Arterial stiffness is one of the major risk factors and markers of cardiovascular disease (CVD). An increase in the arterial stiffness is influenced by various factors such as age, lifestyle, genetics and the presence of other cardiovascular risks such as obesity and diabetes. Arterial stiffness is a consistent thread in this thesis. This thesis investigates the effects of exercise-based management programmes for CVD and risk factors with a focus on carotid-radial applanation tonometry which is a specific non-invasive technique for measuring arterial stiffness. Erectile dysfunction is a marker of CVD and is associated with endothelial dysfunction that leads to arterial stiffness. The effects of centrebased, supervised and exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation (CR) programmes were studied on the changes in arterial stiffness, erectile dysfunction and quality of life of patients with CVD. Despite the effectiveness of CR programmes, there is poor attendance at these programmes and unsupervised home-based, IT (information technology)-supported programmes could improve patient participation and cost effectiveness. Moreover, earlier identification of risks and appropriate management can reduce the incidence of CVD. There are no such programmes for early stages of CVD in practice, especially in developing countries such as India. A 12-week, IT-supported home-based exercise programme in India, for patients with metabolic syndrome was developed and studied. In general, arterial stiffness was improved in both centre-based and home-based exercise programmes. There were acute increases in arterial stiffness following exercise in healthy Caucasians and South Asians as well as people with metabolic syndrome. Carotid-radial pulse wave analysis could be a simple and reliable prognostic tool in exercise based rehabilitation programmes.

<p><strong>Title: </strong>Measuring and handling risk - How different financial institutions face the same problem</p><p><strong>Seminar date: </strong>4^th of June, 2010</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong>Level: </strong>Bachelor thesis in Business Administration, Basic level 300, 15 ECTS</p><p><strong>Authors: </strong>Sarah Rörden and Kristofer Wille</p><p><strong>Supervisor</strong>: Angelina Sundström</p><p><strong>Subject</strong> <strong>terms:</strong> Risk variables, Risk measurement, Risk management, Modern Portfolio Theory, Diversification, Beta</p><p><strong>Target group: </strong>Everyone who has basic knowledge of financial theories and risk principles but lacks the understanding of how they can be used in risk management.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong>Purpose: </strong>To understand the different Swedish financial institutions’ way of handling and reducing risk in portfolio investing using financial theories.</p><p><strong>Theoretical framework: </strong>The theoretical framework is based on relevant literature about financial theories and risk management, including critical articles.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong>Method: </strong>A multi-case study has been conducted, built upon empirical data collected through semi-structured interviews at three different financial institutions.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong>Empiricism: </strong>The study is based on interviews with Per Lundqvist, private banker at Carnegie Investment Bank AB; Erik Dagne, head of risk management department and Joachim Spetz, head of asset management at Erik Penser Bankaktiebolag; and David Lindström, asset manager at Strand Kapitalförvaltning AB.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong>Conclusion:</strong> There is a practical implementation of the theoretical models chosen for this research. The numbers the financial models generate do not tell one the entire truth about the total risk, therefore the models are used differently at each study object. For a model to hold it has to be transparent, and take each model’s assumptions into account. It all comes down to interpreting the models in an appropriate way.</p>

Title: Measuring and handling risk - How different financial institutions face the same problem Seminar date: 4th of June, 2010   Level: Bachelor thesis in Business Administration, Basic level 300, 15 ECTS Authors: Sarah Rörden and Kristofer Wille Supervisor: Angelina Sundström Subject terms: Risk variables, Risk measurement, Risk management, Modern Portfolio Theory, Diversification, Beta Target group: Everyone who has basic knowledge of financial theories and risk principles but lacks the understanding of how they can be used in risk management.   Purpose: To understand the different Swedish financial institutions’ way of handling and reducing risk in portfolio investing using financial theories. Theoretical framework: The theoretical framework is based on relevant literature about financial theories and risk management, including critical articles.   Method: A multi-case study has been conducted, built upon empirical data collected through semi-structured interviews at three different financial institutions.   Empiricism: The study is based on interviews with Per Lundqvist, private banker at Carnegie Investment Bank AB; Erik Dagne, head of risk management department and Joachim Spetz, head of asset management at Erik Penser Bankaktiebolag; and David Lindström, asset manager at Strand Kapitalförvaltning AB.   Conclusion: There is a practical implementation of the theoretical models chosen for this research. The numbers the financial models generate do not tell one the entire truth about the total risk, therefore the models are used differently at each study object. For a model to hold it has to be transparent, and take each model’s assumptions into account. It all comes down to interpreting the models in an appropriate way.

Bakgrund Människor måste alltid fundera över risk och avkastning. Att omkring 80% av svenskarna äger någon form av fond skapar ett stort beroende av hur en extern aktör, portföljförvaltare, ser på begreppet och hur de hanterar portföljrisken mer precist. Det är därför intressant för alla investerare att förstå om och hur portföljrisk används och ses på utifrån förvaltarna som styr över vårt sparande. Är deras synsätt speglat i de befintliga teorierna och används den ofta kritiserade riskvariabeln beta i praktiken. Syfte: Syftet med magisteruppsatsen är att förklara och analysera hur institutionella investerare använder risk i portföljförvaltning, illustrera hur de i praktiken använder riskvariabler och om risk är nära relaterat till avkastning. Metod: Den här uppsatsen har sin utgångspunkt i den kvalitativa forskningsmetodiken för att kunna analysera hur portföljförvaltare ser på portföljrisk. Ett slumpmässigt urval av nio portföljförvaltare, oberoende av storlek och strategi, valde att ställa upp på intervjuer. De intervjuade fick fritt besvara frågorna för att skapa en så heltäckande bild som möjligt av de olika uppfattningarna inom portföljrisk. Slutsats: Analysen av det empiriska materialet visar att det är svårt att frambringa en enhetlig syn på portföljrisk och definition av densamma. De intervjuade skiljer sig åt i de flesta frågor förutom i kritiken mot betas värde som riskvariabel. Ingen använder beta som främsta riskmått, istället används riskvariabler som Value at Risk, tracking error och/eller variansen av avkastning. De statligt ägda fonderna använder sig av strategier där riskhantering kommer i främsta rummet och de ser även en stark koppling mellan risk och avkastning. Värdet av riskhantering skiljer sig åt bland de privata portföljförvaltarna eftersom några aktivt justerar och övervakar risknivån medan andra inte använder sig av risktänkande alls. Korrelationen mellan risk och avkastning är inte heller uppenbar då några anser att sambandet inte alltid är positivt eller linjärt. / Background: Humans have to constantly consider risk- and return tradeoffs. The fact that about 80% of the Swedish population owns some kind of mutual fund creates a great dependency on how an external part, a portfolio manager, views this tradeoff and especially how the concept of portfolio risk is looked upon. It becomes interesting for all investors to understand if and how portfolio risk is utilized and looked upon through the eyes of the mangers in charge over our savings. Do their view of risk and return translate to available theories and is the theoretically popular and much criticized beta measure used at all in practice. Purpose: The purpose of this master thesis is to describe and analyze how institutional investors apply the concepts of risk in portfolio management, to illustrate how they work with risk variables in practice and if risk is closely linked to return. Methodology: To be able to thoroughly analyze a few selected portfolio managers’ view on portfolio risk, this thesis has its foundation in the qualitative research approach. A random sample of nine mutual funds’ portfolio managers, independent of size and investment strategies, agreed to participate in face-to-face inter-views. The interviewees were allowed to answer freely in order to get the full picture of the different views of portfolio risk. Conclusion: The analysis of the empirical findings makes it clear that it is hard to find a unified view nor a unified definition of portfolio risk. The respondents differ a lot in their opinions in most issues except that they doubt beta being a good risk measure. No one is using beta as its main risk variable, instead risk variables such as Value at Risk, tracking error and variance of returns are used. The government operated funds have strategies putting risk management on the frontline and sees a strong connection between risk and return. The importance of risk management show a large divergence amongst the private portfolio managers since some respondents actively adjust and monitor the level of risk while other employ strategies that do not incorporate risk thinking at all. The correlation between risk and return is not apparent since some respondents do not believe the relation to be linear or positive at all times.

<p>Bakgrund Människor måste alltid fundera över risk och avkastning. Att omkring 80% av svenskarna äger någon form av fond skapar ett stort beroende av hur en extern aktör, portföljförvaltare, ser på begreppet och hur de hanterar portföljrisken mer precist. Det är därför intressant för alla investerare att förstå om och hur portföljrisk används och ses på utifrån förvaltarna som styr över vårt sparande. Är deras synsätt speglat i de befintliga teorierna och används den ofta kritiserade riskvariabeln beta i praktiken.</p><p>Syfte: Syftet med magisteruppsatsen är att förklara och analysera hur institutionella investerare använder risk i portföljförvaltning, illustrera hur de i praktiken använder riskvariabler och om risk är nära relaterat till avkastning.</p><p>Metod: Den här uppsatsen har sin utgångspunkt i den kvalitativa forskningsmetodiken för att kunna analysera hur portföljförvaltare ser på portföljrisk. Ett slumpmässigt urval av nio portföljförvaltare, oberoende av storlek och strategi, valde att ställa upp på intervjuer. De intervjuade fick fritt besvara frågorna för att skapa en så heltäckande bild som möjligt av de olika uppfattningarna inom portföljrisk.</p><p>Slutsats: Analysen av det empiriska materialet visar att det är svårt att frambringa en enhetlig syn på portföljrisk och definition av densamma. De intervjuade skiljer sig åt i de flesta frågor förutom i kritiken mot betas värde som riskvariabel. Ingen använder beta som främsta riskmått, istället används riskvariabler som Value at Risk, tracking error och/eller variansen av avkastning.</p><p>De statligt ägda fonderna använder sig av strategier där riskhantering kommer i främsta rummet och de ser även en stark koppling mellan risk och avkastning. Värdet av riskhantering skiljer sig åt bland de privata portföljförvaltarna eftersom några aktivt justerar och övervakar risknivån medan andra inte använder sig av risktänkande alls. Korrelationen mellan risk och avkastning är inte heller uppenbar då några anser att sambandet inte alltid är positivt eller linjärt.</p> / <p>Background: Humans have to constantly consider risk- and return tradeoffs. The fact that about 80% of the Swedish population owns some kind of mutual fund creates a great dependency on how an external part, a portfolio manager, views this tradeoff and especially how the concept of portfolio risk is looked upon. It becomes interesting for all investors to understand if and how portfolio risk is utilized and looked upon through the eyes of the mangers in charge over our savings. Do their view of risk and return translate to available theories and is the theoretically popular and much criticized beta measure used at all in practice.</p><p>Purpose: The purpose of this master thesis is to describe and analyze how institutional investors apply the concepts of risk in portfolio management, to illustrate how they work with risk variables in practice and if risk is closely linked to return.</p><p>Methodology: To be able to thoroughly analyze a few selected portfolio managers’ view on portfolio risk, this thesis has its foundation in the qualitative research approach. A random sample of nine mutual funds’ portfolio managers, independent of size and investment strategies, agreed to participate in face-to-face inter-views. The interviewees were allowed to answer freely in order to get the full picture of the different views of portfolio risk.</p><p>Conclusion: The analysis of the empirical findings makes it clear that it is hard to find a unified view nor a unified definition of portfolio risk. The respondents differ a lot in their opinions in most issues except that they doubt beta being a good risk measure. No one is using beta as its main risk variable, instead risk variables such as Value at Risk, tracking error and variance of returns are used.</p><p>The government operated funds have strategies putting risk management on the frontline and sees a strong connection between risk and return. The importance of risk management show a large divergence amongst the private portfolio managers since some respondents actively adjust and monitor the level of risk while other employ strategies that do not incorporate risk thinking at all. The correlation between risk and return is not apparent since some respondents do not believe the relation to be linear or positive at all times.</p>