Gold has traditionally been a highly· prized metal, .stored for value and used in the manufacture of ornaments and jewellery; its use dates as far back as the Ancient Egyptians. Since August 1971, however when the dollar/gold convertibility was officially terminated, the price of gold bullion has become very volatile, but has also increased so rapidly that the attractive profits that were attainable in the gold bullion and gold share markets attracted many speculators. The volatile gold price over this period, however, has also been the cause of many lost fortunes. The following quotation extracted from the Supplement to the Financial Mail (May 30, 1980) emphasizes this point with--some cynicism.

MCom (Research) , Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, University of the Witwatersrand, 2007 / The purpose of this dissertation is to motivate, construct and test the suitability of the Fama and French (1993) three-factor model in pricing equities listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. Before this can be achieved, however, the existence of the size and the value effects needs to be established, and their resistance to risk adjustment with traditional asset pricing models needs to be ascertained. Once, these two empirical facts are documented, the three-factor model is built and tested. Results of Fama and French (1992) can be replicated on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange in that a firm‟s size and its value-growth indicator have reliable power to forecast stock returns. However, the value effect and, in particular, the size effect, attenuate after market microstructure is controlled for. Both effects are found to be independent of one another and the book-to-market ratio is found to be the best value-growth indicator. The static CAPM and an APT variant cannot explain the size and the value effects. This result is robust to time-series and cross-sectional tests. The three factor model of Fama and French (1993), and its variant, are constructed. The models can capture a substantial amount of time-series variation in most assets. When applied to the size and book-to-market sorted portfolios, they are not rejected in the vast majority of asset pricing tests. In tests on ungrouped data, the three factor model can explain the value effect, but not the size effect. However, in cross-sectional tests that use the size and book-to-market sorted portfolios as well as industry portfolios, the pricing errors of the three factor model are not substantially different from the ones obtained from the static CAPM.

M.Com. (Financial Management) / Researchers are not satisfied with models that explain share price variations based on net present value analysis. To overcome the traditional problems of net present value analysis, intrinsic bubbles and the dividend price ratio were investigated to explain share price volatility. An index derived from dividend paying shares listed on the Johannesburg Securities Exchange Limited (JSE Ltd) for the period January 2000 to December 2010 was investigated. This investigation was based on Froot and Obstfeld’s (1991) Intrinsic Bubbles model. The null hypothesis of no intrinsic bubbles was not rejected. The findings infer that share prices were not only driven by fundamentals, implying the presence of intrinsic bubbles. This is consistent with the findings of Brooks, Nneji and Ward (2011) after applying the same methodology on the US housing market. The researcher’s aim was to provide a better clarification on whether changes in fundamentals are suitable to predict share prices, but results were inconclusive in this regard. The results indicate that fundamentals account for 80.1% of share price movements.

This study investigates the relationship between algorithmic trading and a change in market structure. Furthermore, the study aims to determine if there is a relationship between algorithmic trading and the liquidity of the JSE. The level of algorithmic trading is measured through an algorithmic trading proxy based on current academic theory. The results illustrate that there is a strong statistical relationship between the AT proxy and a change in market structure. The relationship between algorithmic trading and the liquidity of JSE is measured via four specific low-frequency measures: the stock turnover ratio, the proportional bid ask spread, the price impact ratio, and the zero return measure. Each liquidity measure is able to quantify a specific component of liquidity. Each liquidity measure was regressed against the algorithmic trading proxy. The results attained were mixed, with only two of the four measures producing statistically significant relationships. The results seem to indicate that the increase in algorithmic activity has resulted in a reduction of the price impact effect; however, a parallel increase in volatility was observed. An increase in the zero return measure was observed, which indicates that AT increases the efficiency of trading by reducing trading costs, and gathering information at a faster rate. The findings of this study may indicate that liquidity has improved, but has done so with a repercussion of an increase in volatility. Certain regulatory policy adjustments may be required to curb volatility while maintaining the heightened level of liquidity. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / zkgibs2014 / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / MBA / Unrestricted

M.Com. (Financial Management) / Electronic trading systems are increasingly implemented by stock exchanges instead of maintaining the traditional floor trading system. This study uses the Historical case study method to examine original minute book volumes from the archives of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE). The purpose of the study is to identify and examine the antecedents and consequences of the shift to an electronic trading system in the case of the JSE from 1989 to 2000. The study also produces an accurate historical account of the process that the JSE underwent to implement an electronic trading system, for use in further studies concerning the shift from floor to electronic trading. The main antecedents identified in the study were the JSE’s need to automate menial tasks; the need for increased trading capacity; the need for proper information dissemination; the need to dematerialise physical share certificates; international trends with regard to electronic trading; the T + 3 clearing and settlement standard; the establishment of South Africa’s National Payment System; legislative changes to the Securities Exchange Control Act; the need for market liquidity; and the need for investor protection. The main consequences of the abolishment of the floor trading system in favour of the electronic trading system were examined and grouped in four categories, namely the consequences for society, the consequences for the operation of the stock market, the consequences for the liquidity of the market, and the consequences for investor protection. The results of this study could be used as a foundation for a follow-up study to measure the effects of electronic trading implementation on the liquidity and efficiency of a stock market.

Research report to the SBL, Unisa, Midrand. / The research project aimed to establish whether corporate governance is important to investors from a value perspective. The implications and recommendations for further research were provided.

Background: Sustainable development is the buzzword of the decade, yet developing countries struggle to comply with environmental guidelines. A study was done to determine the possibility of financial gain by means of share price prosperity as a result of compliance with environmental accounting principles. Objective: To investigate the relationship between the commitment to environmental accounting principles and the share price of Main Board listed companies on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. Design: A quantitative, cross-sectional design with descriptive, explanatory and contextual elements was undertaken. Setting and Sample: An all-inclusive sample of the announcements of the Main Board listed companies of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange between 1 June 2008 and 1 June 2013 was used, as well as a stratified random sample of 32 companies – 16 as listed on the SRI Index and 16 not. Measurements: Data related to compliance with environmental accounting principles were correlated with share price fluctuations of Main Board listed companies. T-tests were done to determine whether a correlation exists between compliance with environmental accounting principles and fluctuations in share price. Results: 56 instances of upward trends and 80 instances of downward trends after one month followed announcements that included compliance to environmental accounting principles (one constant and one unknown). 52 instances of upward trends and 54 instances of downward trends after one year followed these announcements (30 unknown). 48 out of 336 listed companies (14%) announce environmental accounting principle compliance with their shareholders. More announcements referring to environmental accounting compliance were posted in 2012 and 2013 (n = 17 and n = 22 averaged for six months) compared to those in 2008 to 2011 (n = 9; n = 15; n = 14 and n = 15 averaged for six months). 56% of companies complying with environmental accounting principles are from the mining industry. 39.19% of principles complied with was within the diverse principle division. P-values derived from t-tests done to investigate correlations between share price and compliance with environmental accounting principles on various levels all revealed P-values of more than 0.25. Conclusions: No statistically significant correlation could be made between compliance with environmental accounting principles and fluctuations in share price. There is low divulgence of compliance practices to shareholders from mentioned companies. An upward trend for compliance with environmental accounting principles is noted during the past five years. The mining industry showed the greatest compliance with these principles when judged according to divulgence of compliance by means of announcements to their shareholders as well as when judged according to stance on the SRI Index. / MBA, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

Research report to the SBL, Unisa, Midrand. / The research project aimed to establish whether corporate governance is important to investors from a value perspective. The implications and recommendations for further research were provided.

Thesis (M.Com. (Finance))--University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, School of Economic and Business Sciences, 2016 / This study aims to investigate the presence of the low market risk (beta) anomaly in the Johannesburg Stock Market (JSE). Finance theory suggests that with higher return comes higher risk. However, several studies have reported evidence of low risk anomaly in global markets where portfolios containing low beta shares delivers superior risk adjusted returns compared to market index and high beta shares' portfolio. This study will explore various risk return relationships on the JSE and test a variety of potential explanations of the anomalous behaviour of the low beta premium. Three explanations have been identified as potential factors that contribute to the persistence of the Low Beta Anomaly. These include; Net International Equity flows (NIEF), Idiosyncratic Risk and Market Concentration. The results are consistent with international literature indicating a persistent Low Beta Anomaly on the JSE. However, the results also indicate that in periods of turmoil, high beta shares outperform low beta shares i.e. during the Global Financial Crisis. Although some significant relationships are found between the low minus high beta differential and NIEF. NIEF is unable to suitably explain the anomaly. Idiosyncratic risk results are mixed depending on the model used to calculate the idiosyncratic risk estimates. Despite being a significant issue on the JSE, Market concentration does not explain the Low Beta Anomaly. As the superior performance of the low beta portfolios remains once the portfolios returns have been adjusted for the different variables however magnitude ofthe outperformance ofthe low beta portfolio was to a lesser degree. / AC2016

Student Number : 0300191P - PhD thesis - School of Accountancy - Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management / The main objective of the study has been to provide new insights into ongoing recent studies examining the impact of stock market liberalization at both macro and micro (firm) levels. The study focused on a single country, South Africa, whose exchange, the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE), liberalized in the 1990s. Consistent with empirical evidence from other studies the study finds support at market, firm and sectoral level for the prediction by international asset pricing models that stock market liberalization reduces the cost of capital. More important, the study makes five major contributions to the literature on the impact of stock market liberalization in emerging markets. First, it demonstrates that some emerging market specific risks such as political and economic risks can act stronger binding constraints to foreign investment than direct legal barriers which foreign investors are frequently able to circumvent. The second contribution is the observation that there are some firms (in the minority however) that will experience a significant increase in the cost of capital following liberalization, a situation where the local price of risk is higher than the global price of risk, contrary to international asset pricing theory. The third contribution is that it has been empirically proved that the reduction in firms’ cost of capital following stock market liberalization is permanent. It is not a transitory phenomenon. The fourth contribution of the study highlights the influence of firm specific characteristics such as size of the firm, book-to-market ratios and leverage ratios on firms’ response to impact of stock market liberalization. The preference for large firms by foreign investors is supported, contrary to Merton’s (1987) recognition hypothesis, and hence highlights the inconclusiveness of the debate on whether stock market liberalization benefits both large firms and small firms. The fifth contribution is the observation that the effective liberalization date is not the same for all firms but varies from firm to firm.