska krav, (4) strategiska initiativ, (5) ledningsstöd och (6) organisatorisk sammstämmighet. Utöver de sex utmaningarna diskuteras potentiella strategiska initiativ inom varje utmaningsområde. De sex utmaningarna kan användas som ett ramverk för andra industriföretag som söker att implementera en marknadsstrategi. Det huvudsakliga teoretiska bidraget av detta examensarbete är identifiktationen av de utmaningar som uppstår vid en markandsingång inom fordongsindustrin. Dessutom visar examensarbetet att implementeringen av en marknadsstrategi kan visa sig vara en större utmaning än att ta fram densamma, vilket stöds av både litteraturen och den empiriska undersökningen. Relaterat till föregående kunde vi identifiera en obalans mellan fallstudieföretagets affärstyp och marknadsstrategi.