Bakgrund: Utbredningen av dolda indexfonder har visat sig starkt relaterat till ett lands regelverk och avsaknad av konkurrens på fondmarknaden i form av uttalade indexfonder (Cremers et al. 2013). Då Sverige är ett av de länder som placerar sig i topp vad gäller utbredning av dolda indexfonder (Cremerset al. 2013), är detta remarkabelt med tanke på att Sverige har ett effektivt och välfungerande juridisktsystem (Heritage Foundation 2016). Detta har föranlett oss att undersöka förekomsten av doldaindexfonder i Sverige, samt identifiera och analysera möjliga orsaker till val av aktivitetsgrad utifrånsåväl yttre som inre faktorer. Syfte: Uppsatsen syfte är att med anledning av att det framkommit att dolda indexfonder är vanligt förekommande på den svenska fondmarknaden, undersöka aktivitetsgraden i svenska aktiefonder, samt identifiera och analysera möjliga orsaker till val av aktivitetsgrad. Genomförande: Studien genomförs med ett kvantitativt angreppssätt för att möjliggöra ett statistiskt säkerställt resultat kring aktiviteten på den svenska fondmarknaden. Aktivitetsgraden på den svenskafondmarknaden mäts, genom active share, för att sedan ligga till grund för tester angående hur olika karaktärsdrag påverkar en fonds aktivitet. Avslutningsvis undersöks hur studiens resultat kan kopplas till de spelregler som gäller på den svenska fondmarknaden. Slutsats: Studiens resultat visar på att drygt hälften, 52 %, av de påstått aktivt förvaltade fonderna under mätperioden 2005-2015, i själva verket är att betrakta som dolda indexfonder. Resultatet visar dock också på att det under mätperioden skett en kraftig förbättring av fonders aktivitetsgrad, samt att fler fonder förvaltas aktivt på den svenska marknaden. Fondens inriktning, såväl som om fonden är förvaltad av en storbank, har en signifikant negativ påverkan på fondens aktivitet. Det kan till stor del förklaras av att rådande regelverk och den svenska aktiemarknadens storlek, indirekt uppmuntrar fonder till en lägre aktivitetsgrad. / Background: The existence of closet index funds has been shown highly correlated to regulations andcompetition of explicit index funds on a market (Cremers et al. 2013). Despite its strong regulations andpresence of explicit index funds, studies have shown that Sweden has a high amount of closet indexfunds. This fact has led to our interest in examining the presence of closet index funds on the Swedish market, and to try to identify and analyze potential characteristics of a fund that affect its choice ofactivity rate. Aim: The aim of the study is, by reason of the proven high presence of closet index funds on the Swedish market, to examine the activity rate within the funds, and to identify and analyze potential characteristics that affects it. Completion: The study is conducted through quantitative research. The activity rate of the fund marketis measured through active share and then analyzed for how different characteristics influence the funds activity rate. Eventually the results of the study are being analyzed for if and how they are concatenated to the rules of the Swedish fund market. Conclusion: The result of the study shows that 52 % of the predicated actively managed funds were actually proven to be closet index funds. However, the result also shows that the degree of active share has generally risen, and that more funds are being actively managed in Sweden. The alignment of the fund, as well as if the fund is managed by a major bank, are proven to have a significant negative impactof the activity of the fund. This negative relationship is largely linked to the regulations as well as the size of the Swedish stock market, which creates incentives for low activity of the funds.

O presente estudo examina, sob o enfoque do Direito Brasileiro, a captação de recursos por empresas viáveis em crise, durante o processo de recuperação judicial, por meio do mercado de capitais, especificamente com a cessão de direitos creditórios a Fundos de Investimento em Direitos Creditórios. Em alguns casos, os FIDCs podem consistir em uma alternativa constante de captação de recursos, a custos consideravelmente menores que os praticados por instituições financeiras. Todavia, muitos cuidados e precauções devem ser tomados nas cessões de créditos a FIDCs, a fim de garantir segurança e transparência aos investidores e aos credores das empresas em recuperação. / This research examines, from the Brazilian Law focus, the fund-raising for viable Companies in crisis, during the judiciary reorganization procedure, through the capital markets, specifically with the assignment of receivables to Receivables Funds. In some cases, these investment funds may consist of an usual-recurrent alternative, with considerably lower costs than those charged by financial institutions. However, many precautions should be taken in the FIDCs credit assignments in order to ensure safety and transparency to investors and companies creditors.

Bank-managed equity funds are not inferior to their non-bank counterparts. Previous research reporting relative underperformance of bank-managed funds ignored their differing fiduciary standards. To evaluate bank and non-bank funds facing similar fiduciary responsibilities, domestic retail funds approved for Singapore’s Central Provident Fund Investment Scheme were examined, as they meet the same standard for managing social security savings. Returns from these funds correlate highly with market performance. Even though these fund returns exceeded guaranteed interest rates, they did not outperform their market index.With financial market deregulation in Southeast Asia, local banks in small economies withstand erosion of business by foreign competitors. Banks, in order to increase profits, compete with local as well as foreign insurance and investment companies by offering mutual fund products. To remain competitive, banks need to shed their reputation for not being able to generate impressive fund returns, as their funds are not inferior to those from insurance and investment companies in terms of assets under management, expenditures, returns and risk. To gain competitive advantage, banks can differentiate their fund characteristics and reduce portfolio management costs.Mutual fund characteristics can affect expected returns or transaction costs. Factors affecting expected returns include asset allocation and systematic risk, while transaction costs include explicit and implicit ones, which can be measured by expense ratios and size of funds respectively. Insignificance of transaction cost determinants in affecting actual returns can be attributable to dominance of factors affecting expected returns.

Bank-managed equity funds are not inferior to their non-bank counterparts. Previous research reporting relative underperformance of bank-managed funds ignored their differing fiduciary standards. To evaluate bank and non-bank funds facing similar fiduciary responsibilities, domestic retail funds approved for Singapore’s Central Provident Fund Investment Scheme were examined, as they meet the same standard for managing social security savings. Returns from these funds correlate highly with market performance. Even though these fund returns exceeded guaranteed interest rates, they did not outperform their market index.With financial market deregulation in Southeast Asia, local banks in small economies withstand erosion of business by foreign competitors. Banks, in order to increase profits, compete with local as well as foreign insurance and investment companies by offering mutual fund products. To remain competitive, banks need to shed their reputation for not being able to generate impressive fund returns, as their funds are not inferior to those from insurance and investment companies in terms of assets under management, expenditures, returns and risk. To gain competitive advantage, banks can differentiate their fund characteristics and reduce portfolio management costs.Mutual fund characteristics can affect expected returns or transaction costs. Factors affecting expected returns include asset allocation and systematic risk, while transaction costs include explicit and implicit ones, which can be measured by expense ratios and size of funds respectively. Insignificance of transaction cost determinants in affecting actual returns can be attributable to dominance of factors affecting expected returns.

Bank-managed equity funds are not inferior to their non-bank counterparts. Previous research reporting relative underperformance of bank-managed funds ignored their differing fiduciary standards. To evaluate bank and non-bank funds facing similar fiduciary responsibilities, domestic retail funds approved for Singapore’s Central Provident Fund Investment Scheme were examined, as they meet the same standard for managing social security savings. Returns from these funds correlate highly with market performance. Even though these fund returns exceeded guaranteed interest rates, they did not outperform their market index.With financial market deregulation in Southeast Asia, local banks in small economies withstand erosion of business by foreign competitors. Banks, in order to increase profits, compete with local as well as foreign insurance and investment companies by offering mutual fund products. To remain competitive, banks need to shed their reputation for not being able to generate impressive fund returns, as their funds are not inferior to those from insurance and investment companies in terms of assets under management, expenditures, returns and risk. To gain competitive advantage, banks can differentiate their fund characteristics and reduce portfolio management costs.Mutual fund characteristics can affect expected returns or transaction costs. Factors affecting expected returns include asset allocation and systematic risk, while transaction costs include explicit and implicit ones, which can be measured by expense ratios and size of funds respectively. Insignificance of transaction cost determinants in affecting actual returns can be attributable to dominance of factors affecting expected returns.

Title from first page of PDF document. Includes bibliographical references (p. 35-39).

O presente estudo examina, sob o enfoque do Direito Brasileiro, a captação de recursos por empresas viáveis em crise, durante o processo de recuperação judicial, por meio do mercado de capitais, especificamente com a cessão de direitos creditórios a Fundos de Investimento em Direitos Creditórios. Em alguns casos, os FIDCs podem consistir em uma alternativa constante de captação de recursos, a custos consideravelmente menores que os praticados por instituições financeiras. Todavia, muitos cuidados e precauções devem ser tomados nas cessões de créditos a FIDCs, a fim de garantir segurança e transparência aos investidores e aos credores das empresas em recuperação. / This research examines, from the Brazilian Law focus, the fund-raising for viable Companies in crisis, during the judiciary reorganization procedure, through the capital markets, specifically with the assignment of receivables to Receivables Funds. In some cases, these investment funds may consist of an usual-recurrent alternative, with considerably lower costs than those charged by financial institutions. However, many precautions should be taken in the FIDCs credit assignments in order to ensure safety and transparency to investors and companies creditors.

本研究探討投資者在低利率時代下是否存在追逐股票收益型基金之現象及投資者所投入至股票收益型基金之資金在未來一年中是否能夠擁有較佳之績效。本研究利用美國國內股票型共同基金市場資料進行實證研究，發現股票收益型基金在利率較低時將出現較大之資金淨流入，高成長型基金則在利率越低時，將出現較大之資金淨流出。因此，本研究推論投資者在利率較低時存在追逐股票收益型共同基金之行為。此外，本研究結果亦顯示利率越低時，投資者所投入至股票收益型基金之資金在未來一年將有較高之報酬。總結而言，投資者確實在低利率時代會採行投資於股票收益型基金之策略，且利率越低時能夠從中獲得較高報酬。 / The main purpose of this study is to examine whether equity income funds can generate more fund flows from investors during the low interest rate period and whether these equity income funds with more fund flows can obtain better future performance. Empirical results show that, during the low interest rate period, equity income funds enjoy higher fund inflows, while high growth funds suffer from redemption. This indicates that investors tend to pursue equity income funds rather than high growth funds when the interest rate is low. Furthermore, this study finds that equity income funds which attract more fund flows can have better future performance when interest rates are lower.

[pt] O objetivo deste trabalho é analisar a eficiência na precificação de três dos Exchange-Traded Funds brasileiros mais líquidos (BOVA11, SMAL11 e PIBB11), buscando determinar se eles seguem com bastante proximidade os índices que procuram replicar, comparando com o que é observado na literatura internacional no que diz respeito ao desempenho de ETFs estrangeiros. Inicialmente verificou-se a estratégia de replicação adotada, bem como a qualidade dessa replicação a partir da avaliação do tracking error observado nesses fundos. Em seguida buscou-se avaliar se há algum desvio na precificação entre o preço de negociação e o valor patrimonial líquido (NAV) do respectivo ETF, ou seja, se o ativo está sendo negociado, na média, com prêmio ou desconto. Por fim, foi analisada a persistência dos prêmios ou descontos encontrados, isto é, quanto tempo leva até o preço de mercado e o NAV voltarem ao equilíbrio. Os resultados encontrados mostram que os fundos BOVA11 e PIBB11 adotam uma estratégia de full replication, enquanto o SMAL11 apresenta uma estratégia de otimização. O tracking error encontrado está em linha com aqueles observados em ETFs europeus e os três fundos estudados são negociados, na média, com desconto. Finalmente, tanto BOVA11 e PIBB11 levam sete dias para voltarem ao equilíbrio, bastante acima da média observada na literatura internacional, enquanto o SMAL11 leva apenas dois dias para isso, o que é inesperado já que é o fundo menos líquido dentre os analisados. Os resultados indicam que as ferramentas de arbitragem não estão sendo utilizadas de maneira eficiente. / [en] The objective of this study is to analyze the pricing efficiency of three of the most liquid brazilian Exchange-Traded Funds (BOVA11, SMAL11 and PIBB11) and determine if they follow closely the indexes they try to replicate, comparing with the international literature regarding the foreign ETFs performance. Firstly, this study verifies which strategy is adopted by each fund, as well as the quality of this replication by evaluating the tracking error observed in these funds. Then it is analyzed if there is any deviation between the trading price and the net asset value (NAV) of the respective ETF, that is, if the security is being traded, on average, with a premium or discount. Finally, it is evaluated the persistence of those premiums and discounts found, that is, how much time it takes until the trading price and the NAV go back to equilibrium. The results showed that both BOVA11 and PIBB11 adopt a full replication strategy, while SMAL11 presents an optimization strategy. The tracking error found is in line with those observed in European ETFs and the three funds are traded, on average, with a discount. Finally, both BOVA11 and PIBB11 take seven days to go back to equilibrium, while SMAL11 only takes two days, an unexpected result as this is the least liquid fund of the three that are part of this study. Therefore, the arbitrage tools are not being used efficiently.

This dissertation studies underfunding in defined benefit (DB) pension plans and firms' contribution behavior, 401(k) plan participant investments in lifecycle funds under plan sponsors' initiative, and fund commonalities within mutual fund families. Responding to the recent decline in DB pension funding, firms have increased pension contributions to their underfunded plans. In the first essay I empirically examine firms' contribution behavior to underfunded DB plans and funding choice for pension contributions. I find that firms reveal different sensitivities of pension contributions to underfunding across aggregate funding levels. Furthermore, at a lower funding level firms have the greater sensitivity of pension contributions to underfunding and significantly utilize the tax deductibility of pension contributions. As for a funding choice to fund pension deficits, firms use debt financing at a low funding level, but utilize internal funding by decreasing capital expenditures at a lower funding level. Firms that use the debt financing are likely to have investment-grade credit ratings or high debt leverage, while firms that use the internal funding are likely to be high-levered ones. Recently lifecycle funds have rapidly grown in self-directed retirement plans. Despite the increasing popularity among plan sponsors and participants, there are few empirical studies on lifecycle funds. In the second essay, I examine the recent lifecycle fund adoption behavior of 401(k) plan participants from 2004 to 2006. I find that the likelihood of participants changing an investment strategy to adopt lifecycle funds is not significantly affected by participant demographic characteristics, but by participant account and plan design features. This study extends our understanding of 401(k) plan participants' investment behavior by finding (1) that the substitution of lifecycle funds for balanced funds, as well as the designation of lifecycle funds as a plan default, strongly affect participants' investments in lifecycle funds and (2) that balanced fund holdings of participants are negatively associated with their lifecycle fund investments. Mutual funds account for a significant portion of household financial assets and retirement assets. An understanding of characteristics of mutual funds is crucial to fund investors--especially those whose retirement nest eggs are in mutual funds. In the final essay, I examine the impacts of fund commonalities within mutual fund families on fund characteristics in terms of return residual correlations and fund operating expenses. As fund commonalities within a fund family, I focus on common stock holdings and common management of funds. I find that common stock holdings and an existence of a common manager of funds are positively related to return residual correlations, but negatively related to fund operating expenses. This finding suggests that when investors select low-cost equity funds within a family, they should be aware that there exists an investment risk that the fund commonalities that lower fund operating expenses may additionally increase return correlations of the funds. / Business Administration