Defined outcome Exchange Traded-Funds (ETFs) are investment vehicles that use complex options-based strategies to produce a defined outcome for investors over a predefined period. Buffers and caps are created with options to structure an attractive payoff attained only at the end of an outcome...

We present evidence that share repurchases reduce investment inefficiencies related to short-term investors. Using U.S. data from 1988 to 2018, we first document that stock buybacks are associated with lower long-term investments. However, contrary to popular perception that buybacks sacrifice...

Previous research attributes long-run reversals to investor over-reaction or tax-motivated trading; we offer an alternative explanation based on aggregate funding conditions. Our evidence shows that prices rebound for stocks that have performed poorly over the past several years (Losers);...

This paper analyzes security-market returns relative to the political party of the president, the Federal Reserve's monetary policy, the year of the president's term, and the state of political gridlock. Contrary to prior studies, which evaluated the influences separately, we jointly evaluate...

Operating leverage (OL) and profitability are interrelated determinants of stock returns. We show that the outperformance of firms with high OL is driven by periods of unconstrained aggregate funding conditions. Firms with high OL are more risky in general, but when the Fed eases funding...

Emerging and frontier financial markets in the Asia-Pacific region have experienced significant changes in recent years in areas affecting regulation, market participants, and products. This collection presents perspectives from authors in local markets who provide their analysis of the history,...