The most widely-used measure of an asset's risk, beta, stems from an equilibrium in which investors display mean-variance behavior. This behavioral criterion assumes that portfolio risk is measured by the variance (or standard deviation) of returns, which is a questionable measure of risk. The...

Beta as a measure of risk has been under fire for many years. Although practitioners still widely use the CAPM to estimate the cost of equity of companies, they are aware of its problems and are looking for alternatives. One possible alternative is to estimate the cost of equity based on the...

For over 30 years academics and practitioners have been debating the merits of the CAPM. One of the characteristics of this model is that it measures risk by beta, which follows from an equilibrium in which investors display mean-variance behavior. In that framework, risk is assessed by the...

We examine the determinants of institutional investors when deciding on international capital allocation in Venture Capital and Private Equity Limited Partnerships; this is done through a questionnaire addressed to (potential) Limited Partners world-wide. The respondents provide information...

We calculate composite indexes to compare the attractiveness of 25 European countries for institutional investments into the Venture Capital and Private Equity asset class. To achieve this we use 42 different criteria and propose an aggregation structure that allows for benchmarking on more...

This paper looks at the determinants of country and industry specific factors in international portfolio returns using a sample of thirty-six countries and thirty-nine industries over the last three decades. Country factors have remained relatively stable over the sample period, while industry...

In this paper we test the profitability of momentum strategies in the United Kingdom, Germany, Japan and China over the period 1991 to 2006 and sub-periods. Both RSS (Relative Strength Strategies) and WRSS (Weighted Relative Strength Strategies) are used to form the momentum portfolios. We find...

We examine the determinants of commercial real estate investments using a unique set of panel data series for 47 countries worldwide, ranging from 2000 to 2009. We explore how different socio-economic, demographic and institutional characteristics affect commercial real estate investment...

This paper addresses the problem of accurately determining buyout opportunity cost of capital for performance analyses. It draws on a unique and proprietary set of data on 133 United States buyouts between 1984 and 2004. For each buyout, we determine a public market equivalent that matches the...

I address the construction of hurdle rates for 66 countries that adequately compensate investors for the real estate specific market risks involved when investing, operating and exiting a foreign market. To estimate the market-based framework, I run random effect panel regressions for a period...