<p>This study seeks to evaluate the performance of unit trust managers based on their client affiliation classification. Worldwide, the number of investors investing in unit trusts is on the rise and increasingly they want to be able to evaluate the performance of the managers managing their funds so as to make better investment decisions. This increase in the asset size and number of unit trusts funds could be attributed but not limited to the low capital required for investment by small investors who before could not afford to invest in portfolios requiring large capital (Prather, Bertin, and Henker, 2004). In addition, the fund managers of these units are believed to have special skills such as market timing and stock selectivity which contribute to the performances they achieve. The evaluation of the performance of unit trust fund managers is a largely unexplored area in South Africa. As a result, the study focuses on South Africa fund managers and has as aim to evaluate the performance of two groups of fund managers (independent and dependent) who were classified based on their client affiliation structure. The client affiliation classification is as a result of the fund manager‟s clientele base. The dependent group are those who formed part of a group structure and offer other wealth management services for which their clients or investors in the unit trust services originate from within the group while the independent group are those whose clients are pulled together from diverse individuals or institutions and does not form part of a group or render other services other than fund management. Two fund types were selected namely / general equity funds and balanced funds. It has also examined the underlying skills the different groups of fund managers possess. The performance of unit trust has an effect on many parties who are related in one way or the other to the unit trust funds. The results of this study will inform individual investors, trustees and asset consultants in their decision making process of selecting a fund manager. The results of the study will be of value to the asset management industry in terms of assessing their structures and restructuring the investment service business to meet the expectations of their clients / the investors. It could also be used as a marketing tool. Publicly available historical data on the returns generated by fund managers for a five year period from&nbsp / 2005 to 2009 was obtained. Analyses were done using the independent sampled t-test and the Treynor Mazel model respectively for the different research questions posed. The results obtained indicated that there were no statistically significant differences between the performances of independent fund managers with those of dependent fund managers. However, dependent fund managers of equity funds performed better than their counterparts the independent fund managers. In the case of balanced funds, the independent fund managers performed better than their dependent counterparts. On average, both fund&nbsp / manager types possessed selectivity skills for equity funds and none for balanced funds. However for both fund types, the dependent fund manager demonstrated more selectivity skills than their independent counterparts. The results for market timing skills demonstrated that on average, both fund managers did not possess market timing skills for balanced funds while possessing these skills for equity funds. The dependent&nbsp / fund managers demonstrated more market timing skills for balanced funds though negative when compared to that of their counterparts. On the other hand, the equity fund independent fund&nbsp / managers demonstrated more market timing skills than the dependent fund managers.</p>

Equity crowdfunding (ECF) is the smallest of four main types of crowdfunding (CF) and has emerged as a new form of investment, where investors receive equity of a company in return for capital. Over the past years, the development of CF has given entrepreneurs the option to seek funding from a new source, instead of relying solely on venture capital (VC) and other sources of funding (Mollick, 2013). However, the implementation of regulations for ECF has not yet developed enough to make such investing equally consistent for everyone.   Equity crowdfunded ventures can potentially attract a large number of investors that can possibly create corporate governance issues between the entrepreneur and investors. Additionally, individual investors might both lack the competence or incentive to extensively research and assess a venture and make an investment. Due to the growth in ECF and the lack of knowledge of it, the purpose of this thesis was to discover the perceptions of Swedish fund managers (FMs) regarding the nature of ECF and their interest in it.   In order to fulfill the purpose of this study, previous studies were carefully examined to gain a thorough understanding of the area of study. Furthermore, the empirical findings were gathered through a course of seven semi-structured interviews of Swedish FMs.   Empirical findings suggested that ECF has remained as a means of providing only seed-stage funding for ventures and that it is a marginal phenomenon in Sweden. ECF was believed to potentially disturb the VC industry if it grew and moved to a later stage. Additionally, ECF was found to be a good option for companies that were unable to receive funding from traditional funding methods. Risks of fraud and other scandals should be prevented for ECF to maintain its popularity. The findings implied that the future of ECF remains uncertain. Based on the perceptions of Swedish FMs, ECF neither would replace nor be a threat to traditional methods.

Magister Commercii - MCom / This study seeks to evaluate the performance of unit trust managers based on their client affiliation classification. Worldwide, the number of investors investing in unit trusts is on the rise and increasingly they want to be able to evaluate the performance of the managers managing their funds so as to make better investment decisions. This increase in the asset size and number of unit trusts funds could be attributed but not limited to the low capital required for investment by small investors who before could not afford to invest in portfolios requiring large capital (Prather, Bertin, and Henker, 2004). In addition, the fund managers of these units are believed to have special skills such as market timing and stock selectivity which contribute to the performances they achieve. The evaluation of the performance of unit trust fund managers is a largely unexplored area in South Africa. As a result, the study focuses on South Africa fund managers and has as aim to evaluate the performance of two groups of fund managers (independent and dependent) who were classified based on their client affiliation structure. The client affiliation classification is as a result of the fund manager's clientele base. The dependent group are those who formed part of a group structure and offer other wealth management services for which their clients or investors in the unit trust services originate from within the group while the independent group are those whose clients are pulled together from diverse individuals or institutions and does not form part of a group or render other services other than fund management. Two fund types were selected namely; general equity funds and balanced funds. It has also examined the underlying skills the different groups of fund managers possess. The performance of unit trust has an effect on many parties who are related in one way or the other to the unit trust funds. The results of this study will inform individual investors, trustees and asset consultants in their decision making process of selecting a fund manager. The results of the study will be of value to the asset management industry in terms of assessing their structures and restructuring the investment service business to meet the expectations of their clients; the investors. It could also be used as a marketing tool. Publicly available historical data on the returns generated by fund managers for a five year period from 2005 to 2009 was obtained. Analyses were done using the independent sampled t-test and the Treynor Mazel model respectively for the different research questions posed. The results obtained indicated that there were no statistically significant differences between the performances of independent fund managers with those of dependent fund managers. However, dependent fund managers of equity funds performed better than their counterparts the independent fund managers. In the case of balanced funds, the independent fund managers performed better than their dependent counterparts. On average, both fund manager types possessed selectivity skills for equity funds and none for balanced funds. However for both fund types, the dependent fund manager demonstrated more selectivity skills than their independent counterparts. The results for market timing skills demonstrated that on average, both fund managers did not possess market timing skills for balanced funds while possessing these skills for equity funds. The dependent fund managers demonstrated more market timing skills for balanced funds though negative when compared to that of their counterparts. On the other hand, the equity fund independent fund managers demonstrated more market timing skills than the dependent fund managers. / South Africa

Investeringsmötet mellan analytiker och fondförvaltare har tidigare fått alldeles för lite ögon på sig. Att analytiker medverkar på investeringsmöten med fondförvaltare kan ses som paradoxalt eftersom det finns mängder av information att erhålla från andra håll. Denna information kan med en första anblick ses som mer lättillgänglig, detaljerad och omfattande. Således syftar denna studie på att skapa förståelse för varför analytiker väljer att medverka i investeringsmöten med fondförvaltare och hur deras medverkan kan påverka investeringsunderlaget. Det empiriska underlaget bestod av kvalitativa intervjuer med sju analytiker från finansiella institutioner samt en deltagande observation av ett investeringsmöte. Utifrån studien kan tre slutsatser dras i form av anledningar till varför en analytiker väljer att medverka och dess betydelse för investeringsunderlaget. Den första slutsatsen är att träffas face-to-face innebär att analytikerna erhåller mer information jämfört med andra informationskällor.Den andra slutsatsen är att analytikerna erhåller mer beslutsavgörande information som de inte kan erhålla till lika stor grad från andra håll. Den sista slutsatsen är att analytikerna kan säkerställa tidigare erhållen information och även sammanväva information från flera olika källor när de skapar sitt investeringsunderlag. / The investment meeting between analysts and fund managers has previouslyreceived too little attention. That analysts participate in investment meetings with fund managers can be seen as paradoxical as there are lots of information to be obtained elsewhere. At first this information can be seen as more accessible, detailed and comprehensive. Thus, this study aims to create an understanding of why analysts choose to participate in investment meetings with fund managers and how their participation can affect their investment base. The empirical data consists of qualitative interviews with seven analysts from financial institutions and a participatory observation of an investment meeting. Based on this study, three conclusions can be drawn in the form of reasons why analysts chooseto participate and its consequencefor the investment base. The first conclusion is that meeting face-to-face means that the analystsreceive more information compared to other information sources. The second conclusion is that analysts receive more decision-making information that they cannot obtain to the same extent from other sources. The last conclusion is that analysts can ensure that previously obtained information is correct and also interweave information from several different sources when they create their investment base.

Submitted by João Luiz Piccioni Junior (jpiccionijr@gmail.com) on 2011-08-31T00:14:51Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação JLPJ_Versão Final v2.pdf: 511997 bytes, checksum: 4bc86e9dcc6f2c5d4670840389eca1a5 (MD5) / Rejected by Gisele Isaura Hannickel (gisele.hannickel@fgv.br), reason: Prezado João Luiz, A capa de seu trabalho e a folha de rosto estão iguais. Na capa não deve contemplar "Dissertação apresentada à Escola....". Esta informação é somente na folha de rosto (2ª folha que está correta). Att, Gisele Hannickel Secretaria de Registro on 2011-08-31T13:21:35Z (GMT) / Submitted by João Luiz Piccioni Junior (jpiccionijr@gmail.com) on 2011-08-31T21:50:44Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação JLPJ_Versão Final v2.pdf: 511127 bytes, checksum: bf30747269af97ea98bc51ca5141b624 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Gisele Isaura Hannickel (gisele.hannickel@fgv.br) on 2011-09-01T12:44:27Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação JLPJ_Versão Final v2.pdf: 511127 bytes, checksum: bf30747269af97ea98bc51ca5141b624 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Gisele Isaura Hannickel (gisele.hannickel@fgv.br) on 2011-09-01T12:44:39Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação JLPJ_Versão Final v2.pdf: 511127 bytes, checksum: bf30747269af97ea98bc51ca5141b624 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2011-09-01T12:46:39Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação JLPJ_Versão Final v2.pdf: 511127 bytes, checksum: bf30747269af97ea98bc51ca5141b624 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-08-09 / In this paper, we observe the preferential characteristics of Foreign Mutual Fund Managers when investing in Latin America. The main objective was checking the hypothesis that those managers prefer companies with characteristics that amplifies its visibility, in other words, that reduces information asymmetry, a possible explanation for the existence of home bias. For this purpose, we observe mutual funds positions based on shareholders lists of the companies listed at the stock exchanges of the countries of the sample in three different periods (June 2008, 2009 and 2010). The results show that this class of investors prefers companies’ attributes that amplify their contact with international markets, like international listing, bigger analyst coverage and being part of exporter sectors, reinforcing the idea that information asymmetry reduces the ability of asset selection and, therefore, justifying home bias theory. The study also compare preferences of foreign fund managers with domestic ones, located in Latin America, and shows evidence that home basis fund managers expand their portfolio towards a market portfolio, and has different preferences that those observed by foreign fund managers. / Nesse trabalho são observadas as características preferencias dos gestores de fundos mútuos estrangeiros ao selecionar ações na América Latina. O objetivo foi verificar a hipótese de que esses gestores preferem companhias que possuam características que geram grande visibilidade, ou seja, que reduzam a assimetria de informação, uma das possíveis explicações para a existência do home bias. Para isso, foram observadas as posições dos fundos mútuos a partir das listas de acionistas das companhias listadas nas bolsas dos países da amostra em três períodos diferentes (junho de 2008, 2009 e 2010). A análise revela que essa classe de investidores prefere companhias que possuam atributos que ampliem seu contato com mercados internacionais, tais quais, a listagem internacional, maior cobertura de analistas e que façam parte de setores exportadores, reforçando a ideia de que a assimetria de informação reduz a capacidade de seleção de ativos por parte dos participantes de mercado e, portanto, justificando a teoria do home bias. O estudo ainda compara as preferências dos gestores estrangeiros com gestores domiciliados na América Latina e mostra evidências de que os gestores de fundos mútuos domésticos possuem maior dispersão de investimentos nas companhias listadas e, consequentemente, possuem preferências diferentes daquelas observadas para os gestores estrangeiros.

L’objet de ce travail est de proposer une démarche d’évaluation puis de réduction du risque de fraude. Cette démarche est basée sur la notion d’appropriation, c’est-à-dire le degré d’intériorisation de son environnement par l’individu. Il s’agit d’améliorer les appropriations respectives (ce que nous appelons « appropriation croisée ») des opérateurs (gérants ou traders) et des contrôleurs. Promouvoir cette appropriation croisée permettra aux opérateurs et aux contrôleurs de développer des interrelations attentives et permettra aux opérateurs de s’affranchir de l’idée de mythe dans laquelle ils peuvent se sentir enfermés, ces deux points devant conduire à diminuer le risque de fraude. L’appropriation, par elle-même, permettant également de développer des capacités difficilement imitables, notre idée est que l’appropriation croisée favorise une performance économique de long terme de l’organisation. La démarche que nous proposons s’effectue en trois temps, il s’agit tout d’abord de faire en sorte que les acteurs concernés aient une connaissance partagée des rôles de chacun, ce qui permettra ensuite de déterminer les facteurs critiques à améliorer. Le troisième temps consistant à mesurer le déficit d’appropriation croisée à l’aide d’un outil : la balance appropriative et à diriger les appropriations afin de rééquilibrer cette balance. / The aim of this work is to suggest an appropriation-related framework for evaluating and reducing the risk of fraud in financial markets. Its purpose is to improve respective appropriations (what we call “cross appropriation”) of operators (traders or fund managers) and controllers (in charge of controlling operator’s position and operations). The enhancement of this cross appropriation should lead to heedful interactions which will permit operators to escape from the heavy mythological suit they might wear, resulting in less psychological pain. This appropriation, by itself, providing a competitive advantage, this approach should then give a long-term economic performance to the organization because appropriation is involved and respective appropriations are well balanced, resulting in less fraud. This framework is three-steps. The first one is to make sure every stakeholder has a shared understanding of the organization, which will allow a right selection of critical factors. The third step consist in measuring the quality of the cross-appropriation with a tool: the appropriation scales and to direct appropriations towards a better equilibrium of the scales if needed.

During the beginning of 2020, the world was struck by the vicious virus COVID­19, forcing societies into lockdown. Demand froze across the board and this was quickly reflected on stockmarkets worldwide. The Swedish stock market index, OMXS30, plummeted around 30% in a matter of weeks. As an investor, it can be difficult to navigate the financial market and make investment decisions during such turbulent periods. The goal of this study is to analyze the decision-making made by Swedish mutual fund managers during the turbulent market period of 2020, to identify common behavior. This is done through interviewing fund managers of major Swedish mutual funds. The results of the study imply that a specific template for decision-­making amongst fund managers is difficult to create. Yet, a common and early decision during market corrections is to reduce positions in assets performing well in order to maintain fund liquidity and capture new investment opportunities created by the correction. Making decisions during market volatility is a difficult process that is dependant on factors such as investment mandates, internal resources, investment ­horizon and preferred valuation methods. / Under början av 2020 spreds viruset COVID­19 över stora delar av världen, vilket tvingade samhällen att stänga ner och införa restriktioner för att minska smittospridningen. Efterfrågan föll på bred front och detta återspeglades snabbt på aktiemarknaderna världen över. Det svenska aktieindexet OMXS30 rasade runt 30% på ett par veckor. Under sådanna turbulentaperioder på börsen kan det vara svårt som investerare att navigera och göra rätt beslut kring investeringar. Målet med denna studie är att analysera beslutsprocessen vid investeringar hos svenska fondförvaltare under den volatila marknadsperioden 2020, för att försöka identifiera likheter. En rad intervjuer har utförts för att samla in information om förvaltarnas beslutsprocesser. Resultaten från studien visar att det är svårt att hitta en gemensam metod som fondförvaltare använder vid beslutsfattande i turbulenta marknadsperioder. Trots det, är det vanligaste och tidigaste beslutet att minska positioner i tillgångar som klarat sig väl tidigt i nedgången för att upprätthålla fondens likviditet och kunna investera i nya möjligheter skapade av börsnedgången. Att fatta beslut i fonder under marknadsvolatilitet är en svår process som är beroende av faktorer som investeringsmandat, interna resurser, placeringshorisont och värderingsmetod.

基金經理人與投資人間的代理問題起源於兩者目標的不一致，前者要求個人薪酬財富的極大化，後者要求投資組合價值的極大化。造成目標歧異的原因有兩個：其一是在資訊不對稱的環境下，投資人無法觀察到經理人投資組合是否真正從投資人利益角度出發，因此引發了經理人的道德危險；其二是在競爭激烈的基金產業□，年度定期績效評比結果與經理人薪酬紅利多寡相連結等制度的設計，加重經理人選擇持有一個高風險投資組合的逆誘因，特別是期中累積績效較差的輸家，隨著年終總績效結算日期的接近，在自利動機的驅使下可能會透過較高的操作風險調整幅度，企圖扭轉頹勢以求反敗為勝。 本研究首先利用卡方檢定、t檢定與Logistic迴歸模式，實證國內基金經理人是否具有自利性風險調整的行為傾向，接著從契約設計的觀點，以理論模式推導命題的方式，探討三種不同型態的誘因費契約對於抑制經理人自利性風險調整行為的作用，並間接利用問卷調查的方式來驗證其效果。研究的結果發現： 1.國內基金經理人不管是贏家或輸家，在越接近年終總績效的結算時，都會偏向選擇一個高風險的操作水準，同時，上述特性在非外資型投信公司所發行的基金、新基金、小規模基金、資淺經理人所操盤的基金特別明顯。 2.基金投資人對於季等短期績效的過分重視，是導致國內經理人操作風險調整幅度偏高的主要原因之一。 3.純粹誘因費契約以及只加上「上限條款」設計的契約，這兩種契約都無法抑制經理人冒高風險的傾向；而純粹誘因費契約加上「懲罰條款」的設計，有抑制經理人自利性調高操作風險行為的效果。 本研究成果的貢獻主要有兩點： 1.在政策應用上，本研究提出契約條款設計的理念，對於我國擬開放勞退等大型基金委託代客操作，雙方契約該如何設計以確保投資人的權益，有相當參考的價值，本研究同時也對投信公司、基金經理人等提出相關的制度性建議。 2.在理論推導上，本研究融合一般化均衡分析法與選擇權理論的應用，將不同型態的誘因費契約化成經理人向投資人所購買的歐式買權，標的資產為經理人所持投資組合的價值，履約價格為比較基準指數的價值，執行日期為一年期的績效評比，模型導証的重點是經理人所選擇投資組合的風險程度與該類比選擇權價值的關係。 / An important question for the contracting literature is the extent to which real behavior is driven by the financial incentives contained in compensation schemes. To address this issue, (1) we use the tournament concept as the framework, and focus on the competitive nature of mutual fund environments how to affect the managers' portfolio decision-making processes. (2) we also use the Black-Scholes option pricing model as the framework, and analyze the impact on the mutual fund managers' risk-manipulation behavior of a performance-based incentive plan. Given the asymmetric information financial markets, most investors of mutual funds can not measure the funds' risk without error, thus, agent-divergent behavior may potentially arise. In a tournament reward structure, the managers' rational attempting to maximize their expected compensation may revise the risk level or alter the composition of their portfolio during the assessment period. While there will be times when such changes don't serve the best interest of funds' investors. Our research demonstrates the following results: 1. An empirical investigation of 86 open-type mutual funds during 1995 to 1998 with the methods of test, t test and the Logistic regression shows fund managers with poor performance would become aggressive and tend to increase fund volatility in the latter part of an annual assessment period. The effect is obviously clear toward the end of the year and it is involved with the investors' myopic of the assessment to the managers' performances. 2. In our model, the bonus is similar to a call option on the funds' portfolio. Three types of incentive contracts are compared. The results show that the incentive contract with penalty can reduce managers to adversely alter the risk of the portfolio they manage. It dominates the pure incentive contract and only with a ceiling incentive contract. Questionnaires investigated by fund managers will support some hypothesis.