This paper investigates three capital structure decisions leverage, debt maturity and the source of debt in a simultaneous setting. Moreover, we investigate whether these choices are influenced by the involvement of banks in a firm. Our results based on a panel of Dutch firms show that bank...

A wide range of empirical biases hampers hedge fund databases. In this paper we focus upon survival-related biases and disentangle look-ahead biases due to self-selection of funds and due to fund termination. Self-selection arises because funds voluntarily report their information to data...

In this study we propose the use of the Student's t dependence function to model dependence between asset returns when conducting stress tests. To properly include stress testing in a risk management system, it is important to have accurate information about the (joint) probabilities of extreme...

We decompose the conditional expected mutual fund return in five parts. Two parts, selectivityand expert market timing, can be attributed to manager skill, and three to variation in marketexposure that can be achieved by private investors as well. The dynamic model that we use toestimate the...

In this paper we examine the usefulness of multivariate semi-parametric GARCH models for evaluating the Value-at-Risk (VaR) of a portfolio with arbitrary weights. We specify and estimate several alternative multivariate GARCH models for daily returns on the Samp;P 500 and Nasdaq indexes....

In this paper we analyze the persistence in the performance of hedge funds taking into account look-ahead bias (multi-period sampling bias). To do so, we model liquidation of hedge funds and analyze how it depends upon historical performance. Next, we use a weighting procedure that eliminates...

Systemic crises can largely affect asset allocations due to the rapid deterioration of the risk-return trade-off. We investigate the effects of systemic crises, interpreted as global simultaneous shocks to financial markets, by introducing an investor adopting a crisis ignorant or crisis...

The driving force behind the well-documented medium term momentumeffect in stock returns is subject of much debate. Empirical papersthat aim to find the determinants of this return continuation, seem tobe almost exclusively restricted to US stock markets. Consequently,regional effects have...

Rede, in verkorte vorm uitgesproken bij de aanvaarding van het ambt van hoogleraar Ondernemingsfinanciering aan de Faculteit der Bedrijfskunde en de Faculteit der Economische Wetenschappen van de Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam op vrijdag 21 juni 2002

A wide range of empirical biases hampers hedge fund databases. In this paper we focus upon survival-related biases and disentangle look-ahead biases due to self-selection of funds and due to fund termination. Self-selection arises because funds voluntarily report their information to data...