Focusing on the growing trend of cross-border bank mergers in Europe, this thesis evaluates existing methodologies for measuring the success of such transactions. It emphasizes the need for further research into the value consequences of these mergers. By analyzing the merger between Italy's UniCredit and Germany's Hypovereinsbank, the work illustrates the effective application of these methodologies and highlights the benefits of assessing individual deals within a comprehensive multi-method framework.
Exploring the complexities of management share ownership as a corporate governance tool, this seminar paper delves into its potential impact on corporate performance. Despite extensive scholarly analysis, empirical results remain inconclusive. The author discusses the challenges that contribute to this uncertainty and suggests avenues for future research to clarify the relationship between management ownership and corporate success. The insights aim to enhance understanding of governance mechanisms in the business finance context.
An assessment of their statistical properties, predictability and exposures to economic risks
This work advances research on hedge fund returns in three key areas. First, it assesses the statistical properties of this alternative asset class, examining the extent of non-normality, autocorrelation, and heteroscedasticity in returns. Second, it employs advanced econometric methods to analyze the forecastability of monthly hedge fund returns. Third, it identifies and explains the economic risks impacting the performance of various hedge fund strategy styles. The empirical findings indicate that monthly hedge fund returns can be forecasted using multivariate regression models that incorporate economic predictors, such as interest rate changes and business outlook shifts. The econometric models account for the non-normal distribution, heteroscedasticity, and time-varying exposure to risk factors, demonstrating significant out-of-sample predictive power. Moreover, the study reveals that the relationships between monthly changes in risk factors and subsequent hedge fund returns remain stable over time, suggesting that hedge fund performance is sensitive to common business cycle movements. Overall, the results are valuable for researchers exploring contemporary return prediction methods and for investors seeking a deeper understanding of the drivers behind hedge fund returns.
Die Seminararbeit untersucht die Entwicklung und Relevanz von Dividendenpolitiken, beginnend mit dem Irrelevanztheorem von Miller und Modigliani. Sie analysiert verschiedene theoretische Ansätze zur Dividendenpolitik, insbesondere die Catering Theory of Dividends, die als neuer Erklärungsansatz vorgestellt wird. Der Text bietet eine umfassende Einordnung der bestehenden Theorien und erläutert deren wissenschaftliche Grundlagen. Zudem wird das Modell des Dividendencaterings empirisch überprüft und kritisch bewertet, bevor die Arbeit mit einem Gesamtfazit und Ausblick abschließt.
