PhD / Thesis (PhD (Business Management))--Stellenbosch University, 2008. / The objective of this study is to provide a new approach to assessing fund management and to establish whether there is empirical support for this approach. The new approach will improve investors’ decision making with respect to the management and investment of their assets. We construct equity-only funds from quarterly equity holdings of unit trusts. The funds are ranked each quarter using various performance measures and segmented into winners and losers; firstly according to the median of the ranks and secondly according to quintile rankings. The funds’ rankings are examined for evidence of persistence. Secondly, a performance attribution method is introduced that identifies the static (“buy-and-hold”) portion and the trading portion of a fund. The funds are examined in terms of characteristics that distinguish between funds according to how the manager has chosen to organise (or construct) the fund. These characteristics are the static portion, the trading portion, the size of the static portion and the extent of the overlap between funds’ holdings and the large, mid and small capitalisation indices. Relationships between winners and losers (based on quartiles) and the fund characteristics are examined. Finally, the trading activities of investment managers, for their funds, are examined. This examination begins with the use of traditional measures that focus on a holistic approach to evaluating trading ability. The examination is enhanced with the introduction of a new reductionism approach, where the success of individual trades is examined. The results of the earlier performance attribution are included in the evaluation of investment managers’ abilities to add value to investors’ assets via trading activities.

Save the Children Fund (SCF) was at its foundation in 1919 a value-driven organization. The values, or guiding principles, of the founding generation are the lens through which I look at the history of SCF, and the associated histories of war and peace, human rights and NGO-state relations. These guiding principles are identified as universalism, utilitarianism and optimistic pacificism. They can be understood as a paradigm to which the social community which made up the founding generation of SCF gave their assent. The first chapter locates the founding generation within the political culture of the anti-war movement. Succeeding chapters detail the metamorphosis of SCIF from a'contentious social movement into a respectable national organization. As soon as the organization adopted a national rather than a universal orientation, the coordinates of all its guiding principles shifted. In particular the optimistic pacificism of the founding generation was replaced by pessimistic defencism. It was not until after the Cold War that SCIF began to realign itself with its original guiding principles. The three guiding principles are found to be of continuing relevance. Universalism has been reasserted as a positive creed leading SCF to seize political opportunities to reach out to children from all sides. The organization has adopted a utilitarian perspective that affirms the dynamic role of young people in generating their own futures. Lastly, the primacy attached to peace by war-affected people has underlined SCFs urgent mission to uphold an optimistic belief in the possibility of peace.

Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to develop an understanding for how risk, return and ethicalaspects affect the decision to invest in an ethical fund. Specifically is the aim of the thesis todevelop a perception if socio-demographical differences regarding gender, age and education canexplain the propensity to invest in ethical funds. Method: A survey consisting of 90 respondents. Conclusion: The thesis finding show support for the claim that women see the ethical aspect inrelation to the return for investment in an ethical fund as more important than men do. This canfurther explain the propensity for women to invest more in ethical funds than men. The thesisdoesn’t find any support for the claim that women and men, younger and older value low risk, forthe decision to invest in an ethical fund, differently. This goes against previous research within thefield of mutual fund and indicates that the investment behavior between ethical funds and regularfunds differ. The thesis did not find any support for the claim that higher educated people see theethical aspect in relation to the return as more important than people with lower education. / Syfte: Studien syfte är att utveckla en förståelse för hur risk, avkastning och etiskt inslag påverkarvid beslutet som leder till investering i en etisk fond. Specifikt syftar uppsatsen till att utvecklauppfattning kring om socio-demografiska skillnader avseende kön, ålder och utbildning, finns somförklaring i benägenheten att investera i etiska fonder. Metod: Vi har gjort enkätundersökningar på 90 respondenter Slutsats: Uppsatsen finner stöd för att kvinnor ser den etiska aspekten i relation till avkastningenvid investering i en etisk fond som viktigare än vad män gör. Detta kan förklara varför kvinnorockså är mer benägna än män att investera i en etisk fond. Uppsatsen finner inget stöd för attkvinnor och män, yngre och äldre värderar låg risk vid investering i en etisk fond olika. Dettamotsäger tidigare forskning inom investeringsbeteende för fonder generellt sett vilket indikerar attinvesteringsbeteende för vanliga fonder och etiska fonder skiljer sig åt. Uppsatsen finner helleringet stöd för att högre utbildade ser den etiska aspekten som viktigare än avkastning vidinvestering i en etisk fond.

本論文分為兩部分，第一部份為以台灣之封閉型基金探討訊息事件下之投資者敏感性與市場效率性。第二部份為以東南亞六家國家基金探討投資者過渡反應之現象同時研究訊息分類後之訊息效果。 / This dissertation studies investors’ sentiment to dramatic public information events and the news effect on the valuation of closed-end funds. There are two main issues included in this dissertation. For the issue of investors’ sentiment, we employ domestic closed-end funds from Taiwan to test how political information events affect fund share price and net asset value. The political information events employed are the 1996 and 2000 presidential elections in Taiwan, including prominent political events ahead of the elections. For the other issue of news effect on the valuation of closed-end country funds, the six Asian country funds listed on the New York Stock Exchange are employed and the country-specific news are culled from the headlines shown on the front page of The New York Times. For investors’ sentiment, we examine how dramatic political news and events affect closed-end fund data, fund price, and net asset value, using a sample of Taiwan data. We use data from Taiwan, because its stock market has been repeatedly affected by political events. We develop a theoretical model to show how information shocks would affect the discounts on closed-end funds. In designing the model, which is tested below, we start by assuming that the information shock is consistent with market efficiency. Our empirical results show that, even though this assumption is corroborated by three out of four events, the remaining one event in four induces changes which are inconsistent with market efficiency. This provides support for the theory of the preponderance of investors’ sentiment. The results also show that the return on fund share prices and the return of net asset value (NAV) move in the same direction and the impact of information shocks to the return of fund share price and return of NAV have mostly the same sign. Although the results from domestic funds, with fund share prices and NAV that are valued in the identical market, tell us that there exists investors’ sentiment, we intend to resolve what the information effects are on the valuation of closed-end country funds that have fund share prices and NAV valued in two different entities/markets. We use a sample of six Asian country funds, listed on the New York Stock Exchange, to test whether salient country-specific news affects investors’ reaction around the Asian financial crisis period. Our results show that in regular weeks, fund share prices react less to changes in fundamentals. In weeks with salient news appearing on the front page of The New York Times, fund share prices react much more than those in regular weeks. We also find that economic news affects the adjustment process of fund share prices more significantly before and during the Asian financial crisis periods. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that news events play a role in the magnitude of investors’ reaction to changes in the fundamental values of closed-end country funds. As to the reaction of volume to news, the results show that news effect is significant in full sample period. For the reaction of volume to categorized news, economic news is significant in full sample period. In sum, the results from either domestic funds or country funds all show that news events/information do play a role in individual investors’ sentiment. The phenomenon is more conspicuous during a financial crisis period.

本研究中，考慮連續時間下，附最低保證之長期最適投資策略；在利率模型中，為較能符合現實狀況，我們採用CIR模型；另外，在此策略中，我們將投資人之風險偏好加入模型中研究，最適化投資人到期時財富之效用函數，並用Cox & Huang之市場中立評價方法來解決數學模型問題。此篇研究顯示，最適之投資策略可以等價於某些共同基金之投資組合，這些共同基金能利用金融市場上之主要資產(market primary assets)來複製。 / In this study, we consider a portfolio selection problem for long-term investors. Dynamic investment strategy with the continuous-time framework incorporating the minimum guarantees are constructed. Maximizing expected utility of the terminal wealth is employed by investors to trade off profits in good future state against losses incurred in worse states. Follow the previous works of Deelstra et al. (2003), we concentrate on the simplest case of a one-factor Cox-Ingersoll-Ross (CIR) model in formulating the stochastic variation from the interest rate risks. Under the market completeness assumption, the fund growth is modelled under the market neutral valuation and the optimal rules are mapped into the static variational problem of Cox and Huang (1989). In this study, we show that the optimal portfolio is equivalent to a certain mutual fund that can be replicated by the market primary assets

This dissertation analyzes the nonprofit sector using a framework developed by economists to analyze for-profit industries. Its central hypotheses are that nonprofit 'firms' are run by self-interested individuals and compete for donations in a 'market'. It develops a model that demonstrates that nonprofit contracts are not necessary to solve the principal-agent problem that stems from a good being financed by unconditional lump-sum donations. The effects of nonprofit contracts in the model are ambiguous and might very well be harmful. The model is tested using both field data from California and laboratory experiments. The tests broadly support the model.

This study reviewed the funding, budgeting, revenue generating practices of community college athletics. Several theories informed the research including institutional theory (isomorphism) academic capitalism, resource dependency, and role/work conflict. The design of the study was to interview an athletic administrator or athletic director, a coach, and an athletic trainer from each of the community colleges in a western state. These interviews occurred on the community college campus to allow for observation of the facilities. In addition, a national sample of athletic trainers from community colleges was interviewed. The study indicates that community college athletics is philosophically resisting the pressure to look and behave like larger collegiate athletic departments. Resistance is not universal however; some community college athletics personnel consider the move toward budget driven decisions and marketing similar to Division I (one) institutions as coming and inevitable. Isomorphism is alive and well among community college institutions. The decisions for spending and growth are not always the decisions, which are best for the institution and its athletes. At times these decisions are made because of mimetic isomorphism. The study indicates that athletic personnel can base decisions in the context of the budget and fund raising practices. These decisions are not yet raised to a critical state where untoward influence on the institution is felt at the community college level. Overall, community college athletic personnel are individuals who care about the student athlete model and believe the role of collegiate athletic is to contribute to the community and the college. I found the athletic personnel to be professional and supportive of athletics from the president to the departments, through the athletic directors, coaches and athletic trainers.

共同基金是由投資信託公司向大眾募集資金，再轉投資到股票、債券、不動產等標的上，最後再分配投資收益的的一種工具。從自有共同基金開始至今已超越百年，而台灣地區方面，目前也是全民理財不可或缺的一項標的。 共同基金雖號稱是懶人投資，不用花費大量心思。但實際上，天下沒有白吃的午餐，投資人仍需投注精力了解趨勢，並從中挑選適當的標的。但儘管有許多理財專家提出經驗談，就一般投資大眾而言，如何挑選共同基金仍是具有挑戰性的工作。  為協助投資人以現有資訊，找出適當的投資標的，因此利用投信公會公布的資料，將基金依照Jensen值進行區分為大於零及小於零兩個群組，再以最小平方法探討兩個群組中，影響各種類型基金績效持續性的因素，以期能利用簡單的資訊，找出值得長期投資的標的。

Šiame darbe visų pirma pateikiama alternatyvaus investavimo fondų apžvalga, vėliau pereinama prie arbitražo strategijų nagrinėjimo. Norint išnaudoti atsiradusį kainų skirtumą tarp dviejų vertybinių popierių su vienodais ateities pinigų srautais reikia pigesnį iš jų pirkti, o brangesnį skolintis ir parduoti. Skirtumui sumažėjus ar išnykus gaunamas pelnas. Skolinantis realiose rinkose beveik visada reikalaujama užstato. Dėl šios priežasties, kainų skirtumui netikėtai padidėjus, patiriamas nuostolis. Arbitražas tampa rizikinga investicija, reikalaujančia pradinio kapitalo. Sukūrėme patį paprasčiausią modelį, parodantį užstato reikalavimo įtaką pelnui iš arbitražo, taip pat randame optimalią strategiją, maksimizuojančią šį pelną. Parodome, kad rinkoje gali egzistuoti arbitražo galimybės, kurios nebus išnaudojamos dėl galimo kainų skirtumo padidėjimo. / This paper, after giving a short introduction to hedge fund industry, studies arbitrage strategies. We consider two assets with identical cash flows. Initially, there is a gap between their prices. Arbitrageur, willing to profit from the mispricing, buys cheaper of the two assets and sells the more expensive one short. If the price difference converges to zero, he makes profit. Arbitrage position can generate losses if the spread widens before converging. Short selling is almost always done with a collateral requirement. For this reason, arbitrage position can generate losses if the spread widens before converging. Arbitrage becomes a risky investment with an initial wealth requirement. We created a simple model, showing how collateral requirement affects profit from an arbitrage opportunity. We also found the optimal strategy to maximize this profit. We showed that arbitrage opportunities can exist in a market; however, they might not be exploitable due to unexpected widening of spreads.

At the end of World War II, the United States emerged as a world leader, putting into place international institutions based on its own liberal economic philosophy. Since then, the world has witnessed an increasing interconnectedness among states, with economic relationships continually blurring the distinction between domestic and international, as well as between state and societal forces. Much of the world associates this increased interconnectedness with human suffering around the globe. This dissertation seeks to test the effects of economic globalization on personal integrity violations within a state, on the whole. Specifically, I examine three aspects associated with globalization, trade openness, investment and IMF funding within a state. Liberal economic theory suggests that economic relationships should foster positive gains. Particularly, economic relationships engender economic prosperity, diffusion of norms and idea, as well as the growth of a middle class which increasingly demands respect for its political and civil rights. Consistent with the liberal paradigm, I find that open trade and investment lead to improved personal integrity rights. In addition, investment which originates from the hegemon is especially likely to increase a state's respect for personal integrity rights. Conversely, IMF funding is likely to provoke protests from people in recipient countries, which often leads to increased repression by the state. To the extent that the IMF chooses to place importance on human rights, future attention should be paid to the practices of recipient countries. Overall, this dissertation suggests overall support for the liberal paradigm, that open economic policies are most likely to lead to improved levels of personal integrity rights.