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Abstract With increasing uncertainties in financial markets, individual investors now face difficult asset allocation choices. This article provides a framework for this deliberation by examining the marginal effects of the [...]

Abstract This study examines the impact of the single-family home on a family's optimal asset allocation decisions. Many researchers have studied individual investor portfolio allocations to stocks and bonds, but [...]

Financial crises inflict significant human as well as economic hardship. This paper focuses on the human fallout of capital market stress. Financial stress-induced behavioral changes can manifest in higher suicide and murder-suicide rates. We find that these rates also correlate with the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate (negatively associated; a -0.25% drop [in the rate of change in annual suicides for a +1% change in the independent variable]), unemployment rate (positive link; 0.298% increase), inflation rate (positive link; 0.169% increase in suicide rate levels) and stock market returns adjusted for the risk-free T-Bill rate (negative link; -0.047% drop). Suicides tend to rise during periods of economic turmoil, such as the recent Great Recession of 2008. An analysis of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data of more than 2 million non-natural deaths in the US since 1980 reveals a positive correlation with unemployment levels. We find that suicides and murder-suicides associated with adverse market sentiment lag the initial stressor by up to two years, thus opening a policy window for government/public health intervention to reduce these negative outcomes. Both our models explain about 73 to 76% of the variance in suicide rates and rate of change in suicide rates, and deploy a total of four widely available independent variables (lagged and/or transformed). The results are invariant to the inclusion/exclusion of 2008 data over the 1980–2016 time series, the period of our study. The disconnect between rational decision making, induced by cognitive dissonance and severe financial stress can lead to suboptimal outcomes, not only in the area of investing, but in a direct loss of human capital. No economic system can afford such losses. Finance journal articles focus on monetary alpha, which is the return on a portfolio in excess of the benchmark; we think it is important to be aware of the loss of human capital as a consequence of market instability. This study makes one such an attempt. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate the financing decisions of Korean firms during the period of 1996–2015. Korean firms follow a matching strategy for funding their cash needs. Cash inflows from investing activities are the primary source of funding for capital expenditures, and cash inflows from financing activities are the major means of covering cash outflows from financing activities. We also find that Korean firms’ financing practice of handling cash deficits can be described by the pecking order model modified and augmented by cash flow variables. Cash inflows from investing activities account for the major portion of financing to make up for cash deficits, followed by short- and long-term debt, and then equity financing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the long-term stock market performance of debt-free firms with high and low levels of debt capacity to see whether they are different. We use Fama and French’s (1993) three-factor and Carhart’s (1997) four-factor models to examine the subsequent 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5-year stock returns of firms that stayed debt free for 3- and 5-year periods. We measure debt capacity as the expected asset liquidation value of a firm, which is proxied by the firm-level tangibility measure defined by Berger, Ofek, and Swary (1996). We find that regardless of the level of debt capacity, zero-debt firms generate positive abnormal returns in the long run after controlling for key risk factors. We also find support for the notion that preserving debt capacity in the form of higher tangibility reinforces the positive abnormal returns over and above the effect of a zero-leverage policy. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

We examine the sentiment levels of individual investors relative to subsequent short-term market returns for 1992–2010. We find that sentiment, proxied by percentage of investors who are “bullish” on the market, is significantly negatively related to the subsequent three- and six-month performance of the market. The negative relationship is consistent with the contrarian notion of sentiment. In other words, high (low) levels of bullishness tend to be followed by subsequent low (high) returns. This is true even with the inclusion of standard control explanatory variables (Fama-French [1993]). While the significant results hold for the overall market, they are clearly driven by growth, rather than value stocks. Contrary to some earlier studies, we also note significant explanatory power for sentiment when looking at returns of small-, mid-, and large-cap growth stocks. We also noted that the long-term moving average of monthly bullishness increased from 33.3% to 39.0% over the last 18 years. In our study period, about 5% of the total sentiment observations are above 56% (very bullish) and about 5% are below 27% (quite bearish). Finally, we find some strength in the lagged autocorrelation structure for the sentiment variable that lasts for just about three to nine months. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article discusses the dispersion of beta estimates of exchange-traded funds available on some leading financial Web sites in the U.S. It reveals that these sites display betas misrepresenting the actual systematic risk levels. It warns that this may affect the investor's portfolio design. The main reason for the variance in beta estimates is also determined in this article.

Deals with a study which examined the interaction of the timeliness and safety ranks among investors and their relationship with `The Value Line Investment Survey,' a periodical that contains financial information and investment advice. Background information on the periodical; Data description; Value Line performance; Value line ranks and value-momentum relations; Relationship between value line ranks and company size.

Compares the impact life income has on the number of vacation and pleasure trips taken, and trip expenditure of families. Use of total household expenditure as a surrogate for permanent or life cycle income; Increase in money spent on trips as the income quintile increases; Methodology and results of the study.