Fundamental stock analysts covering the insurance industry may be overly influenced by infrequent large scale catastrophes, such as unusually strong hurricanes. It is important for these analysts to be able to put catastrophes in financial perspective in order to set an appropriate fair value on...

Economic value added (EVA) is a well-known and widely used measure of operating performance. Bacidore, Boquist, Milbourn, and Thakor [1997] introduce a modified version of EVA called refined economic val-ue added (REVA). They claim that REVA is theoretically superior to EVA. Actually, EVA is...

The outlook for the U.S. Social Security system is poor. Benefit schedules that assure solvency probably require (1) politicians to give up power they are unwilling to give up, and (2) workers to contribute more of their future production than they are willing to. In contrast, the outlook for...

The usefulness of economic value added (EVA) in forecasting stock performance has been widely debated, and there is much disagreement. This paper examines empirically whether a high adjusted EVA, both scaled by market capitalization, can produce excess stock returns. We find that the...

Ferguson and Leistikow [(1997). Journal of Financial Engineering 6, 1–30] (FLa) was the first long-run risk-neutral analysis of the performance volatility incentives created by investment management fee structures. This paper extends FLa in six ways. It allows the portfolio's value to change,...

A few security analysts engaged in quantitative analysis long before computers became readily available. This study presents an example dating from 1972. An analyst examined the fixed cost–variable cost structure of General Motors by creating a nonlinear algebraic model, transforming the model...

The insurance business is fraught with problems for which, in many insurance lines, a solution that is acceptable to consumers and leaves the insurance business viable is not likely. We analyze the factors that create this situation. Consumers often view economically viable premiums as too high....

An efficient market is thought to be desirable by many legislators, regulators, and academicians. At the same time, they seem adamant that the investment industry unbundle. These two positions are at odds unless it is proposed that investment research be subsidized. Regulators who insist on...