Most studies view transaction costs and constraints separate in the mean-variance framework. As such, I evaluate the benefits of holding and turnover constraints in the presence of transaction costs on Swedish Asset Returns. In theory, the benefits should be limited when transaction costs are included in the portfolio rebalancing problem. By using the model developed by Mitchell and Braun (2003), my results indicate that there are benefits of holding constraints in the mean-variance optimization. The main issue with the long-only portfolio is its lack of diversification. The strategy allocates the majority of the investment in 15 out of 100 assets. By imposing holding constraints, the portfolio becomes more diversified while reducing turnover volume and increasing Sharpe ratio. I find that the homogenous 1/N holding constraint increases monthly Sharpe ratio performance by 50 percent over the entire sample. However, the results are not consistent over all samples and not statistically significant. Further, turnover constraints only marginally increase performance, which more likely originates from the increase in diversification.

Three Essays on Stock Market Seasonality Hyung-Suk Choi 136 pages Directed by Dr. Cheol S. Eun In chapter 1, we examine seasonality in returns to style portfolios, which serve as important benchmarks for asset allocation, and investigate its implications for investment. In doing so, we consider monthly returns on the style portfolios classified by six size/book-to-market sorting and six size/prior-return sorting over the sample period 1927 - 2006. The key findings are: first, as is well documented in the literature, small-cap oriented portfolios are subject to the January effect, but also to the 'negative' September and October effects. Second, cross-style return dispersion exhibits a seasonal pattern of its own (it is largest in January and smallest in August), suggesting possibly profitable trading strategies. Third, our seasonal strategies indeed yield significant profits, as high as about 18.7 % per annum. This profit is mostly attributable to the seasonal autocorrelation in style returns. Lastly, we find substantial seasonal patterns in style returns not only in the U.S. but also in other major stock markets Germany, Japan, and the U.K. Our seasonal style rotation strategy yields economically and statistically significant profits in all of these stock markets. In chapter 2, we examine the abnormal, negative stock returns in September which have received little attention from academic researchers. We find that in most of the 18 developed stock markets the mean return in September is negative and in 15 countries it is significantly lower than the unconditional monthly mean return. This September effect has not weakened in the recent period. Further, the examinations of the various style portfolios in the US market show that the September effect is the most pervasive anomalous phenomenon that is not affected by size, book-to-market ratio, past performance, or industry. Our finding suggests that the forward looking nature of stock prices combined with the negative economic growth in the last quarter causes the September effect. Especially in the fall season when most investors become more risk averse, the stock prices reflect the future economic growth more than the rest of the year. Our investment strategy based on the September effect yields a higher mean return and a lower standard deviation than the buy-and-hold strategy. In chapter 3, we establish the presence of seasonality in the cash flows to the U.S. domestic mutual funds. January is the month with the highest net cash flows to equity funds and December is the month with the lowest net cash flows. The large net flows in January are attributed to the increased purchases, and the small net flows in December are due to the increased redemptions. Thus, the turn-of-the-year period is the time when most mutual fund investors make their investment decisions. We offer the possible sources for the seasonality in mutual funds flows.

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Bakgrund: Den effektiva marknadshypotesen är ett vida accepterat begrepp inom den finansiella sfären men trots sin centrala roll har den fått motstå mycket kritik. Ett flertal anomalier har identifierats vilka är en kritik till marknadens effektivitet. I takt med anomaliernas framväxt har intresset för investeringsstrategier ökat. Går det att generera en överavkastning genom en förbestämd strategi där marknadens ineffektivitet utnyttjas? Vi finner det därför av intresse att studera Greenblatts (2010) Magic Formula och om det är möjligt att generera en överavkastning genom att tillämpa investeringsstrategin. Syfte: Studien syfte är att analysera huruvida investeringsstrategin Magic Formula kan generera överavkastning jämfört med den globala aktiemarknaden samt om det föreligger några prestationsskillnader mellan de olika europeiska aktiemarknaderna. Vidare ämnar studien analysera hur ombalanseringsfrekvensen samt val av tidsperiod påverkar Magic Formula-portföljens avkastning. Metod: För att genomföra studien har en kvantitativ strategi med en deduktiv ansats använts. Det har genomförts en tidsserieundersökning där portföljer har konstruerats och analyserats baserat på dess avkastning och risk som statistiskt säkerställts genom parvisa t-test samt regressioner. Studien har genomförts på den europeiska marknaden under tidsperioden 2007-04-01 till 2017-04-01. Slutsats: Av 18 Magic Formula-portföljer presterar 14 portföljer sämre än jämförelseindex, sett till årliga medelavkastning samt total avkastning. Tre av de 14 portföljerna gav en signifikant lägre avkastning. Finanskrisen hade stor påverkan på resultaten. Exkluderas denna tidsperiod presterade endast 11 portföljer sämre, dock utan statistisk signifikans i resultaten. Studie har även funnit att en längre tidsperiod mellan ombalanseringarna tenderar att generera en högre avkastning. / Background: The efficient market hypothesis is a widely spread concept throughout the financial sphere, but despite of its central roll it have had to withstand a lot of criticism. Anomalies have been identified which are a criticism against the markets efficiency. The interest of investment strategies has grown as of the emergence of the anomalies. Is it possible to generate abnormal returns through a pre-determined strategy, where the market inefficiency is exploited? We therefore find it interesting to study Greenblatt’s (2010) Magic Formula and if it is possible to generate abnormal returns by implementing the investment strategy. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to analyze whether the investment strategy Magic Formula can generate abnormal returns compared with the global stock market, and if it is possible to identify any performance differences between the European stock markets. Furthermore, the study aims to analyze how the re-balancing frequency and the time period effects returns from the Magic Formula. Methodology: To implement the study we have used a quantitative strategy with a deductive design. We have implemented a time series analysis where portfolios have been constructed and analyzed based on its return and risk. The results have been statistically tested through pairwise t-tests and regressions. The study is conducted on the European market from 2007-04-01 to 2017-04-01. Conclusion: 14 of the 18 Magic Formula portfolios have performed worse than the benchmark, according to annual average return and total return. Three of the 14 portfolios have had a significant lower return. The financial crisis affected the results greatly. If we excluded this time period only 11 portfolios performed worse, however without statistical support behind the results. Our results also suggest that a less frequent re-balancing of the portfolio generates higher return than a more frequent re-balancing.

Magister Scientiae - MSc / Essentially this project report is a discussion of mathematical modelling in pension funds, presenting sections from Cairns, A.J.D., Blake, D., Dowd, K., Stochastic lifestyling: Optimal dynamic asset allocation for defined contribution pension plans, Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Volume 30, Issue 2006, Pages 843-877, with added details and background material in order to demonstrate the mathematical methods. In the investigation of the management of the investment portfolio, we only use one risky asset together with a bond and cash as other assets in a continuous time framework. The particular model is very much designed according to the members’ preference and then the funds are invested by the fund manager in the financial market. At the end, we are going to show various simulations of these models. Our methods include stochastic control for utility maximisation among others. The optimisation problem entails the optimal investment portfolio to maximise a certain power utility function. We use MATLAB and MAPLE programming languages to generate results in the form of graphs and tables. / South Africa

This diploma thesis is devoted to the topic of yield, risk and liquidity of investment possibilities. The thesis is divided into two parts, the theoretical and the practical one. The theoretical part is based on a thorough study of specialized literature. Attention is initially focused on the definition and the characteristics of investments, then the issue of the financial market and its segments is clarified. The following chapter discusses investment strategies and the creation of rational investment portfolios. The theoretical part concludes with the description of selected possibilities of individual and collective investment. The practical part of the thesis is initially focused on the characteristics of two different types of investors A and B and the creation of their individual risk profiles. This section is based on information gained from the unstructured interview with two independent investors. Eventually, the reader is familiarized with selected possibilities of collective investment and their assessment in terms of yield, risk and liquidity. This chapter is primarily processed by analysis of data obtained from the websites of selected investment companies. Data are processed through Microsoft Excel with the help of selected functions. The study results in recommendations of optimal investment strategies in form of the compilation and the assessment of several investment portfolios for both Investor A and Investor B.

Background: Unawareness of most students about how to save and increase their money and changes in global economic conditions create new opportunities and challenges in international business and investment field. Lack of interest from investment companies, banks, funds, estate sellers and rialtos to this interesting and growing group of people, where even bringing up future clients in this young adults can play a big role in future success of the company. Behavior of students and young people is poorly researched, though they often dispose large sums of their own and their parent’s money. Purpose: understand specifics of Russian and Swedish customers, clarify whether they are planning their finance or not, how are they included into rational income allocation process. Find out how illiteracy in financial sphere between exploring group of people affects the behavior of Swedish and Russian citizens towards planning and what are the main differences between this groups. Method: Content analysis Results and contribution: This thesis extends the higher educational literature in the field of personal finance planning by making a contribution to enrichment of knowledge and identification of the main trends in the behavior of young people. The differences between Russians and Swedes will help state governments to make their society more educated and rationale in choosing ways to invest and disburse money and companies from investing field to attract more clients and gain revenue. The new openings can provide a framework for further research.

This master thesis aims at creating automatic trading system, which consists of design, implementation, optimization and testing, on U.S stock market. The algorithm is based on trend identification using falling and rising price minimums and maximums over a certain time interval. Based on the identified trend, the algorithm places buy or sell orders on the stock exchange, which parameters are calculated using Keltner Channel and Stochastic Oscillator indicators.

This master's thesis focuses on the subject Management of free capital inside the cryptocurrency market. First, selected cryptocurrencies are briefly described. Subsequently, their historical data are analysed. Finally, based on these findings, an appropriate strategy for the chosen company is formulated.

The diploma thesis deals with the issues of a company´s investment strategy. The aim is to propose an investment portfolio that will meet the company requirements regardless of its field of business, efficiently utilize various financial instruments and, at the same time, meet the requirement of liquid money.