Financial Services Review最新文献

Investing and consuming may not be so different as traditional economic theory has understood them. The consumer research literature has begun to view consumption not simply as rational decisionmaking, but as a more multisensory activity in which emotion and fantasy play important, if not essential, roles. This new perspective has been extended by Holt (1995) in a matrix of metaphors in which consumption can be viewed as an interaction with objects and/or other persons as an end in itself and/or a means toward toward other ends. This paper theorizes how this matrix might apply to investment and uses a literary analysis of the best-selling The Motley Fool Investment Guide to examine whether or not our knowledge of consumers might in this way inform our understanding of investors.

This paper evaluates deductible individual retirement accounts (IRAs), Roth IRAs, non-deductible IRAs, and open taxable investments using equal initial after-tax investments for the different choices. The concept of a break-even tax rate at the time of withdrawal of funds is used to analyze optimal choice between the deductible IRA and the Roth IRA. The break-even tax rate is seen to be a decreasing function of rate of return on the investment and the investment horizon. Regarding non-deductible IRAs, and open taxable investments, the findings indicate that the non-deductible IRA is the optimal choice for individuals with long investment horizons.

This paper examines investment risk in comparing defined benefit (DB) and defined contribution (DC) plans by employing a Monte Carlo simulation. Using a bivariate normal distribution, two general types of risk are associated with a DC-plan. The first is that not enough is being earned by an allocation rule to cover DB-plan outflows. Secondly the portfolio may experience runs of losses that can’t be overcome by waiting for a better year because the money runs out. The general result is that higher stock allocations allow the higher earning potential of stocks, even if the losses are occasionally experienced, to accumulate enough wealth to see a DC portfolio match the promised benefits of a DB-plan.

Market timing is a popular active investment strategy that promises to beat the market. However, the evidence on the ability of timers to outperform the market is mixed. This paper provides strong supporting evidence of the timing ability of RTE Asset Management by investigating the implemented buy and sell recommendations derived from its proprietary computerized model over the 1979–1999 period and several subperiods. We use various performance-evaluation methodologies that investors can easily implement. The evidence obtained on market timing skills is essentially invariant to the evaluation method used if the analysis is performed over a long time period.

We examine issues surrounding the value of military retirement income. We then provide estimates of the expected present value of this income stream after taxes for singles, married couples, widows and widowers of military retirees. Finally, we contend that individuals should treat the after-tax present value of military retirement income as a bond in their family portfolio. When so considered, it can dramatically affect the family’s asset allocation.

This study investigates the risk–return relationship in nine Asian capital markets and the U.S. before, during, and after the Asian financial crisis. Using a state-dependent approach in a TGARCH(1,1)-M framework, we investigate a contemporaneous version of the CAPM by accounting for negative and positive market price of variance risk. We find a significant positive relationship between risk premium and variance in all markets in upstate, as well as a significant negative relationship in downstate. Also, we validate our findings by showing that implied state-dependent market prices of variance risk explain risk premia across markets. Finally, we investigate how the model can be used to uncover overreaction and improve the number of correct directional calls in a tactical asset allocation strategy. Our results provide support for a contrarian strategy that individual investors can follow.

Many business schools are currently considering investing in trading rooms to help educate their students relative to capital markets. This article summarizes the benefits, costs, and alternatives associated with building a financial information or trading room. The benefits include; quick and easy access to a large amount of financial data, increased exposure to real-time financial market activity, and reputational capital for the school. We discuss the current databases available, and introduce software and hardware solutions. We also provide tips on room design, how to raise money, and potential uses of the room.

In this paper, we place firms in the Morningstar’s style box cells and test whether selecting firms from these cells allows investors to compile a portfolio consistent with their risk tolerance. We confirm that the risk of those cells is consistent with the risk expectations published by Morningstar. Firms assigned to the upper left cells are lower risk than those assigned to the lower right cells. When we test for risk-adjusted returns we do not find that investing in high risk cells results in greater returns. Our results suggest higher returns are possible by investing in lower risk value cells.