The investment portfolio of the Swiss National Bank and its carbon footprint

This paper details the nature of the equity holdings of the Swiss National Bank (SNB) and estimates its carbon footprint. By analysing SNB holdings in the 100 most polluting companies in the world, I find that the share of assets owned by the SNB is responsible for at least a quarter of Switzerland’s domestic CO2 emissions. This represents as much as the greenhouse gas emissions of all Swiss households combined or 0.05% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Using two different estimation methods, I find that the SNB’s portfolio generates between 12 and 20 million metric tons of CO2 per year. This could be reduced by 99.7% with an investment reallocation of just 2% of the equity portfolio of the SNB.

Ranking of optimal stock portfolios determined on the basis of expected utility maximization criterion

Aim/purpose–The aim of the paper is to rank the optimal portfolios of shares of com-panies listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange, taking into account the investor’s propen-sity to risk.Design/methodology/approach–Investment portfolios consisting of varied number of companies selected from WIG 20 index were built. Next, the weights of equity holdings of these companies in the entire portfolio were determined, maximizing portfolio’s expected (square) utility function, and then the obtained structures were compared between investors with various levels of risk propensity. Using Hellwig’s taxonomic development measure, a ranking of optimum stock portfolios depending on the inves-tor’s risk propensity was prepared. The research analyzed quotations from 248 trading sessions.Findings–The findings indicated that whilst there are differences in the weight struc-tures of equity holdings in the entire portfolio between the investor characterized by aversion to risk at the level of γ = 10 and the investor characterized by aversion to risk at the level of γ = 100, the rankings of the constructed optimum portfolios demonstrate strong similarity. The study validated, in conformity with the literature, that with the increase in the number of equity holdings in the portfolio, the portfolio risk initially decreases and then becomes stable at a certain level.Research implications/limitations–The study used data from the past as for which there is no guarantee that they will be adequate for the future. There is sensitivity to the selection of the period from which the historic data come. When changing the period of the analyzed historic data by a small time unit it may prove that the portfolio composi-tion will become totally different. Originality/value/contribution–The paper compares the composition of optimum stock portfolios depending on the investor’s propensity to risk. Their ranking was cre-ated using the taxonomic method for this purpose. Taking advantage of this method also additional variables can be taken into account,which describe and differentiate the port-folio and they can be assigned relevant significance depending on the investor’s prefer-ences. Keywords: optimal portfolio, expected rate of return on the portfolio, portfolio standard deviation, expected utility theory, multidimensional comparative analysis.JEL Classification:G10, G11.

Stock Market Contagion during the Global Financial Crises: Evidence from the Chilean Stock Market

The study examines evidence for the transmission of the US and EU financial crises via investor holdings into the Chilean stock market following two global financial crises, in 2008 and 2011. The study modified the models of Bekaert et al. (2014), and Dungey and Gajurel (2015) on the 2007–2009 global financial crisis and extends the period to include the European debt crisis of 2010–2011. The study produced three main contributions. First, changes in the equity holdings of retail investors were a key source of contagion following the 2008 US financial crisis. Second, investor herding during the 2011 financial crisis is shown to be low based on the co-movement of equity holdings between the four investor groups studied. Third, investor behavior during the 2011 EU crisis differs from that of the 2008 US financial crisis, which we attribute to firms in Chile adopting international financial reporting standards (IFRS) and improving their corporate governance. We compared the findings to the prior contagion studies that rely on Chilean return data to highlight the contributions to international financial research, particularly as it relates to the functioning of emerging capital markets during financial crises.

Overlapping membership on audit and compensation committees, equity holdings of overlapping members and audit outcomes

PurposeThis paper aims to examine the question of whether external auditors incorporate equity holdings by overlapping audit committee members as a priced governance factor and tests whether this attribute, as a mechanism for ensuring good governance, affects the propensity for external auditors to issue modified audit opinions.Design/methodology/approachOverlapping membership in this context refers to the arrangement where at least one audit committee member also sits on the compensation committee. Both ordinarily least square and logistic regression are used to capture the impact of overlapping committee members and equity holding of those overlapping committee members.FindingsUsing archival data from Australian Stock Exchange listed companies, the authors find support for the beneficial effect of having overlapping audit committee members with equity holdings. The authors also find that auditor propensity to issue modified audit opinions is lower for firms with equity holdings by overlapping audit committee members.Practical implicationsThe finding has practical implication to the investors and regulators as overlapping audit committee members with equity holdings may provide especially effective oversight by monitoring opportunistic accounting policy choices for maximizing compensation pay. To the extent that this occurs, audit risk will decrease, requiring less audit effort and lower audit fees than would otherwise be necessary. Similarly, such oversight is likely to make financial reporting more credible and will reduce the possibility of receiving modified audit opinions by reporting organizations.Originality/valueBoth audit and compensation committees are equally important in modern organizations. While both of the committee have distinctive responsibilities, questions remain on the desirability of overlapping audit committee. Also, this is the first study to the authors’ knowledge that incorporates overlapping membership on audit and compensation committee as an important component of auditor risk perception which regards in pricing the audit fees.