The mutual fund industry in Sweden has grown rapidly over the past years. Research has been made on the topic for over 50 years, however there are still uncertainties about the determinants of fund performance. The purpose of this study was to examine what determines the risk-adjusted performance of mutual equity funds available to Swedish investors.  A side-purpose was included to examine to what extent the Efficient Market Hypothesis holds in Sweden. A simple random sample was conducted where 500 equity funds were included. From Refinitiv/Thomson Reuters Eikon Datastream fund characteristics were downloaded. To find the abnormal return of mutual equity funds, a hybrid Fama-French Carhart factor model was used which includes both domestic Swedish factors and global factors. The model was used to calculate the yearly risk-adjusted performance for each fund using 12 months return. This was denominated Alpha which was used as the dependent variable in the regression models. Further, to determine the characteristics which affect risk-adjusted performance two multiple regression models with six independent variables and three control variables are constructed. Further, a one sample t-test was conducted to test the market efficiency for mutual funds available to Swedish investors. Eight statistical hypotheses were created and tested in which two found a significant result which were that alpha differs from zero and Total Expense Ratio determines the risk-adjusted performance.   To conclude, findings showed only the character Total Expense Ratio determines risk-adjusted performance of mutual equity funds available to Swedish investors. In conclusion the control variables year, geographical focus and currency affect the fund performance. The study is an interesting aspect for Swedish investors and fund managers since the study implies deeper knowledge about the mutual fund industry in Sweden and therefore should be concerned by the variable TER to earn abnormal returns. Further, the study contributes with a theoretical discussion in line with the results concerning Efficient Market Hypothesis, the Diversification Effect and Modern Portfolio Theory. Conclusions are drawn based on our result that the Efficient Market Hypothesis does hold in the Swedish fund market. Although only one character determines the risk-adjusted performance and average investor should choose funds that follow the market, based on the skill level of average investors.

This thesis aims to investigate fund managers salaries in relation to their contributions. The study is conducted on the Swedish fund market under a period over five years, 2014-2018, and include 332 funds. The result observed shows a positive relation between salaries and risk-adjusted performance. The result proves that fund managers are able to outperform the market on average, which should not be possible to do systematically over time according to the efficient market hypothesis. It also turns out that salary has a positive relationship with assets under management. This indicates that fund managers are employed and compensated for more reasons than to generate a high return, namely to contribute to more significant inflows of cash to the fund company. Interpretations of fund managers’ salaries are primarily linked to agency theory and economics of superstars. The agency problem alter in the fund industry since the setting is two-folded. Agency problem could be mitigated by implementing a performance-based compensation structure, to aligning investors, management and fund managers’ ambitions. The result shows signs that a performance-based salary is present in the fund industry. A fund managers’ salary assumes to be based on his/her skillfulness, but could also be due to an individual’s stardom. To conclude, the thesis state that fund managers’ deserve their salary, which in relative terms are fairly high, since they procure additional benefits to the fund company.

Previous research has confirmed the existence of a value premium in a wide array of markets and using this value stock anomaly has yielded superior performance. This thesis investigates if one could take advantage of the existence of a value premium to deploy a dynamic investment strategy on the Swedish stock market (OMXS30) with focus on minimizing risk to achieve higher risk adjusted performance than the stock market index. The investment strategy implemented use Market-to-Book-Value to screen for both entry and exit signals and Modern Portfolio Theory, using the minimum-variance portfolio with short-selling constraints, to allocate assets within the portfolio. The investment strategy is evaluated using the Modigliani-Modigliani Risk Adjusted Performance measure. Conclusions from the thesis are that the strategy does outperform the Swedish stock market index, both in terms of nominal return and risk-adjusted performance. The suboptimal behaviour of investors where they overreact  to signals and unconsciously rely on heuristics is used to explain why this is possible. Market-to-Book-Value, using the first quartile as entry signal and third quartile as exit signal, is considered to be a successful key ratio to screen for value stocks.

Abstract This doctoral thesis aims to contribute to the literature on hedge fund performance in three interrelated essays. The first essay uses a novel database aggregation and a comprehensive analysis of differences between the main commercial databases exploring the effects of different databases on previously documented stylized facts, including the (1) average risk-adjusted performance; (2) the persistence of that performance; (3) and the cross-sectional relation between fund-characteristics and risk-adjusted returns. The main finding is that several previously documented stylized facts about hedge fund performance are sensitive to database selection and associated biases. Differences in conclusions stem from database differences in defunct coverage, survivorship and backfill biases, and the completeness of assets under management information. The second essay examines the effect of frictions on the returns that investors can earn from investing in hedge funds. The study focuses on size and redemption restrictions that are key investment constraints in practice. The size–performance relationship is positive (negative) when past (future) performance is used. The negative size–performance relationship is consistent with theories suggesting a decreasing returns-to-scale in the active management industry. Differences in attrition rates and risk taking as well as the relative importance of management fees and capacity constraints between small and large funds are consistent with an equilibrium in which investors and hedge funds optimally respond to incentives subject to constraints. Performance persistence decreases along with the fund size but concentrated hypothetical Fund-of-Fund portfolios outperform. The third essay examines hedge funds' ability to enhance their performance through leverage. The essay explicitly shows that leverage enhances risk-adjusted performance and risk of investment programs. The main finding is that the average high-leverage fund class underperforms its low-leverage counterpart of the same investment program after their returns are appropriately adjusted to the same level. The finding is consistent with the predictions of leverage aversion theories suggesting that leverage constraints and costs of leverage have a negative impact on risk-adjusted returns. / Tiivistelmä Tämä väitöskirja sisältää kolme artikkelia, joissa tutkitaan hedge-rahastojen menestystä. Ensimmäisessä artikkelissa rakennetaan yhdistelmäaineisto päätietokannoista ja tutkitaan tietokantojen eroavaisuuksien vaikutuksia keskeisiin kirjallisuudessa esitettyihin tutkimustuloksiin hedge-rahastojen riskikorjatun tuoton tasosta ja tuoton pysyvyydestä sekä rahastokohtaisten ominaispiirteiden ja riskikorjatun tuoton välisestä relaatiosta. Tutkimuksessa havaitaan että tutkimusaineiston valinta vaikuttaa merkittävästi aikaisemmassa kirjallisuudessa esitettyihin tutkimustuloksiin. Merkittävimmät erot tutkimustuloksissa eri tietokantojen välillä selittyvät tietokantojen eroavaisuuksissa toimintansa lopettaneiden rahastojen kattavuudessa ja näin ollen eloonjäämis- ja backfilling-harhan tasossa sekä rahastojen markkina-arvoa kuvaavan aineiston määrässä ja laadussa. Toinen artikkeli tarkastelee rajoitteita, joita sijoittajat kohtaavat sijoittaessaan hedge-rahastoihin. Päähuomio on koko- ja lunastusrajoitteissa, jotka ovat käytännössä merkittävimmät rajoitteet hedge-rahastosijoittajalle. Rahastojen markkina-arvon ja riskikorjatun tuoton välillä on negatiivinen (positiivinen) relaatio kun tarkastellaan rahastojen tulevaa (historiallista) menestystä. Tulokset tukevat teoreettisia esityksiä, joiden mukaan rahastojen kasvu heijastuu menestykseen negatiivisesti. Markkina-arvoltaan pienissä rahastoissa on huomattavasti enemmän riskiä kuin markkina-arvoltaan suurissa rahastoissa. Korkeampi riski pienissä rahastoissa lisää tuotto-perusteisten palkkioiden merkitystä palkkiorakenteissa kun taas suurilla rahastoilla on kannustimet maksimoida markkina-arvon mukaan määriteltyjä hallinnointipalkkioita. Tulokset tukevat talousteoriaa, jonka mukaan riski ja tuoton taso pienevät rahastojen markkina-arvojen kasvaessa. Tuoton pysyvyys pienenee rahaston markkina-arvon kasvaessa. Kuitenkin hypoteettiset rahastot, jotka on hajautettu aikaisempiin menestyjiin keskeiset sijoittajien rajoitteet huomioiden, menestyvät riskikorjatusti. Kolmannessa artikkelissa tutkitaan hedge-rahastojen kykyä lisätä riskikorjatun tuoton tasoa velkavivun avulla. Velkavivun käyttö kasvattaa sijoitusstrategian tuoton ja riskin tasoa alhaisemman velkatason osuuslajeihin verrattuna. Päätuloksena havaitaan, että tyypillinen sijoitusstrategian korkean velkatason osuuslajin tuoton taso on merkittävästi alhaisempi matalan velkatason osuuslajiin nähden kun molempien osuuslajien tuottoaikasarjat ovat asetettu samalle tasolle. Talousteoriaa ennustaa, että sijoittajien rajoitteet käyttää velkavipua ja velkavivun käyttöön liittyvät kustannukset heijastuvat salkun tuoton tasoon negatiivisesti.

Studien syftar till att undersöka vilken förvaltningsstrategi som är bäst, fonders prestation genom olika ekonomiska förhållanden samt persistens på den svenska fondmarknaden. Huvudsyftet är att undersöka om fonders föregående prestation kan användas för att förutsäga framtida avkastning. Genom att använda etablerade mått på förvaltningsprestation som Jensens Alfa, Sharpekvoten och Modiglianis riskjusterad prestation (𝑀2) jämförs fonders prestation. För att identifiera persistens jämförs fondernas avkastning med medianavkastning under en specifik period. Genom statistiska tester i form av Oddskvot, Chi-två-test och regressionsanalys fördjupas studien ytterligare. Resultaten från studien visar enskilda fall av persistens, men inga konsekventa mönster kan utläsas för alla fonder. Slutsatsen från studien är att det inte går att slå fast en överlägsen förvaltningsstrategi. Slutsatsen indikerar även att det inte finns några signifikanta indikationer på att det går att förutspå framtida avkastning utifrån föregående tidsperiods avkastning. / The study investigates which management strategy is superior, funds’ performance across different economic conditions and persistence in the Swedish fund market. The main objective is to examine whether past fund performance can be utilized to predict future returns. Through using established performance measures such as Jensen’s Alpha, The Sharpe Ratio and Modigliani’s risk- adjusted performance (𝑀2), we compare fund performance. To identify persistence, funds’ returns are compared with median returns over a specific period. Through statistical tests such as Odds Ratio, Chi-square test and regression analysis, the study is further elaborated. The results of the study reveal isolated instances of persistence, but no consistent patterns can be discerned across all funds. The conclusion drawn from the study is that no superior management strategy can be definitively established. Additionally, the findings suggest no significant indications that past period returns can predict future returns.

The greater competition and concentration in South Africa's financial sector has put South African banks under more constraints and led to questioning of their present performance. With a greater demand for financial services and more complains about the low quality of financial services and charges being too high, there has been increasing debate about how efficient South African banks really are. This study discusses performance evaluation, the traditional financial and non-financial measures used, and their limitations. The concept of bank efficiency is also briefly discussed, including scale efficiency, scope efficiency, X-efficiency, cost efficiency, standard profit efficiency, alternative profit efficiency and the risk component of bank efficiency. Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) was chosen as the most appropriate method to estimate the scale efficiency and technical efficiency of 37 districts (and 10 provinces) of one of the largest banks in South Africa. 'DEA involves solving linear programming problems that generate a non-parametric, piecewise linear convex frontier that envelops the input and output data relative to which cost is minimized' (Fare et al., 1985b:193). The intermediation approach was used incorporating both the input- and output-orientated approach under variable returns to scale. The analyses indicated that 19 districts out of the 37 districts were not at least once fully technically efficient during the 22 months (input- and output-orientated). The same results were found with regard to scale efficiency: 17 districts out of the 37 districts were not at least once fully scale efficient (input-orientated) and 19 districts out of the 37 districts were not at least once fully scale efficient (output-orientated), during the 22 months. Synergy was found in 6 provinces out of the 10 provinces (input- and output-orientated). / Thesis (M.Com. (Risk Management))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2008.

The greater competition and concentration in South Africa's financial sector has put South African banks under more constraints and led to questioning of their present performance. With a greater demand for financial services and more complains about the low quality of financial services and charges being too high, there has been increasing debate about how efficient South African banks really are. This study discusses performance evaluation, the traditional financial and non-financial measures used, and their limitations. The concept of bank efficiency is also briefly discussed, including scale efficiency, scope efficiency, X-efficiency, cost efficiency, standard profit efficiency, alternative profit efficiency and the risk component of bank efficiency. Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) was chosen as the most appropriate method to estimate the scale efficiency and technical efficiency of 37 districts (and 10 provinces) of one of the largest banks in South Africa. 'DEA involves solving linear programming problems that generate a non-parametric, piecewise linear convex frontier that envelops the input and output data relative to which cost is minimized' (Fare et al., 1985b:193). The intermediation approach was used incorporating both the input- and output-orientated approach under variable returns to scale. The analyses indicated that 19 districts out of the 37 districts were not at least once fully technically efficient during the 22 months (input- and output-orientated). The same results were found with regard to scale efficiency: 17 districts out of the 37 districts were not at least once fully scale efficient (input-orientated) and 19 districts out of the 37 districts were not at least once fully scale efficient (output-orientated), during the 22 months. Synergy was found in 6 provinces out of the 10 provinces (input- and output-orientated). / Thesis (M.Com. (Risk Management))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2008.