In September 2003, several prominent mutual fund companies came under investigation for illegal trading practices. Allegations suggested these funds allowed certain investors to profit from short-term trading schemes at the expense of other investors. Surprisingly, regulatory authorities have...

This article analyzes investor beliefs as to stocks, the inadvertent role government plays in shaping those beliefs and thereby contributes to a rise in stock prices, and the need for government quot;neutralityquot; among investor belief systems. It suggests that, contrary to conventional...

This paper examines the risk profile of a selection of Australian Superannuation Funds over the period 1994 - 2004. In the context of rising domestic and international equity investments, coupled with an apparent lack of members effecting investment choice when available, the potential for an...

Many college and university 403(b) plans restrict investment choices to the funds offered by TIAA-CREF, the current manager of over half of all 403(b) contributions. In the face of 2006 Internal Revenue Code changes some sponsors are dropping alternatives to TIAA-CREF. Using historical data, we...

In individual account pension systems, members bear the risks and consequences of their investment decisions. If participants behave as predicted by economic theory, such responsibility would be welfare-enhancing as members would invest and hold a portfolio of financial assets with a risk-return...

Studies show that capital structure choice varies over time and across firms and that macroeconomic conditions are important factors in analyzing firms' financing choices. However, studies have largely ignored the impact of macroeconomic conditions on the adjustment speed of capital structure...

This paper examines the role that advertising plays in the mutual fund industry and whether advertising affects investors' fund and portfolio choices. Content analysis shows that only a small fraction of fund advertising is directly informative about characteristics relevant for rational...

The COVID-19 crisis has laid bare many preexisting conditions of modern society. Besides the obvious lack of pandemic preparedness, these include biodiversity loss, air pollution, supply chain vulnerabilities, and inequality, to name a few – all systemic risks that threaten the health and...

We examine the private information associated with insider trades using a Chinese data set. Insider buys positively forecast individual stock returns and insider sales negatively forecast individual stock returns. Classifying insiders as corporate managers and institutional investors, we find...

Written for undergraduate and graduate students of finance, economics and business, the fourth edition of Financial Markets and Institutions provides a fresh analysis of the European financial system. Combining theory, data and policy, this successful textbook examines and explains financial...