Bakgrund: Förutom avkastning och risk är likviditet en väsentlig faktor vid investeringsbeslut och enligt tidigare studier är småbolag mindre likvida än stora bolag. Däremot råder det ej konsensus angående hur sambandet mellan aktielikviditet och aktieavkastning ser ut. Vidare finner tidigare studier att det främst är småbolag som använder och gynnas av likviditetsgaranter. Däremot är det endast ett fåtal studier som analyserar likviditetsgaranternas påverkan på avkastning.  Syfte: Syftet med studien är att analysera sambandet mellan aktielikviditet och aktieavkastning samt huruvida användandet av likviditetsgaranter påverkar aktieavkastning.  Metod: Studien är utformad efter en kvantitativ metod och deduktiv ansats. För att uppnå studiens syfte har studien genomförts enligt två metoder; paneldata och eventstudie. Paneldata har använts för att analysera sambandet mellan aktielikviditet och aktieavkastning. Eventstudie har använts till att analysera huruvida abnormal avkastning uppstår efter att ett bolag ingått kontrakt med en likviditetsgarant.  Resultat: Studiens resultat visar att det finns ett positivt dubbelriktat samband mellan aktielikviditet och aktieavkastning. Däremot visar utfallet att avkastning påverkar likviditet i större utsträckning än vad likviditet påverkar avkastning. Vidare finner studiens resultat att kontraktering med en likviditetsgarant genererar positiv kumulativ abnormal avkastning på kort sikt. Utifrån resultatet går det att konstatera att marknaden omedelbart reagerar på ny information. / Background: In addition to risk and stock return, liquidity is an important factor for investment decisions, and according to previous studies, small corporations are less liquid than large corporations. However, there is no consensus regarding the relationship between share liquidity and share return. Furthermore, previous studies find that it is mainly small corporations that use and benefit from liquidity providers. However, there are only a few studies that analyze the impact of liquidity providers on return.  Purpose: The purpose of the study is to analyze the relationship between share liquidity and share return and whether the use of liquidity providers affect share returns.  Methodology: The study is designed using a quantitative method and a deductive approach. To achieve the purpose of the study, the study has been conducted according to two different methods, panel data and event study. The panel data has been used to analyze the relationship between share liquidity and share return. The event study has been used to analyze whether abnormal returns occur after a corporation enters into a contract with a liquidity provider.  Results: The results of this study indicate that there is a positive bidirectional relationship between share liquidity and share return. However, the outcome shows that return affects liquidity to a greater extent than liquidity affects return. Furthermore, the study finds that the use of a liquidity provider generates positive cumulative abnormal return in the short term. Based on the results, it is possible to conclude that the market immediately reacts to new information.

För bolag som är i behov av kapital är en vanlig väg att vända sig till aktiemarknaden. Genom att börsnotera bolaget på någon av de olika marknadsplatserna utökas möjligheterna till önskat kapital genom diverse investerare. Den svenska värdepappersmarknaden är en av de mest reglerade marknaderna och har traditionellt sett haft ett stort inslag av självreglering. Det dominerande motivet med den starka regleringen är att marknaderna ska upplevas ha en kvalitetsstämpel och att allmänhetens förtroende för värdepappersmarknaden ska upprätthållas. Samtidigt som antalet börsnoteringar har ökat de senaste åren var det vid utgången av 2014 endast 269 bolag som var noterade på den största marknaden, Stockholmsbörsen. Uppsatsen undersöker därför genom ett fiktivt företag motiv, fördelar och nackdelar med en börsnotering samt vad som krävs innan ett bolag kan bli noterat på Stockholmsbörsen. Vidare analyseras hur kraven fungerar samt vilka problem de eventuellt medför för bolaget.  Uppsatsen presenterar lagstiftning, självreglering och föreskrifter som bolaget måste uppfylla för att ges möjlighet till en notering på Stockholmsbörsen. Kraven som ställs på bolaget är av olika karaktär och omfattning med en övergripande inriktning på bolagets organisation och deras aktier. Noteringskraven kan sammanfattas att bolaget ska vara tillräckligt förberedda för en notering genom att vara organisatoriskt- och finansiellt starka. Om bolaget inte uppfyller kraven behöver de därför inom organisationen ändra sig vilket sker genom den noteringsprocess bolaget genomgår innan noteringen. Uppsatsen fastslår att en notering på Stockholmsbörsen således inte kan bli aktuell om en tillräcklig organisation eller finansiell styrka saknas. En börsnotering på Stockholmsbörsen är endast för starka aktörer, vilket ska upprätthålla allmänhetens förtroende för värdepappersmarknaden.

The standard concerning the impairment testing for goodwill is often considered to be one of the most difficult standards in IFRS to comply with, which is largely due to the subjective and complex nature of the standard. Despite, the obvious issues with the standard it has remained fairly unaltered since its implementation back in 2005. The purpose of this research was to investigate to what extent companies listed on NASDAQ OMX Stockholm comply with the disclosure requirements in IAS 36, paragraph 134. This research also intended to answer whether there is an association between the companies’ compliance level and certain company characteristics, more specifically company size, profitability, goodwill intensity and industry type. The study also considered how time affected the compliance level. We devised hypotheses for each of the company characteristics, and these were formulate with both previous research and theory in mind. The theories that were utilized in this study were the agency theory, the political cost theory and the cost-benefit theory. The hypotheses that lacked a concrete linkage to one of the theories were instead justified using the reasoning’s found in pre-existing disclosure studies. The necessary data was collected from companies’ annual reports, which we accessed from either Business Retriever or directly from the companies’ official websites. An own interpretation of IAS 36, paragraph 134 was made in order to able to assess each company on equal terms. The collected data was then transferred to a disclosure index in order to get a compliancy score for each company investigated. The empirical findings of this research showed that two out of five hypotheses were significantly associated with the companies’ compliance level. The analysis rejected hypotheses related to profitability, goodwill intensity and industry type. The findings however showed that both year and company size are associated with the compliance level. The positive association between compliance and year, implies that compliance increases as companies get more accustomed to the standard. The findings further suggest that larger companies comply better with standard because they are under more political pressure and more inclined to please their stakeholders.

This study investigated the relationship between audit independence and audit quality, which is measured by sanctions issued by Nasdaq Stockholm Exchange. Sanctions as a tool to measure audit quality is uncommon, this study is one of the first studies using this approach in Europe. The investigation was based on a sample size of 49 company-years, and a total of 16 unique companies that are or were listed on either Nasdaq Stockholm or Nasdaq First North between the years of 2008-2018. The study used a logistic regression model to investigate the relationship between the dependent and independent variables since the dependent variable was classified as a binary variable. Three different proxy variables were used to measure audit independence, Audit Tenure, Client Importance and Non-Audit Services. The study found indications about a negative relationship with each proxy variable, however the findings were not strong enough to be statistically significant, which led to the conclusion that this study did not find any association between sanctions and the chosen variables.

This diploma thesis discusses the comparison of following stock exchanges: Shanghai Stock Exchange, Hong Kong Exchanges, New York Stock Exchange and NASDAQ. History of each of the stock exchanges is briefly mentioned, as well as their fundamental characteristics (including company status, tradability of own shares, market segments, trading hours etc.). The thesis also deals with the specification and comparison of products traded on the money market on the individual stock exchanges. Moreover, there are compared the listing rules for the stocks. The last chapter is focused on the analysis of the exchange data. Stock exchanges are compared in terms of the market capitalization and in terms of the number of listed companies. The analysis of value of trading is also covered. Finally, the stock exchanges are compared with regards to one representative index.

Denna studie undersöker bakomliggande motiv till aktieåterköp på den svenska marknaden och hur marknaden reagerar vid annonseringen av utnyttjande av aktieåterköp. Utifrån 154 annonseringar mellan åren 2010-2017 identifieras tre bakomliggande motiv till aktieåterköp: Förse incitamentsprogram, förändring av kapitalstruktur/distribution av överskottslikviditet och tillhandahålla aktier för förvärv av företag eller annan egendom. Studien finner att 45% av annonseringarna hade incitamentsprogram som minst ett motiv, en ökning jämfört med perioden 2000- 2009 där siffran var 33%. Även den abnorma avkastningen vid annonseringen av utnyttjande av aktieåterköp undersöks genom en eventstudie. Resultaten visar en abnorm avkastning vid annonseringstillfället på 1,341%, utan hänsyn till bakomliggande motiv. Med hänsyn till bakomliggande motiv vid annonseringen uppmätts en abnorm avkastning på 1,5% för kapitalstruktur/distribution av överskottslikviditet, 1,332% för förvärv av företag eller annan egendom och 0,915% för incitamentsprogram.

This paper examines the stock performance around initiation announcements of open market share repurchase programs, the price impact of repurchase trading and the long-run abnormal stock performance following the initiation announcements in a European regulatory framework. The study uses a unique dataset on initiation announcements and actual repurchases conducted by firms listed on the Stockholm Stock Exchange during the period 2000-2009. The results show that initiation announcements of open market repurchase programs exhibit a two-day abnormal return of approximately 2%. The price impact on the actual repurchase days is positively correlated with the daily repurchase volume, and is both statistically and economically significant during the first 3 repurchase days in a repurchase program. The long-run abnormal stock performance is positively associated with the fraction of shares bought in the program and is approximately 7% the first year following the initiation announcement. The results indicate that repurchase trading provides price support and that the market participants detect and perceive the initiation announcement and the first repurchase days in a repurchase program as a signal of undervaluation. / <p>QC 20130515</p>

We examine differences in market performance of Swedish firms that initiate repurchase programs infrequently (1-2 programs), occasionally (3-4 programs) and frequently (5 or more programs) over the period 2000-2009, and examine the relationship between abnormal return and repurchase size in repurchase months. We find that infrequent repurchase programs are greeted with a stronger positive reaction than occasional and frequent programs. However, over long term, infrequent repurchase programs show no abnormal return while occasional and frequent repurchase programs show a significant positive abnormal return. A positive relationship between abnormal return and repurchase size in repurchase months is documented on average for all types of repurchase programs. / <p>QC 20130515</p>

We examine the market liquidity impact of open market share repurchases in a computerized order driven market. Using a detailed dataset of daily repurchase transactions on the Stockholm Stock Exchange together with intraday data on bid-ask spreads and order depths enable us to examine liquidity effects on the actual repurchase days. Overall, we find that repurchase trades inside the order driven trading system contributes to market liquidity through narrower bid-ask spreads and deeper market depths. After controlling for total trading volume, price, and volatility we still find a significant decrease of the bid-ask spread on repurchase days relative to surrounding non-repurchase days. However, repurchases executed as block trades outside the order driven trading system have a detrimental effect on the bid-ask spread, consistent with a negative response to the presence of informed managerial trading. / <p>QC 20130515</p>

With contribution of Modigliani and Miller in 1958, capital structure has attained animportant place in finance field. The path breaking contribution has stimulated subsequentresearchers to put emphasis on this topic. Therefore, other theories and researches have beenrevealed and many aspects have been included to capital structure studies so far. However, it has always been controversial topic and the consensus has not been reached yet. Nevertheless,there are many important theories and hypotheses, which explain and investigate this topicvery well such as agency cost theory, trade-off theory, pecking order theory, signalling theory,efficiency-risk hypothesis and franchise-value hypothesis. When we reviewed the literature and extended our understanding of these theories andhypotheses, we found that the relationship between capital structure and firm performance isinteresting aspect and worthwhile to research. Therefore, we started an extensive literaturereview and found a research gap, which is the relationship between capital structure and afirm's financial performance from the perspective of capital structure theories in the Swedishcontext during the period 2002-2011. Since researchers investigate the relationship betweencapital structure and firm performance in many different countries and there is nothing in theSwedish context, we thus decided to write the thesis about it. Accordingly, our study began with discussing the problem background. We also stated theresearch question, the objectives, and the expected contribution to clarify the scope ofresearch. After that, we present the existing theories regarding capital structure and providetheir interplay with firm performance. After we constituted research question and reviewed literature, we knew what kind of data weneeded to utilize. Therefore, we started to search the best database provider for our study. Asa result, we decided on using Thomson Reuter’s database, DataStream. The study sampleincluded 174 non-financial Swedish firms listed on Nasdaq OMX (Stockholm StockExchange). We used ordinary least squares regression analysis over a period of ten years from2002 to 2011. After we collected the data, we imported it to SPSS and ran regression anddescriptive analysis. According to our empirical findings and analysis, we identify that there is a significantnegative relationship between capital structure and firm performance of listed Swedish firms.In other words, the financial performance of Swedish listed firms for the past decade isnegatively influenced by its leverage ratio. In practical terms, the more debt in relation toassets that firm takes in to finance its operations, the worse does the firm perform financially.When we elaborated our investigation and looked at each industry, we found no differencefrom the general results when dividing the Swedish firms into four major industry categories.However, health care industry has a different relationship. With this study, we provide further evidence about the interplay between capital structure andfinancial performance and make a contribution both to theory regarding capital structure andfinancial performance as well as giving practical insight for Swedish CFO’s and CEO’s.