Fund Management

Investment opportunities remain vast within the Botswana economy and investors seek to make wise choices about their investments hence would require help selecting the most profitable from the options presented to them. Recent studies have showed their own view of unit trusts and the stock market and how to benefit from them but none has touched on the long term investment especially generally for Botswana. This dissertation aims to evaluate a structure of investing both unit trusts and into the stock market using the unique earnings capabilities of the respective asset classes. Current literature has outlined that the unit trust industry is one of the fastest growing in the finance sector and their competitive edge lies with their diversification thereby minimising risk and creating room for wealth creation while on the other hand the stock market bears a number of systematic risks for different types of stock available. With higher risks are an expectation of higher returns hence risk takers would benefit vastly. The researcher adopted an abductive approach for a pragmatist philosophy so say that there are a number of ways to interpret one picture hence being open minded about investment ventures available for inclusion in one’s portfolio. Instruments such as questionnaires were used to collect data and analysis for which done though statistical software’s; archival research analysis which was quantitative was through the assistance of Microsoft excel. The data was collected from a sample of investors whom a good number of which are of have a University degree in Finance hence have sound knowledge on the dynamics of investing. The study found that BIHL from the sample of listed companies outperformed the others and is the most profitable stock on the stock exchange; BIFM and Stanlib have profitable portfolios which investors should venture into and are the money market and balanced prudential fund respectively. The study has also found that a number of investors would like to invest in the future and are certain about investing their money in a company than keeping it in a bank, only a fair number of the participants seem aware of fund managers available in the country hence this research would like to bridge the gap of lack of sufficient information. The concluding decisions emphasised henceforth was that indeed stock and unit trusts are profitable in the short, medium and long term thus the recommendation is to invest in both starting with unit trusts then the stock market given that capital is adequate.  The limitation of the study though is the assumption of adequate capital which is not always so and lack of a third party to corroborate the prospected portfolio for Batswana investors.

Local Government Taxation in Nigerian Local system with particular reference to Mubi-North local government area has been an issue that has for long been neglected. The revenue accrued from this (taxation) are not been harnessed to ensure development at the local level. This research Project titled: Local Government Taxation and its effects on Infrastructural Development have been used to analyze the level of development in the local government with the use of questionnaires. The primary and secondary sources of data were employed in the course of the research work. One hundred questionnaires were designed with three sections: biodata, general questions to the market people, and the last section to the local government tax officials. In all, five questionnaires were not returned. It is from the remaining ninety five questionnaires that were answered that the researcher did his research findings. The research findings have shown that there is no much link between the taxes collected and infrastructural development in the local government. At the end of the research work, the research suggested among others that the local government should sensitize people on why they have to pay taxes to the local government so that they can motivate the people to pay in the future without hesitation. The local government tax officials should also be oriented regularly about their duties, since taxation is a strong factor in development.

This study entitled the effect of funds management on project performance in Rwanda. The general objective of this research is to assess the effect of funds management on project performance in Rwanda. Specific objectives were to analyse relationship between budgeting and project performance in Rwanda; to determine the influence of fundraising on project performance in Rwanda; to determine the effect of funds allocation on project performance in Rwanda; and to analyse the effect of funds control on project Performance in Rwanda. This research was a descriptive-correlational design and used both qualitative and quantitative research approaches. The population of this study was 91 employees. Questionnaires were used in this study as data collection instruments. Descriptive statistics were used to determine frequencies and percentages of respondents, while regression analysis and Pearson correlation coefficient were used to establish relationship between variables under study. The Statistical Packaging for Social Sciences version 16was used in this study. The researcher found that there is a positive relationship between funds allocation and project performance in Rwanda, there is a positive relationship between funds control and project performance in Rwanda, there is a positive relationship between budgeting and project performance in Rwanda, there is a positive relationship between fundraising and project performance in Rwanda. The study also found that the regression analysis equation is projects performance (Y) =-0.274 + 0.178* budgeting + 0.635* fundraising + 0.136* funds allocation + 0.583* funds control. This implies that the transition from managing projects requires more focus on budgeting, fund raising, funds allocation and funds control. Based from the discussion, it is concluded that, budgeting, fundraising, funds control and funds allocation plays a big role towards performance of the project. The techniques used during this process of budgeting are supposed to make sure that effective management of funds is done. The management of the project should always make sure that, budgets systems, funds control, funds allocation and fundraising are clear and following the principles of project management to avoid audit queries all the time which may affect the implementation of the project activities.

The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of Fund management practices on performance of public universities in Kenya. Taking a case study of Kisii University, the study sampled 126 employees, however only 109 questionnaires were found usable to be included in the analysis. After Data collection, spreadsheet was prepared on SPSS and simple descriptive statistics was applied after which inferential statistics was applied to test the hypothesis. The Findings indicated that the fund management practice at Kisii University was very regular and well managed. Mechanisms are put in place for internal controls like auditing and all expenditures are authorized. It was concluded that the government allocates funds to all public universities and this funds are distributed to all needy departments as per their requirements and university' performance is effective as it has performed well in terms of development.

The cost-benefit equation of the Pak-U.S. alliance, in the fight against terrorism, reflects a direct correlation between the fluctuating patterns of U.S. assistance and their direct and indirect implications for Pakistan. While the U.S. strives to achieve a better return on its investment through military-oriented support, Pakistan seeks to adopt an approach that suits both the U.S. and its own domestic and regional interests. This research traces the trend of Pak U.S. relations, highlights the impact of the fluctuating U.S. aid in shaping perceptions, and provides a game
theoretical analysis on the issue. Besides highlighting measures to achieve cost effectiveness through micro alliances, decentralization, accountability, and transparency in fund management, the study supports development of entrepreneurial culture and micro-alliances in Pakistan. More importantly, it provides an in-depth analysis of the military and population-centric approaches and their associated costs and benefits for the two countries. The research concludes by suggesting a more population-centric U.S. approach towards Pakistan to achieve a better return on investment besides laying foundation for a long-term strategic alliance. It suggests future research on the prospects and methodology of achieving a long-term partnership between the two nations.

Measuring mutual fund managers' skills by Microsoft's TrueSkill algorithm, we find highly skilled managers to behave self-confident resulting in higher risk-taking in the second half of the year compared to less skilled managers. Introducing the TrueSkill algorithm, which is widely used in the e-sports community, to this branch of literature, we can replicate previous findings and theories suggesting overconfidence for midyears winners.

This paper seeks to offer a perspective from two practitioners on how the potential for retirement fund collaboration to improve long-term market returns could be realised. After looking at the Universal Owner hypothesis and long-term market returns, and their relevance to pension funds, the paper looks at collaboration to date, and the problems of collective action in general. After outlining several current collaborative opportunities, the ways in which they address the problems of collective action are outlined. The paper ends with a call to action to the leaders of the world’s largest pension funds.

This report describes the existing structure and activities of institutional investors in China. It identifies key principles for building a solid institutional investor base going forward. The nation's institutional investors are largely comprised of life insurance companies and pension and investment fund managers. In addition, trust and investment companies (TICS) and securities companies offer their clients discretionary asset management services. Overall, China's ratio of institutionally-managed assets is small compared to developed markets, representing around 11 percent of GDP. China has the potential to build one of the largest institutional investor bases worldwide. Promoting the emergence of competent institutional investors is an important complement to an overall capital markets development strategy. Since institutional investors tend to have longer-term investment time horizons, they provide an ideal source of funds for investment in longer-term government and i...

Personality has for a long time been viewed as an important aspect of job performance. Two different types of personality variables have been detected: conscious, explicit traits and more unconscious, implicit motives. The relationship between personality and fund manager performance has mainly been studied within the field of behavioral finance. However, the scientific findings concerning the association of personality features with fund manager performance are rather fragmented. One reason for this apparent fragmentation is that research has concentrated on measurements of the mainly explicit traits and has neglected to measure implicit motives. In the present study, the theoretical and methodological approach is quite different. Personality measurements covering both implicit motives and explicit traits are studied in relation to objective data on fund managers’ five-year risk-adjusted performance (Sharpe). The five-year performance measurement period (2000-2005) of forty Finnish professional fund managers included a 31-month-long declining bear market and a 29-month-long rising bull market. This study had three major goals: first, to study the utility and validity of three personality tests—the Zulliger, Wartegg and Personality Research Form (PRF)—in relation to five-year performance (Study I); secondly, to construct a core personality indicator and investigate how the personality indicator predicts five- year performance (Study II); and thirdly, to investigate if the indicator’s three personality characteristics, financial risk attitude, stress tolerance and complex problem- solving, loaded differently on the bull and bear markets (Study III). The findings of Study I showed that the Zulliger Test had the strongest associative connection with fund performance, the PRF had the second strongest associative connection, and third came the Wartegg Test. In Study II, the three personality characteristics, financial risk attitude, stress tolerance and complex problem-solving, explained 53.8% of investors’ five-year performance. The results of Study III showed that small differences are found in the prediction strength of personality characteristics between bull and bear markets. The conclusions of the study are, briefly, that implicit motives have been neglected in behavioral finance, and individual thinking and stress management should be encouraged in order to enhance performance. Contrary to previous evidence, it seems possible to define the personality profile of the successful professional fund manager.

Keywords: personality measures, fund managing, fund performance, risk taking, stress, problem solving, test validity, Zulliger Z test, Wartegg, PRF 

Gloveli Shalva, Mania Esma. Fund Management: Archive Unit as an Artifact and its Super-normative Nature / შალვა გლოველი, ესმა მანია. ფონდების მართვა: საარქივო ერთეული როგორც არტეფაქტი და მისი ზენორმატიული ბუნება / Caucasus Journal of Social Sciences, Volume 4, Issue 1. Tbilisi. 2011

Abstract: Purpose of this paper–The average company spends 23 cents out of every dollar of revenue on overhead, yet most firms lack a plan or system for aligning the with their strategic goals. This paper aims to look at a strategic approach to overhead management.

Socially Responsible Investment (SRI) refers to investment practices that take into account financial, social and environmental aspects. The objective of this paper is to identify the factors which may influence fund management companies in making a decision to manage and/or market SRI funds and the variables that can determine whether or not this company has an explicit Corporate Social Responsibility

The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of Fund management practices on performance of public universities in Kenya. Taking a case study of Kisii University, the study sampled 126 employees, however only 109 questionnaires were found usable to be included in the analysis. After Data collection, spreadsheet was prepared on SPSS and simple descriptive statistics was applied after which inferential statistics was applied to test the hypothesis. The Findings indicated that the fund management practice at Kisii University was very regular and well managed. Mechanisms are put in place for internal controls like auditing and all expenditures are authorized. It was concluded that the government allocates funds to all public universities and this funds are distributed to all needy departments as per their requirements and university' performance is effective as it has performed well in terms of development.

This chapter discusses research on how fund managers cope with the uncertainty of the past, present and future of markets and their investments by observation and narration of contents available on scopic market screens (Knorr Cetina and Preda 2007). I will argue that “evaluative cultures” in both public and private spheres help shape the narratives used to make sense of market information on the scopic market screens.