In this paper, we explore drivers and mitigators of agency conflicts inherent in the fund manager-fund investor relationship through the lens of the principal-agent model. By engaging in abductive qualitative research, we apply both deductive and inductive inquiry to complement and extend previous literature with insights from parties directly involved in the Swedish mutual fund market. Hence, data is collected from eight semi-structured interviews with four senior fund managers, three institutional investors and one fund investment association, all operating in Sweden. The results of the study show that agency conflicts and mitigators found in previous studied principal-agent settings are also in large part found in the fund manager-fund investor setting in Sweden. However, this study has extended previous research by generating knowledge about drivers and mitigators of agency conflict found in the real world, which have been left unexplored in previous studies.

[pt] Esse trabalho investiga o comportamento dos investidores na seleção de fundos de investimento em ações. A base analisada é formada pelos fundos de ações disponíveis no mercado brasileiro entre 2005 e 2018. Nesse período, há uma expansão do mercado, medido tanto em termos do patrimônio total sob gestão quanto em termos de fundos disponíveis, acompanhada por uma redução gradual das taxas de administração médias praticadas. Em linha com a literatura existente, os dados sugerem que os fluxos de captação dos fundos são sensíve à performance passada. Os dados sugerem também que a captação dos fundos geridos por empresas que atuam exclusivamente na atividade de gestão de fundos é inferior à de fundos geridos por instituições financeiras que atuam também em outras atividades financeiras. / [en] This dissertation investigates the behavior of investors when selecting equity mutual funds. The database is comprised of available equity mutual funds in the Brazilian market between 2005 and 2018. During this period, there was a market expansion, measured in terms of total assets under management as well as number of available funds, as well as a gradual decrease in average fees. In agreement with existing literature, the data suggests that inflows are correlated with past performance. The data also suggests that inflows into funds managed by firms that offer fund management services only is lower than inflows into funds managed by firms that offer a broader array of financial services.

Conscious customers and the threat of regulations have compelled capital markets around the world to increase their sustainability focus. Today, a fund manager must know how to measure and communicate the sustainability of her fund’s portfolio, which raises the question of how such measurement should be designed? By interviewing decision makers at one of Sweden’s major fund management firms and examining existing sustainability metrics, we identify the key features practitioners want from a sustainability measurement and discuss how existing metrics relate to this. We find that there is an increased need for: (i) capturing the positive contributions the companies in the portfolio have towards a sustainable development, (ii) including each company’s internal capabilities, which reflects important information about the likelihood of future contributions, (iii) relevant peer groups in order to understand the context of a company’s score, and (iv) understanding that sustainability is not a one dimensional issue and therefore should not be treated as one. To meet this need, we argue that the emerging group of metrics based on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals could be used as a complement to the currently used risk-focused sustainability metrics. / Medvetna konsumenter och förväntade regleringar har tvingat kapitalmarknader runt om i världen att öka sitt hållbarhetsfokus. Idag ställs det krav på fondförvaltare att mäta och kommunicera sina fonders hållbarhet, vilket ger följdfrågan, hur ska ett sådant hållbarhetsmått vara konstruerat? Genom intervjuer med beslutsfattare på ett av Sveriges ledande fondbolag och en genomgång av befintliga hållbarhetsmått, har vi identifierat några nyckelfaktorer som de vill att ett hållbarhetsmått ska bestå av samt fört en diskussion kring hur de befintliga mätvärdena relaterar till dem. Vi finner ett ökat behov av: (i) att mäta de positiva effekterna ett företag har mot en hållbar utveckling, (ii) inkludering av företagets hållbarhetspotential, vilket påverkar sannolikheten för framtida bidrag, (iii) relevanta jämförelsegrupper för att kunna förstå ett företags bidrag, och (iv) ökad förståelse för att hållbarhet inte är ett endimensionellt problem och därför inte ska hanteras som ett sådant. För att uppnå detta argumenterar vi för att mätvärden baserade på Förenta Nationernas `Sustainable Development Goals' kan användas som ett komplement till de riskfokuserade hållbarhetsmått som används i hög utsträckning idag.

[pt] Este estudo objetiva mostrar, mediante ao grande número de oferta de fundos de investimentos, a dificuldade do investidor em escolher um bom fundo, mesmo com o argumento largamente utilizado de que fundos de taxas de administração alta, por terem gestão ativa, entregam melhores resultados. Para isso, ordenou-se a totalidade dos fundos, ou seja, mais de 2.000 fundos de investimentos das classes de renda fixa, ações e multimercados em quadrantes de alta e baixa taxa de administração versus alto e baixo desempenho por diferentes intervalos. Os resultados reforçam o quão é difícil a escolha e ter taxa de administração alta não infere em resultados melhores. / [en] This study aims to show, through the large number of investment funds, how difficult is to choose a good fund, even with the widely used argument that funds with high management fees deliver better results, due to their active management. For this, all the funds, it means more than 2,000 investment funds of among fixed income, stock funds and multimarket funds were displayed in quadrants defined as high and low management fees versus high and low performance. The results reinforce how difficult the choice is and having a high administration rate does not infer better results.

No description available.

This study examined the profile of the potential online donor to a small, private, liberal arts institution. Attitudes towards online giving were studied between participants who donated online and those who did not. Additionally respondents of differing class years were compared to determine which age groups were more likely to donate over the Internet. A total of 576 surveys were returned for an effective response rate of 38%. Collected data were entered into an SPSS database. The data revealed most respondents had been using the Internet for over 5 years, and accessed the Internet almost everyday. Data also revealed that most respondents accessed the Internet from their homes or offices and own two e-mail addresses. Through data analysis, it was discovered that a small percentage of respondents currently donated to other nonprofits over the Internet. However, the majority of respondents were unsure about online giving and its role in the philanthropic process. Additionally, respondents' attitudes towards online giving did not differ between class years. Respondents' preferred method of communication was through the mail, however, the majority of respondents reported they would be willing to receive monthly e-mail communications from the institution. Conclusions and recommendations included that credit card security and information privacy were viewed as very important to donors if they were to donate over the Internet. In addition, it was concluded that donors who made financial transactions over the Internet were more likely to make a charitable contribution over the Internet. Recommendations included the institution should begin the process of educating their alumni as to the benefits of online giving, and integrate online giving into their comprehensive fundraising process.

在中國大陸的法律環境中，外商私募股權基金是較新的議題，它同時牽涉了「外商投資」與「私募股權投資」兩個領域。因此，就外商私募股權基金而言，其為中國大陸在國外法律繼受嬗變後，再於法律雙軌制下的二次嬗變。 外商私募股權基金，是指由外國投資者注資或者外國投資者管理的私募股權基金。因此，它的市場屬性為「外國直接投資」、「國際金融服務」。 由於中國大陸對外商採取「外資法群」進行規範，而並沒有一部外商法典做集中、統一的規定。因此，彼此間存在一定程度的分散、重複、衝突等問題。再加上中國大陸對外商、內資採取雙軌制立法，故法律規範雖有創新但也常有彼此扞格或不足之處。也因此造成運作上的幾個問題：外匯管制、投資待遇、雙軌制、地方政府隨意的政策、實務操作的衝突(投資協議、有限合夥)、及優先股的欠缺。 財經法律因應經濟市場而生，惟經濟市場逐年改變。外商私募股權基金既是經濟市場的產物，就無法透過行政力量加以限制，也無需透過偏頗政策揠苗助長。僅需創造一個平等的法治環境，讓市場自行運作。 本文探討中國大陸對外商私募股權基金相關法規的發展現狀、投資障礙與內外資衝突等議題。除對如何完善立法略盡棉薄之力外，並希冀能提供台灣投資者於前進中國大陸時有所參考。 / In the legal environment of China, the foreign private equity fund is a relatively new issue, it involves two areas of "foreign investment" and "private equity investment” simultaneously. Therefore, with respect to the foreign private equity fund, it is subject to transmutation of foreign laws and subsequently the second transmutation under the dual system of laws in China. The foreign private equity funds refer to the private equity funds injected by foreign investors or managed by foreign investors. Therefore, its market attribute to the "foreign direct investment", "international financial service." Although China has adopted a series of laws to regulate foreign enterprises, there is not one foreign investment code as centralized and unified regulation. Thus, there exists a certain degree of dispersion, overlap, conflict problems among them. Along with the duel system of legislation adopted for foreign enterprises and domestic investments, there are often discrepancies or deficiencies between the legal requirements, although they have been innovated. This resulted in several operational problems: foreign exchange controls, investment treatments, duel system, arbitrary policies of local governments, conflict in practices (investment agreement, limited partnership), and the lack of preference shares. Financial laws are established in response to the market economy, but the economic market changes every year. Since the foreign private equity funds are the production of the market economy, they cannot be restricted only by the administrative power, and they don’t need partial polices to pull up. They only require creating an equal legal environment to make the market operate under its own mechanism. This paper discovers the issues with respect to the current development status of related regulations on the foreign private equity funds, foreign investment barriers and conflicts between domestic and foreign investment in China. In addition to make a little contribution to improve the legislation, it’s also expected to provide reference to Taiwan investors for developing business in China.

本研究探討2001年1月至2016年12月內所有以台股市場為標的之開放式股票型基金，透過多元迴歸模型與交易策略法深入的了解資金流量與過去和未來一期報酬率之間的關聯性，並從中探討台灣投資人的行為偏好。 透過多元迴歸模型與交易策略法可以發現代表台灣投資人投資偏好的資金淨流量變動率普遍有追逐過去績效表現優異之基金的傾向，接著探討資金淨流量變動率與未來一期報酬率的關聯後發現，台灣共同基金市場上當期資金淨流量變動率越高的基金，普遍在未來短期內所獲得的報酬率有較低的現象，然而隨著未來報酬期間的拉長，此現象便逐漸消失，最主要的解釋原因為台灣共同基金投資人普遍有追逐過去績效表現優異之基金的傾向，使過去績效表現較好的基金容易湧入過多的申購資金，而這些基金雖然在過去一期該基金經理團隊可以憑藉著自己所擅長的產業與個股經驗，挑選到具有成長潛力的投資標的，但隨著過去一期的優異表現，這些基金的投資組合持股價格已經來到相對高點，難以持續擁有良好的報酬表現，加上基金經理團隊手上仍握有許多等待投資的現金，最終可能迫使基金經理團隊必須開始涉入自己不熟悉的產業與個股，增加錯誤投資的機會而使績效表現變差，然而長期而言，該基金經理團隊仍可以憑藉著自己的專業投資能力，重新尋找到優良投資標的，消化過去湧入的投資資金，改善過去短期績效表現不佳的狀況。 / This study explored all open-ended equity funds targeting Taiwan’s stock market from January 2001 to December 2016. Through multiple regression model and trading strategy method, we got an in-depth understanding of the relationship between fund flows and both past and future returns, and the characteristics of the trading behavior of Taiwan’s investors were further investigated. By using multiple regression model and trading strategy method we found evidence that Taiwan’s investors have the tendency to chase mutual funds which had superior performance in the last period. Following this issue, we also found that funds with higher fund inflow generally had lower return in the short term time horizons, but the phenomenon would gradually disappear when the time horizons were extended. The main explanation of this phenomenon is that Taiwan’s investors generally have the tendency to buy mutual funds which gave superior return in the last period, so that funds with better performance in the past are prone to attract subscription. Although in the last period, these funds’ management team could rely on their own industrial and individual stock-picking experience, selecting those stocks with high growth potential. However, with an outstanding performance in previous period, stock prices in those fund’s portfolio had come to a relatively high point, so it’s hard to maintain good performance. With a vast sum of fund inflow, the management team may also be forced to invest in the industries or companies that they’re unfamiliar with, causing the possibility of wrong investment. However, when the time horizons were extended, the management team could digest the inflow of investment funds by rediscovering good investment targets and improve their fund performance.

This diploma work analyse probléme connected with supplementary pension insurance of Alca plast, s.r.o. copany. It includes a draft of choice of an adequate pension fond and propsal of employer s contribution payments of pension insurance for individua employees with the purpose to eliminace company costs.

This thesis compares Norway, Botswana and Venezuela and their sovereign wealth funds. The first two countries are referred to as exceptions to the theory of the resource curse, which explains the phenomenon that shows that countries with a high dependence on income from the export of natural resources have a slower rate of economic, political and institutional development. On the contrary, Venezuela (although it was considered an exception in the past) is severely affected by this phenomenon and thus serves as a negative example in this thesis. The thesis focuses on state sovereign wealth funds and examines whether and under what conditions these funds have an effect on reversing the resource curse. Based on the theoretical part, five key characteristics are identified that the fund must meet in order to function against the negative manifestations of the curse of natural resources - (1) offsetting the effects of volatility, (2) diversifying the economy, (3) budgetary policy, (4) controlling the allocation of expenditure, (5) transparency of funds. Based on these characteristics, it is possible to observe that the Norwegian sovereign wealth fund works best from selected funds as a defense against the resource curse, followed by the Botswana fund and third by the Venezuelan fund. Norway and Botswana...