Investment fund selection techniques from the perspective of Brazilian pension funds

ABSTRACT The aim of this article was to evaluate the effectiveness of investment fund selection techniques from the perspective of Brazilian pension funds. Asset liability management (ALM) and liability driven investment (LDI) strategies are usually adopted to guide pension fund managers in relation to strategic allocation in asset classes that should compose their investment portfolios and to the liquidity needed in each period, but not specifying in which assets to allocate resources from among the infinity of assets available in the financial market. This article contributes to tactical management in the fixed income and stock segments outsourced via funds and demonstrates that adopting simple indicators can increase investment performance. The article broadens the knowledge on pension fund investment decisions and creates confidence in the adoption of the Sharpe ratio as a technique for choosing investment funds. We analyzed the returns obtained by hypothetical portfolios built using the following techniques: (i) the Sharpe ratio; (ii) the alpha of a multifactor model; (iii) data envelopment analysis (DEA) efficiency; and (iv) the different combinations of these techniques. We considered information on 369 funds from 2013 to 2018, adopting 12 temporal windows for choosing and re-evaluating the portfolios. The returns obtained were compared with the mean actuarial goal of the benefits plans administered by the pension funds, by means of the unplanned divergence (UD). When outsourcing pension fund investments in fixed income and stock investment funds it was verified that the Sharpe ratio contributes significantly to pension fund performance, compared with other indicators and techniques or a combination of them.

Rethinking the Prospects of Sustainable Finance and Challenges of Agribusiness Transformation in Nigeria

The chapter explicates the need to rethink the prospects of sustainable finance (SF) for agribusiness transformation in spite of the challenges facing the sector in Nigeria. It extends to highlighting the implications of the nexus on entrepreneurship development. After a triangular data analysis using the world development indicators (2000-2016) and scholarly articles, the authors found that the prospects of SF are enormous: (1) Nigeria has a modest agricultural growth performance in the crop, food, livestock, and cereal production that could support SF; and (2) SF options such as green loans, green bonds, green credit, green investment funds, green mortgage scheme, and other green financial support instruments could be suitable for agribusiness transformation in the country. Also, the content analysis revealed there are 13 challenges facing agribusiness transformation in the country, and these have harmed the vegetation, farmland, and ocean leading to low productivity. The authors contribute to the literature by identifying SF options as a game-changer for agribusiness transformation.

Analysis of LQ45 share portfolio on Quadrimester I during the Covid-19 pandemic

Investment is a way of getting profit by investing a certain amount of capital in certain assets. Investing in shares in LQ45 amid the Covid-19 pandemic is one way to benefit when many sectors are experiencing an economic downturn. The purpose of this study was to analyze the differences in the optimal portfolio of LQ45 stocks in the 2019 and 2020 quadrimester I. The samples of this study were companies listed in LQ45. This research method uses the treynor index and t-test. The results of this study are that there is a significant difference in the optimal portfolio using the treynor index model between quadrimester I 2019 and 2020 on LQ45 stocks, this is influenced by conditions amid the Covid-19 pandemic which affects all sectors. The highest optimal number of purchases in the month April 2020 is occupied by companies with the KLBF code, this is an advantage that the company gets during the Covid-19 pandemic. Future research is expected to be able to allocate investment funds optimally for each share to achieve optimal profits. The investor is expected to be able to estimate in advance the stocks that will be selected for their investment.

Distributing the European structural and investment funds from a conflicting claims approach

In order to support economic development across all European Union regions, €351.8 billion –almost a third of the total EU budget– has been set aside for the Cohesion Policy during the 2014–2020 period. The distribution of this budget is made through five main structural and investment funds, after long and difficult negotiations among the EU member states. This paper analyzes the problem of allocating the limited resources of the European Regional Development Fund as a conflicting claims problem. Specifically, we attempt to show how the conflicting claims approach fits this actual problem, and we propose alternative ways of distributing the budget via (i) claims solutions or (ii) the imposition of bounds (guarantees) to each of the regions. By applying this approach we also show that there is a claims solution that performs better than the others by reducing inequality and promoting convergence to a greater degree. It is clear that political bargaining will always be part of the allocation process. However, having an intuitive initial proposal may help politicians to find the best agreement. To that effect, we propose the use of a claims solution as a way to find an initial proposal for future policy changes concerning the allocations of the EU structural funds.

Implementation Of ‘Mudharabah’ Contracts And Their Impacts On Fund-Raising Products In Jambi Sharia Banking

Funds with the ‘mudharabah’ principle are investment funds so that Islamic banks share the proceeds only to the owners of funds that use the ‘mudharabah’ principle. The collection of funds is applied to savings and deposit products that use ‘mudharabah’ contracts. The amount of income received by the owner of the ‘mudharabah’ fund is part of the income received in cash from the distribution of funds by Islamic banks. Therefore, the funds collected with the ‘mudharabah’ principle are one of the elements in calculating profit sharing. The problem raised in the research is how to implement the ‘mudharabah’ contract and its impact on fund-raising products in Islamic banking. Two main things affect the quality or results of research: the quality of research instruments and the quality of data collection. The quality of research instruments relates to the validity and reliability of the instruments and the quality of data collection regarding the accuracy of the methods used to collect data. Therefore, an instrument tested for validity and reliability may not necessarily produce valid and reliable data if the instrument is not appropriately used in collecting data. The type of research was the quantitative technique used through interviews, observations, and documentation. In analyzing the data obtained, the authors used descriptive techniques. The results showed that applying ‘mudharabah’ contracts to fund-raising products at Islamic banks is only applied to savings and deposit products, and the advantages of products that use ‘mudharabah’ contracts are basically to make it easier for customers to transact. These products can be used as financing guarantees. There are supporting and inhibiting factors in the products that use ‘mudharabah’ contracts. These supporting factors include the existence of Islamic sharia principles, which are used as a reference for implementing a profit-sharing system on all products, especially savings and deposit products, and the existence of infrastructure facilities within the company that are pretty complete. Meanwhile, the inhibiting factors include the lack of socialization regarding Islamic banks' existence. Abstrak: Dana dengan prinsip 'mudharabah' adalah dana investasi sehingga bank syariah membagi hasil hanya kepada pemilik dana yang menggunakan prinsip 'mudharabah'. Penghimpunan dana diterapkan pada tabungan dan deposito dengan akad mudharabah. Besarnya pendapatan yang diterima oleh pemilik dana mudharabah merupakan bagian dari pendapatan yang diterima secara tunai dari penyaluran dana oleh bank syariah. Oleh karena itu, dana yang dihimpun dengan prinsip 'mudharabah' menjadi salah satu unsur dalam menghitung bagi hasil. Masalah yang diangkat dalam penelitian ini adalah bagaimana penerapan akad mudharabah dan dampaknya terhadap penghimpunan dana di perbankan syariah. Dua hal utama yang mempengaruhi kualitas atau hasil penelitian: kualitas instrumen penelitian dan kualitas pengumpulan data. Kualitas instrumen penelitian berkaitan dengan validitas dan reliabilitas instrumen serta kualitas pengumpulan data mengenai ketepatan metode yang digunakan untuk mengumpulkan data. Jenis penelitian yang digunakan adalah teknik kuantitatif melalui wawancara, observasi, dan dokumentasi. Dalam menganalisis data yang diperoleh, penulis menggunakan teknik deskriptif. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa penerapan akad mudharabah pada produk penghimpunan dana di bank syariah hanya berlaku pada produk tabungan dan deposito, dan keunggulan produk yang menggunakan akad mudharabah pada dasarnya adalah untuk memudahkan nasabah dalam bertransaksi. Produk-produk ini dapat digunakan sebagai jaminan pembiayaan. Ada faktor pendukung dan penghambat dalam produk yang menggunakan akad mudharabah. Faktor pendukung tersebut antara lain adanya prinsip syariah Islam yang dijadikan acuan penerapan sistem bagi hasil pada semua produk khususnya produk tabungan dan deposito, serta adanya sarana prasarana di dalam perusahaan yang cukup lengkap. Sedangkan faktor penghambatnya antara lain kurangnya sosialisasi tentang keberadaan bank syariah. Kata-kata kunci: mudharabah, implementasi, dampak, produk penghimpunan dana, perbankan syariah.

The importance of cohesion policy for the development of the railway system of the Republic of Croatia

Cohesion policy is one of the European Union’s policies, which provides Member States with the possibility of financial support under the European Structural and Investment Funds (ESI Funds) as well as with the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF), to reduce disparities and encourage the development of less developed Member States. By funding through Cohesion policy funds, the European Union seeks to accomplish a prosperous economy by achieving appropriate European standards in the individual Member States. Cohesion policy emphasizes the development of transport and mobility, and in particular, the investment in key transport links and sections of international importance through the revitalization of railway infrastructure in line with European Union standards. The railway system of the Republic of Croatia has been under-invested for many years, which is why it has not followed the requirements and needs of the development of the transport market. Membership in the European Union has provided the Republic of Croatia with co-financing for the development of the railway system. This paper will analyse the current investments in the railway system and the development potentials that are planned to be achieved in the next programming period. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to analyse the importance of the Cohesion Policy of the European Union for the development of the railway system of the Republic of Croatia in the Programming period 2021-2027. The analysis aims to identify opportunities for further development of the railway system as the ‘cleanest’ transport industry, guided by the need to reduce harmful emissions following the European Green Deal by using funds from the European Structural and Investment Funds.

Assessing the Effectiveness for Achieving Policy Objectives of Land Consolidation in China: Evidence from Project Practices in Jiangsu Province from 2001 to 2017

Land consolidation (LC) is an important measure taken to increase the quantity and productivity of farmland while reducing land fragmentation and ensuring food security. However, long-term land consolidation project (LCP) practices are rarely analyzed to assess the effectiveness for achieving current policy objectives of LC in China. Taking the practices of LCPs in Jiangsu Province from 2001 to 2017 as a case study, we used the spatial self-related analysis, the consistency analysis, and the redundant analysis (RDA), and found that the construction scale and the investment amount of LC in Jiangsu Province displayed varying trends, and that the newly increased farmland rate is clearly divided into three stages and gradually decreases. The newly increased farmland area, the investment funds, and reserved land resources for farmlands are not spatially synchronized in Jiangsu Province. Only the positive relationship between the LC rate and the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) growth rate continue to rise. The earlier stage of land consolidation projects (LCPs)’s practices is mainly affected by natural and social factors, and the late stage is mainly affected by economic and strategic factors. Finally, a new implementation scheme framework of LC planning has been proposed. This framework provides reference for top-level design, planning, and management of LC policies at the national level in China and other developing countries. Check meaning retained.

Evaluation of investment funds through different performance measures

Purpose - The aim of this study is to examine the evaluation of Brazilian equity funds from different performance measures. Theoretical framework - In the literature, several indexes are available that can be used to evaluate the performance of investment funds. Design/methodology/approach - Monthly return data were collected from 1,901 Brazilian equity funds. Fund performance was estimated using four indexes: the Sharpe ratio, the Sortino ratio, Jensen’s alpha, and the Treynor ratio. Findings - The results showed that all four performance measures are positively associated. This means that there are no significant differences in the ranking of Brazilian equity funds in terms of performance. Research, Practical & Social implications - The comparison of different performance indexes contributes to the literature on the subject by providing further data for researchers to adequately define the indexes considered in studies on the performance of funds. Originality/value - This study fills a gap in the literature regarding the analysis of performance measures of investment funds. Keywords - Mutual funds. Equity funds. Performance.