The purpose of this study is to investigate whether the location of buying stocks in a Nordic cross-listed company matters in terms of 1) earning abnormal returns, or 2) gaining in optimizing the amount spent by buying the specific stock cheap. Nowadays, markets are becoming more integrated and if we believe in the efficient market hypothesis, prices of the same class of stocks paying the same dividend annually, of an MNC must be the same irrespective of the stock exchange it is listed upon. Though efficient market hypothesis exists in theory, market imperfection is a reality. All the Nordic (Swedish, Finnish, Norwegian, Danish and Icelandic) firms listed on foreign stock exchanges in addition to their home market have been included in the sample. In fact, this sample represents 100% of the population. The daily prices of cross-listed stocks have been analyzed and conclusions have been drawn based on the mean returns and mean prices along with Wilcoxon Signed-Rank test statistics. The data have been analyzed over the last ten years capturing the recent economic cycle. The whole period has also been divided into three sub-periods to establish comparisons with the whole period. This paper reports that even though returns on cross-listed stocks are statistically same over all periods, prices of the stocks vary according to the location of listing. That is, investors can buy from a stock exchange where the specific stock is underpriced thereby decreasing the amount invested in absolute term and optimizing the amount spent if not the return. The returns and prices have analyzed using the local currency of the MNC’s country of origin and Special Drawing Rights (SDRs). No considerable differences on the returns or pattern of price movements have been observed while using two currencies.

Background: Achieving an abnormal return on your investment is something investors are trying to achieve. A lot of attempts have been made to try and find an investment strategy that always generates abnormal returns, although none has been proven to be absolute. Efficient Market Hypothesis (EMH) proponents argue that when it comes to public available information, one could not get an abnormal advantage of this information. Behavioural Finance (BF) proponents however argue that there may still be possible for this due to human psychology. For markets to have the best possibilities for being efficient, it must be a large and competitive market where information transfers rapidly. When analysing aspects necessary for earning abnormal return for outsiders, there are indications that these aspects does exist and it might be profitable to mimic the insiders operating in the Swedish large-cap bank sector. The large-cap bank sector contains of Svenska Handelsbanken (SHB), Nordea, Swedbank and Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken (SEB). Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to explore whether there exist an opportunity in the Swedish bank sector for outsiders to earn abnormal return based on insiders’ transactions. In the process an indirect test will be made to see if the semi-strong form of efficiency holds for the Swedish bank sector. Method: Observing the movements on the market when the information about insider trading becomes public. The results are tested for both statistical significance and economical significance. Conclusion: The purpose of this study was to try and determine whether or not outsiders could mimic the insider’s transactions in order to earn abnormal return in the Swedish bank sector. However, based on this study this seems not to be possible in the overall sector. The signs that indicated that this would be possible for the Swedish large-cap banks turned out to be false. The result that showed statistical difference from zero was negative and it was therefore concluded that the insider did not predict the future very well. This leads to the conclusion that there are stronger factors than the sign of insiders’ transactions determine the future stock price. Since the insiders could not predict the future stock prices, any attempt from outsiders to try to exploit their information would not be beneficial. This resulted in the BF assumptions of under- and overreaction in the price did not occur in this study and instead the results turned out to be in line with the EMH description of semi-strong markets. / Bakgrund: Att uppnå överavkastning på sin investering är något investerare ständigt försöker uppnå. Många försök har gjorts för att försöka hitta en investeringsstrategi som alltid genererar överavkastningen, dock har inga gjorts som visat sig vara kontinuerliga. Den Effektiva Marknads Hypotesens förespråkare hävdar att när det gäller offentligt tillgänglig information kan man inte få onormal fördel av detta. Dock hävdar förespråkare för Behavioural Finance att detta fortfarande kan vara möjligt och att detta beror delvis på mänsklig psykologi. För att marknader ska ha de bästa möjligheterna för att vara effektiv, måste de vara stora och konkurrenskraftiga där information överförs snabbt. När man analyserar vissa aspekter som är nödvändiga för att tjäna överavkastningen för utomstående, verkar det finnas tecken på att detta skulle kunna vara möjligt genom att imitera insynshandel i den Svenska large-cap bank sektorn. Sektorn består av Handelsbanken (SHB), Nordea, Swedbank och Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken (SEB). Syfte: Är att undersöka om det finns en möjlighet för utomstående att få överavkastningen baserad på insynspersonernas transaktioner. I processen görs ett indirekt test för att se om den Svenska banksektorn uppnår semi-stark effektivitet. Metod: Observera rörelserna på marknaden när information om insynshandel blev allmänt. Resultatet testas för både statistisk och ekonomisk signifikans. Slutsats: Syftet med denna studie var att försöka avgöra huruvida utomstående kunde imitera insynspersonernas transaktioner för att tjäna onormal avkastning i den Svenska banksektorn. Baserat på denna studie verkar detta inte vara möjligt i den totala sektorn. De tecken som indikerade att detta skulle vara möjligt för visade sig vara falskt. Resultatet som visade statistisk skillnad från noll var negativt och därför drogs slutsatsen att insynspersonerna inte kunde förutsäga framtiden särskilt väl. Detta leder till slutsatsen att det finns starkare faktorer än insynspersoners transaktioner som avgör framtida aktiekurser. Eftersom insynspersoner inte kunde förutse de framtida aktiekurserna, skulle varje försök från en utomstående att försöka utnyttja detta inte vara fördelaktigt. Detta resulterade i fenomenet av under- och överreaktioner som BF förespråkade, inte förekom i denna studie. Istället visade resultatet sig vara i linje med EMH beskrivningen av semi-starka marknader.

This thesis is an empirical analysis on momentum effects on the Swedish stock exchange’s sector indicesduring the period 2001 to 2009. The momentum effect is investigated by buying previous winner andshort selling previous losers with holding and formation periods over an intermediate time period (1-12month period). Our results are not coherent with previous studies conducted on the U.S market or theworld market, instead our results indicate that the Swedish stock exchange’s sector indices experience acontrarian effect over the intermediate time period. The results are adjusted for systematic risk and aresignificant on the 5%-level. Our result show that the weak form of the efficient market hypothesis isviolated and we therefore believe that a demand exists for easy and convenient investment vehicles withsector specific exposure, which could have a positive effect on the efficiency of the market.

En god inblick i den ekonomiska marknaden leder till ett gynnsamt läge från vilket vi kan maximera avkastningen på våra investeringar. Är det möjligt att genomföra en sådan typ av investering sett till endast bolagens storlek? Ett flertal studier har genomförts kring småbolagseffekten som en anomali på kapitalmarknaden. Effekten innebär att småbolag skulle generera en högre procentuell avkastning än storbolag under samma tidsperiod, vilket inte går i linje med vad den effektiva marknadshypotesen påstår kring kapitalmarknaden. Avsikten med denna undersökning är att analysera huruvida detta stämmer eller ej. Syftet med studien är att analysera om det förekommer en mikrobolagseffekt på den svenska aktiemarknaden under åren 2005-2014, det vill säga en anomali med extremare utfall av småbolagseffekten. Vi har använt oss av en kvantitativ statistisk analys för att mäta de genomsnittliga avkastningarna mellan de tre olika portföljer vi skapat bestående av bolag från Large Cap, Small Cap och Aktietorget. Tre hypoteser är testade och resultatet är analyserat med hjälp utav ett statistiskt t-test i programmet SPSS. Studiens resultat är att det inte går att påvisa någon signifikant skillnad i avkastningen mellan storbolag, småbolag och mikrobolag under den givna tidsperioden. Inte heller under delperioder har det kunnat påvisas någon statistisk skillnad. / A good insight in the economic market leads to a favorable position from which we can maximize the profits of our investments. Is it possible to make such investments with regards only to the size of the companies we are considering? Numerous studies have been made on the small firm effect as an anomaly of the capital market. The effect supposedly tells us that, given the same period of time, small companies generates a higher percentage return than large companies. This contradicts the Efficient-market hypothesis, and the purpose of this research is to analyze whether this could be true, or not. The research study is made with regards to micro-size companies in the Swedish capital market during the years 2005-2014, thus, this is an extreme version of the small firm effect. A quantitative statistical analysis is used to measure the average return of three different stock portfolios; Large Cap, Small Cap and Aktietorget. Three different hypothesis are tested and the results analyzed with the help of statistical T-tests in SPSS are used. The results of the study is that there is no solid statistical proof that there is a difference in profit between the three different markets during the time period. Nor could an effect be seen during any smaller time period within the given time frame.

Syfte: Syftet med studien är att förstå vilka orsaker som kan förklara svenska aktieinvesterares irrationalitet med hänsyn till deras informationsbearbetning.  Metod: Undersökningen är genomförd av en kvantitativ forskningsmetod med inslag av kvalitativa aspekter i form av webbaserade enkäter. Enkäten är prestrukturerad då de flesta undersökningsfrågor är stängda men består även av öppna svarsalternativ. Enkäten publicerades på olika aktieforum samt sociala nätverk där studiens urval består av de medlemmar som valde att delta i undersökningen.   Teori: Behavioral Finance ställs mot den effektiva marknadshypotesen och ligger till grund för undersökningen. Overconfidence, Herd Behavior och Egocentricity är de tre psykologiska faktorerna som studeras inom Behavioral Finance.  Slutsats: Slutsatsen för Overconfidence är att män har mer övertro än kvinnor och anledningen till detta förklaras av deras bakgrund. Studien visar att orsakerna till förekomsten av Herd Behavior är bland annat att investerare säljer sina aktier när deras omgivning gör det, till följd av rädslan att deras omgivning vet något de inte vet samt att de inte vill hamna i en sämre sits om aktien går ner. Anledningen till att Egocentricity uppstår hos aktieinvesterare förklaras av att aktien de äger får ett högre värde hos deras sinnen, vilket gör att priset på aktien sällan känns tillfredsställande. Investerare agerar dessutom annorlunda beroende på vilka informationskällor de använder samt hur mycket tid de lägger ner på information. / Purpose: The purpose of this study is to understand the reasons that can explain Swedish stock investors irrationality with consideration to their information processing.  Method: The survey was conducted using a quantitative research method with elements of qualitative aspects in form of web-based questionnaire. The survey was prestructured with closed survey questions, but also consists of open answers. The questionnaire was published on various websites for stock investors and social networks where the study sample consists of the members who chose to participate in the survey.   Theory: Behavioral Finance contradicts The Efficient Market Hypothesis and sets the basis for this survey. Overconfidence, Herd Behavior and Egocentricity are the three psychological factors studied in Behavioral Finance.  Conclusion: The conclusion of Overconfidence is that men are more overconfident than women, and the reason for this is explained by their backgrounds. The study shows that the causes for the occurrence of Herd Behavior include that investors sell their stocks when their surroundings do it, because of the fear that their surroundings knows something they don’t and they do not want to end up in a worse seat if the stock goes down. The reasons that Egocentricity occurs is explained by the stock they own gets a higher value in their minds, making the price of the stock rarely feeling satisfying. Investors also acts differently depending on which sources of information they use and how much time they devote to information.

Inledning: Inom finansmarknaden där en handelsplats för värdepapper finns är IPO ett omtalat ämne. Fascinationen ligger vid introduktionen av ett företag på börsen som tidigare varit privatägd och dess avkastning på aktien. Vidare är prissättningen på aktierna och timingen för en notering intressanta aspekter som har studerats sedan många år tillbaka. I denna uppsats ska det undersökas hur aktiepriserna för de noterade bolag har utvecklats vid olika ekonomiska tillväxter. Syfte: Syftet är att undersöka om det ekonomiska läget påverkar aktiekursernas utfall vid en notering samt hur dessa utvecklas på noteringsdagen och 30 dagar efter noteringen. Metod: Genom beräkningar av introduktionspriserna i jämförelse med stängningskurserna på noteringsdagen och 30 dagar efter noteringen får man fram aktiekursernas utveckling. Teoretisk referensram: Den effektiva marknadshypotesen och signalteorin Resultat: Undersökningens resultat visade på att skillnaden i aktiernas avkastning mellan företag som noterat sig under en hög respektive låg ekonomisk tillväxt var mycket liten. Företagen som hade noterat sig under en hög ekonomisk tillväxt hade endast 0,1 % högre avkastning än de företag som noterade sig under en låg ekonomisk tillväxt. Detta tyder på att det ekonomiska läget inte påverkar noteringar avsevärt. / Introduction: Within the financial market where there is a trading place for securities, IPO is a well discussed topic. The fascination lies on the introduction of a company on the stock market that was earlier privately-owned and its return on the share. Furthermore the pricing of the shares and the timing for listings are interesting aspects that have been studied many years back. Hence, this essay will examine how the share prices for the listing companies have developed through different economic growth. Purpose: The purpose is to examine if the economic situation affects the share prices outcome during a listing and moreover, to see how they have developed on the listing day and 30 days after the listing. Method: By comparing the calculations of the introduction prices to the closing prices on the listing day and 30 days after the listing, this essay will examine the share prices development that occurs. Theoretical framework: The efficient market hypothesis and the signaling theory. Results: The results of the examination showed that the difference between companies is very small, regardless of the economic growth at the time they got listed. Companies that got listed during a higher economic growth had only a 0.1 % higher return than companies that got listed during a lower economic growth, which suggests that the economic situation does not affect the listings significantly.

Ο αντικειμενικός σκοπός της συγκεκριμένης εργασίας είναι να διερευνηθεί κατά πόσο και αν ισχύει η θεωρία της αποτελεσματικότητας των αγορών που πρωτοεισήχθη από τους Fama και French σε εβδομαδιαία δεδομένα που προέρχονται από το Χρηματιστήριο Αξιών της Μ. Βρετανίας για την περίοδο 1/1/2000 μέχρι 1/1/2010. / The investigation of the efficient market hypothesis with daily U.K. data, testing period from 1/1/2000 to 1/1/2010.

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / A alteração feita pelo IASB em 2008 na classificação dos instrumentos financeiros para reduzir as perdas bancárias com a crise do subprime e de títulos soberanos dos países-membros da União Europeia, após um pedido protocolado pela Comissão da União Europeia, motivou esta pesquisa. A referida alteração ensejou a mudança do critério de avaliação, que passou de valor justo para valor amortizado, para os instrumentos reclassificados, muito embora alguns bancos não tenham aderido à reclassificação, mantendo a orientação original que determinava a avaliação pelo valor justo. Através de Estudo de Evento testou-se a Hipótese de Eficiência de Mercado - HEM, analisando 33 instituições bancárias detentoras de títulos soberanos gregos. Embora a alteração tenha colaborado para que essas instituições bancárias protelassem essas perdas no resultado, não afetou os fluxos de caixa futuros. E como evidenciam os resultados da pesquisa, o mercado foi equitativo com essas instituições, penalizando-as com base no grau de exposição aos títulos gregos, independentemente do critério utilizado, corroborando a HEM: o valor de um ativo é o valor presente dos fluxos de caixa futuros e não dos lucros. Uma consequência importante foi que os governos, através da terceira revisão do Acordo de Capital de Basileia, adotaram medidas para regulamentar com mais rigor as instituições financeiras, no intuito que essas instituições, futuramente, possam suportar melhor os efeitos de uma crise financeira. / The changes made by the IASB in 2008 on the classification of financial instruments to reduce bank losses due the subprime crisis and sovereign bonds of member countries of the European Union, following a request filed by the Commission of the European Union, stimulated this research. This change gave rise to the change of the evaluation criterion, which went from fair value to amortized value for the reclassified instruments, although some banks have not adhered to the reclassification, keeping the original direction that determined the valuation at fair value. Through Event Study tested the hypothesis Market Efficiency - HME, analyzing 33 banks holding Greek sovereign bonds And as evidenced by the survey results, the market was fair to those institutions, penalizing them based on the degree of exposure to Greek bonds, regardless of the criteria used, confirming the HEM: the value of an asset is the present value of future cash flows and not profits. An important result was that governments, through the third revision of the Basel Capital Agreement, adopted measures to regulate more strictly the financial institutions, in order that these institutions in the future to better withstand the effects of a financial crisis.

This thesis investigates how the U.S President’s Twitter mentions of individual companies’ investment announcements influence the short-term price of their stock. By assuming that the President’s comments on a company’s plans should be incorporated by markets as new information, testing the Efficient Market Hypothesis assumption that the markets incorporate all new information, the thesis seeks to contribute to a new, unexplored and growing, research field. This thesis utilizes a qualitative analysis method, studying Twitter mentions on the topic of Trump’s Tax Reform. The data in this thesis is derived from the President’s personal Twitter-account, company announcements, stock price charts, and the Standard & Poor’s S&P500 Index. To conclude, this study finds that although the President’s Twitter comments may signal his public approval of a company and its plans, it appears that any market reaction is only short-term, and that as the market incorporates additional information it returns to an informed state in terms of stock valuations. This study suggests that there are few observable indicators that Trump’s positive mentions on Twitter causes any significant market reaction.

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / A alteração feita pelo IASB em 2008 na classificação dos instrumentos financeiros para reduzir as perdas bancárias com a crise do subprime e de títulos soberanos dos países-membros da União Europeia, após um pedido protocolado pela Comissão da União Europeia, motivou esta pesquisa. A referida alteração ensejou a mudança do critério de avaliação, que passou de valor justo para valor amortizado, para os instrumentos reclassificados, muito embora alguns bancos não tenham aderido à reclassificação, mantendo a orientação original que determinava a avaliação pelo valor justo. Através de Estudo de Evento testou-se a Hipótese de Eficiência de Mercado - HEM, analisando 33 instituições bancárias detentoras de títulos soberanos gregos. Embora a alteração tenha colaborado para que essas instituições bancárias protelassem essas perdas no resultado, não afetou os fluxos de caixa futuros. E como evidenciam os resultados da pesquisa, o mercado foi equitativo com essas instituições, penalizando-as com base no grau de exposição aos títulos gregos, independentemente do critério utilizado, corroborando a HEM: o valor de um ativo é o valor presente dos fluxos de caixa futuros e não dos lucros. Uma consequência importante foi que os governos, através da terceira revisão do Acordo de Capital de Basileia, adotaram medidas para regulamentar com mais rigor as instituições financeiras, no intuito que essas instituições, futuramente, possam suportar melhor os efeitos de uma crise financeira. / The changes made by the IASB in 2008 on the classification of financial instruments to reduce bank losses due the subprime crisis and sovereign bonds of member countries of the European Union, following a request filed by the Commission of the European Union, stimulated this research. This change gave rise to the change of the evaluation criterion, which went from fair value to amortized value for the reclassified instruments, although some banks have not adhered to the reclassification, keeping the original direction that determined the valuation at fair value. Through Event Study tested the hypothesis Market Efficiency - HME, analyzing 33 banks holding Greek sovereign bonds And as evidenced by the survey results, the market was fair to those institutions, penalizing them based on the degree of exposure to Greek bonds, regardless of the criteria used, confirming the HEM: the value of an asset is the present value of future cash flows and not profits. An important result was that governments, through the third revision of the Basel Capital Agreement, adopted measures to regulate more strictly the financial institutions, in order that these institutions in the future to better withstand the effects of a financial crisis.