Superannuation Funds: Ensuring the Financial Health of Australians in Retirement. Superannuation is relevant to all Australians, providing a foundation for their lifestyle in retirement. The protection and enhancement of superannuation savings have been high priorities of both government and regulatory agencies. Recent legislative changes include mandated choice of superannuation fund and increased disclosure requirements. Regulators have also flagged the need for increased corporate governance ....Superannuation Funds: Ensuring the Financial Health of Australians in Retirement. Superannuation is relevant to all Australians, providing a foundation for their lifestyle in retirement. The protection and enhancement of superannuation savings have been high priorities of both government and regulatory agencies. Recent legislative changes include mandated choice of superannuation fund and increased disclosure requirements. Regulators have also flagged the need for increased corporate governance among superannuation funds. This project assesses the impact of these developments through an assessment of competition, performance and accountability within the superannuation industry. Monitoring the industry in this way will strongly contribute to the financial and economic health of Australians in retirement.
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Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE140100253
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$373,700.00
Summary
Bank governance and financial crisis: implications for bank risk-taking, earnings management, and information efficiency. The global financial crisis signified that the connections between the governance of banks, their performance, and the long-term stability of the financial system are not well understood. This project investigates how executives' compensation, audit efforts and ownership structure in banks impact their risk-taking, accounting choices and information flows in a global setting ....Bank governance and financial crisis: implications for bank risk-taking, earnings management, and information efficiency. The global financial crisis signified that the connections between the governance of banks, their performance, and the long-term stability of the financial system are not well understood. This project investigates how executives' compensation, audit efforts and ownership structure in banks impact their risk-taking, accounting choices and information flows in a global setting for the periods before and around the crisis. The project findings will advance our knowledge of how to improve the existing monitoring systems of banks to safeguard the economy and to provide a more transparent bank system. The project will also facilitate an evaluation of the effectiveness of various reforms that were initiated following the crisis.Read moreRead less
The Importance of Being Politically Connected. The literature on the importance of political connections to firms and their value implications is scant. This project aims to develop a framework that depicts the interplay of political connections, institutional factors, corporate governance, media coverage and firm value. In particular, it investigates how political connections enhance the value of firms in China and how this changes as the market transitions.
The economic cost of insider trading - culture, legislation, governance, gender and crisis impacts: comparative evidence from around the globe. Does a country's culture and firm governance affect returns to insiders and/or general trading costs? Do uninformed insiders benefit at the expense of outsiders? By extending research internationally on these important equity issues, feedback is provided on best practice to increase information availability and reduce unscrupulous gains to insiders.
Australia’s Climate Strategy and Positioning for the Clean Tech Revolution. The aims of this project are to analyse and benchmark Australia’s climate change strategy and positioning in terms of its readiness to take advantage of a clean technology revolution, and to analyse what the revolution might look like and how it will evolve. Scientific evidence points to the increasingly urgent need for action on climate change and investment in cleaner technologies on a large scale. This need for action ....Australia’s Climate Strategy and Positioning for the Clean Tech Revolution. The aims of this project are to analyse and benchmark Australia’s climate change strategy and positioning in terms of its readiness to take advantage of a clean technology revolution, and to analyse what the revolution might look like and how it will evolve. Scientific evidence points to the increasingly urgent need for action on climate change and investment in cleaner technologies on a large scale. This need for action coincides with emerging policy and technological developments that are already taking place. The project aims to provide new decision-making frameworks for the timing and extent of investments in new technologies. Analysing Australia's positioning and the coming clean technology revolution would benefit policy-makers, corporations and investors.Read moreRead less
Surviving financial crises: a study of the Australian Government securities market. This project assesses the capacity of the Australian Government securities market to meet investor demand in times of financial crises. The outcomes will provide governments in Australia and other countries with the necessary tools to enhance the efficiency of securities markets and to flag liquidity problems in a timely manner.
Hedge Funds in Superannuation Portfolios: Are the Returns Worth the Risks? In recent years superannuation funds have delivered negative returns to members due to poorly performing stockmarkets. In striving to achieve higher rates of return, superannuation trustees have commenced allocating retirement savings to a new type of investment opportunity, termed hedge funds. There is a paucity of research about this new type of investment, particularly relating to the non-linear nature of hedge funds ....Hedge Funds in Superannuation Portfolios: Are the Returns Worth the Risks? In recent years superannuation funds have delivered negative returns to members due to poorly performing stockmarkets. In striving to achieve higher rates of return, superannuation trustees have commenced allocating retirement savings to a new type of investment opportunity, termed hedge funds. There is a paucity of research about this new type of investment, particularly relating to the non-linear nature of hedge funds returns. This study will investigate the risk and return trade-off of including hedge funds in superannuation portfolios and provide trustees with empirical tools to determine the optimal allocation to hedge funds.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE120101523
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$375,000.00
Summary
Impeding the bubble: evidence from experimental asset markets. We employ an innovative experimental design to investigate factors that are intended to prevent asset price bubbles and crashes. Our results will aid in developing strategies to avoid the devastating effects of a stock market crash like the recent global financial crisis.
An econometric investigation of technical analysis as a portfolio selection strategy in Australia. This project will provide an in-depth analysis of the returns of portfolios of Australian equities formed by using technical trading rules. The research will determine whether or not any abnormal returns earned by these means are attributable to firm-specific or market-wide factors. This project represents the first attempt to interpret technical analysis in a portfolio framework and will provide v ....An econometric investigation of technical analysis as a portfolio selection strategy in Australia. This project will provide an in-depth analysis of the returns of portfolios of Australian equities formed by using technical trading rules. The research will determine whether or not any abnormal returns earned by these means are attributable to firm-specific or market-wide factors. This project represents the first attempt to interpret technical analysis in a portfolio framework and will provide valuable information on the informational efficiency of Australian capital markets. As there is currently no single definitive study of technical analysis in Australia, this project will fill a significant void in the current academic literature and provide evidence of great practical relevance to Australian investment practitioners.Read moreRead less
Capital Management in a Stochastic Earnings Framework. Many large Australian firms have on-going capital management programs. These programs are aimed at ensuring that the firm maintains an optimal capital structure. This is often done according to rules of thumb or benchmarked against a few financial ratios. To the extent that more rigor can be introduced into the analysis of optimal capital structure, there is a clear benefit to Australian firms. Of course, the reason firms engage in capit ....Capital Management in a Stochastic Earnings Framework. Many large Australian firms have on-going capital management programs. These programs are aimed at ensuring that the firm maintains an optimal capital structure. This is often done according to rules of thumb or benchmarked against a few financial ratios. To the extent that more rigor can be introduced into the analysis of optimal capital structure, there is a clear benefit to Australian firms. Of course, the reason firms engage in capital management initiatives in the first place is to lower their cost of capital and to increase value. Any initiative that lowers the cost of capital of Australian firms will result in increased productivity and economic growth.Read moreRead less