Overview
ARX receives up to 100 new submissions each month: academic papers, industry research, white papers, market analysis and others. Here is a curated selection of new and noteworthy posts from our institutional and individual contributors.
To browse or search ARX's repository of more than 3000 posts, select "Research" in the upper left-hand corner of the page.
Travelution in Southeast Asia: Trends in Travel Technology
A report on travel-tech in Southeast Asia illustrates the landscape, analyses the trends, and highlights opportunities of investing into early-stage travel-tech companies. It points towards a convergence between travel industry and other sectors.
16 January 2020 | Vynn Capital: Victor Chua Kok Hoe, Shivan Bhavnani
Download PDF >Attention and Housing Search: Evidence from Online Listings
A study of fluctuations in buyers’ attention to the housing market and their effects on home sales shows that buyers respond positively to price growth. They search more extensively, cover a broader range of locations and property characteristics.
Winner of the ARX-sponsored best paper award at the Finance, Property, Technology, and the Economy Conference, organised by the University of South Australia Business School, held in Adelaide, Australia, on 2–3 December 2019.
Download PDF >
The Role of Korean Institutional Investors in ESG Investing
Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) investing is increasingly gaining attention in Korea as such investments are expanding internationally. Korean institutional investors are less active in utilizing ESG investing principles than foreign institutional investors. Stronger means are needed to induce Korean institutional investors to move beyond short-term-oriented perspectives and embrace ESG investing.
9 January 2020 | Ick Jin
Download PDF >Goodwill Amortization Debate
A series of papers in which the International Valuation Standards Council explores whether goodwill is economically a wasting asset, and if so, if the life and implicit decline in value can be reasonably estimated and supported.
8 January 2020 | International Valuation Standards Council (IVSC), Kevin Prall
Part 1: Is Goodwill a Wasting Asset? >
Part 2: Information Value of the Impairment Test >
Career Insights: Proprietary Desk (Webinar)
Proprietary desk is an emerging area in investment management offering enormous career opportunities for budding professionals. Its mandate is to invest money from a company’s own balance sheet and generate an absolute return from the equity market that should be better than the return from fixed-income instruments
28 November 2019 | Biswarup Mohapatra, CFA, Biharilal Deora, CFA, CIPM | 1 CE | Video: 1 hr 5 min
For more "Career Insights" webinars, visit the Webinars section or browse ARX posts under Research.
Practitioners’ Insights: Passive Investing in an Active World (Webinar)
Passive strategies have been attracting a large pool of investors who want to generate market returns at a relatively lower cost. However, in India they have not yet gathered as much momentum. We discuss passive investing approaches that wealth advisers and financial planners could use, and how to use passive strategies to balance an active approach.
3 October 2019 | Anil Ghelani, CFA, Shreenivas Kunte, CFA, CIPM | 1 CE | Video: 1 hr 9 min
For more "Practitioners' Insights" webinars, visit the Webinars section or browse ARX posts under Research.
Blending Low Volatility with Dividend Yield in the China A-Share Market
Excluding high volatility stocks from a high-dividend-yield portfolio may reduce portfolio volatility and improve portfolio returns on a risk-adjusted basis, delivering a stable income from dividends and reduced drawdown during down markets.
31 December 2019 | Xiaoya Qu, Liyu Zeng, Priscilla Luk
The Next Decade: The Ebbing Waves
The report extends a theory about the short-to-intermediate economic cycle into the longer term. In theory, the short and intermediate cycles should join into a conjuncture in which interplay of movements makes up the direction of the economy.
30 December 2019 | Hao Hong, CFA
Download PDF: < English > < Chinese >
Bangladesh Steel Industry
Bangladesh is one of Asia's leading emerging steel markets and has a growing need for raw materials and steel-making technologies. Fortunately, the country has a proud heritage of steel making, with over 400 steel, re-rolling and auto-re-rolling mills.
29 December 2019 | Mohammad Asrarul Haque, Abdullah Arif
Download PDF >Economic Analysis for Non-Economists: The Investment Case for Myanmar 2019
This technical note attempts to assist non-economists in the task of performing an initial economic analysis for an emerging market economy (using Myanmar as a case study), primarily for the purpose of underwriting a cross-border investment.
27 December 2019 | Paul Anslow
Download PDF >Golfing for Information: Social Interactions and Economic Consequences
Social interactions of company directors at golf courses allows them to acquire information that helps realize higher profits. Such interactions help developers buy new land and sell new units at lower prices, but there are spillover effects.
Winner of the best paper award at the 32nd Australasian Finance and Banking Conference organised by the Institute of Global Finance and the School of Banking and Finance, UNSW Business School, held in Sydney, Australia, on 16-18 December 2019. View all AFBC 2019 submissions.
Download PDF >
Amendments to Japan's Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Act (FEFTA)
The proposed amendment to FEFTA lowers the ownership threshold in companies deemed to be nationally sensitive from 10% to 1% before government pre-approval is required for foreign shareholders. We surveyed investors about this change.
16 December 2019 | CFA Society Japan, CFA Institute
Innovation and Ultimate Controlling Shareholders in China: Should the State Shrink Itself to Residuals?
An analysis of 2,739 listed firms in China looks at state-owned enterprises and those with non-state controlling ownership, to examine the effects of ownership structure on corporate innovation performance in a transition economy.
Winner of the CFA Asia Pacific Research Exchange Award at the 2019 New Zealand Finance Meeting, held at the Auckland Centre for Financial Research, Auckland University of Technology in Auckland, New Zealand, on 18-20 December 2019.
12 December 2019 | Yongjia (Rebecca) Lin, Xiaoqing (Maggie) Fu, Xiaolan Fu
Revisiting the Power of Passive Investing
How powerful is passive investing today? Take an in-depth look at the active vs. passive debate with Rick Ferri of Ferri Investment Solutions and S&P DJI’s Craig Lazzara.
18 November 2019 | S&P Dow Jones Indices | Video: 10 min.
Factor Investing Considerations: Questions and Answers
Portfolio construction methods are many and varied, particularly when it comes to the creation of portfolios exposed to common factors, such as value, size and quality. In this paper, FTSE Russell addresses questions frequently asked by clients.
4 December 2019 | FTSE Russell
FTSE Russell China Bond Research Report - November 2019
Despite macroeconomic headwinds, in July 2019 China’s regulators announced more liberalization measures to open up its financial markets. Holdings of RMB-denominated bonds by offshore investors hit 2 trillion RMB for the first time in Q3 2019.
4 December 2019 | FTSE Russell
How Climate Change Could Impact Sovereign Risk
Climate change has implications for sovereign risk in both advanced and emerging economies, via changes in fiscal policy, social contract and political stability. Physical risks correspond to the potential economic and financial losses caused by climate-related hazards. Transition risks can be defined as the risk of economic dislocation and financial losses associated with the process of adjusting to a low-carbon economy.
4 December 2019 | FTSE Russell
Investing in Emerging Market Equities: Developing and implementing strategies that balance risk and reward
The report sponsored by FTSE Russell, featuring whitepapers, interviews, and roundtable debates. It covers tensions, tariffs and trade wars; balancing risk and reward; the business growth cycle in global emerging markets and the role of China.
4 December 2019 | Clear Path Analytics, FTSE Russell
Bridging the Gap in Green Bond Standards Between China and the West
Based on the different views of the concept of ecological civilization, the paper identifies major differences in green bond standards between China and the West, and makes suggestions for a better coordinated development of the global green bond market.
28 November 2019 | Suyang Liu, Zhiting Yun, Ziyue Zhou
Sales Inducements in Asia Pacific: A review of sales and distribution of mutual funds
The report examines regulations and practices regarding sales commissions and fees paid to financial advisers in Australia, Hong Kong SAR, India, and Singapore. It evaluates regulatory initiatives intended to reduce conflicts of interest and improve customer outcomes.
25 November 2019 | Mary Leung, CFA; Sara Cheng, JD; Piotr Zembrowski, CFA | 3 CE
Managing Short- and Long-Term Risks with ESG
ESG indexing has entered a new era, bringing sharper tools built with deeper data to an expanding risk management toolkit. S&P DJI’s Shaun Wurzbach leads a discussion that takes a practical look at using ESG to measure and manage risk.
18 November 2019 | S&P Dow Jones Indices | Video: 9 min.
Do Commissions Cause Investment Adviser Misconduct?
A study of US-based financial advisers shows that as advisers gain the opportunity to earn commissions, the probability of them engaging in misconduct increases. However, industry competition reduces the incidence of misconduct.
This paper has been submitted to the 2019 Australasian Finance & Banking Conference organised by the Institute of Global Finance and the School of Banking and Finance, UNSW Business School. See all AFBC 2019 submissions.
20 November 2019 | Tarun Patel
Systemic Risk and Its Determinants: Fresh Evidence from the Australian Banking Sector
Despite the introduction of deposit insurance scheme and more stringent capital requirements, systemic risk of the Australian banking sector after the global financial crisis in 2008 is typically higher than in the pre-crisis period.
This paper has been submitted to the 2019 Australasian Finance & Banking Conference organised by the Institute of Global Finance and the School of Banking and Finance, UNSW Business School. See all AFBC 2019 submissions.
20 November 2019 | Md Lutfur Rahman, Victor Troster, Gazi Salah Uddin, Muhammad Yahya
Predictability of ICO Success and Returns
An empirical study of 432 initial coin offerings (ICOs) identifies factors - such as investor sentiment, time horizon and correlation with other assets - that can provide predictability of an ICO’s success and its returns.
This paper has been submitted to the 2019 Australasian Finance & Banking Conference organised by the Institute of Global Finance and the School of Banking and Finance, UNSW Business School. See all AFBC 2019 submissions.
19 November 2019 | Tobias Dean, D Dulani Jayasuriya, Alastair Marsden
Does Diversification of Share Classes Increase Firm Value?
In 2011 Korea significantly relaxed regulation of shares, giving firms greater freedom to choose which share classes they issue. How are issuers using two newly emergent classes of preferred stocks and what effect does it have on the firms’ value?
This paper has been submitted to the 2019 Australasian Finance & Banking Conference organised by the Institute of Global Finance and the School of Banking and Finance, UNSW Business School. See all AFBC 2019 submissions.
19 November 2019 | Sojung Kim, Sunwoo Hwang, Woochan Kim
ESG Disclosures in Asia Pacific
Mary Leung, CFA, Head of Advocacy for Asia Pacific at CFA Institute, speaks about the progress investors in Asia Pacific have been making in integrating ESG into investment decisions and how regulators have been shaping ESG disclosure regimes.
18 November 2019 | Bloomberg TV | Video: 6 min.
Trend Factor in China: A 4-Factor Model for the Chinese Stock Market
The paper proposes a 4-factor model for the Chinese stock market by adding the trend factor to Liu, Stambaugh, and Yuan’s (2019) 3-factor model. The new model strongly outperforms existing factor models in explaining anomalies and mutual fund returns.
This paper has been submitted to the 2019 Australasian Finance & Banking Conference organised by the Institute of Global Finance and the School of Banking and Finance, UNSW Business School. See all AFBC 2019 submissions.
18 November 2019 | Yang Liu, Guofu Zhou, Yingzi Zhu
Integrated Reporting and Earnings Management
Japanese companies that have adopted integrated reporting are more likely to report conservative earnings. This supports the view that integrated reporting promotes internal decision making with a long-term focus.
This paper has been submitted to the 2019 Australasian Finance & Banking Conference organised by the Institute of Global Finance and the School of Banking and Finance, UNSW Business School. See all AFBC 2019 submissions.
17 November 2019 | Yuji Shirabe, Makoto Nakano
Debunking the Quality Math: India's Quality Bubble
Is there a bubble in quality? In a chat with ET Now. Sunil Singhania, Founder at Abakkus Asset Manager LLP, says that high PE stocks will not provide high returns for the next ten years.
14 November 2019 | ET Now, Abakkus Asset Manager LLP | Video: 24 min.
China Market Strategy - Outlook 2020: Going the Distance
The leading indicator of China’s economic cycle is peaking, and will likely moderate in the coming months. The swine flu epidemic will boost inflation. Industry leaders will continue to offer opportunities. The US is heading for new highs.
11 November 2019 | Hong Hao, CFA
Intra-Industry Spill-Over Effect of Chinese Bond Defaults
An investigation of the intra-industry spill-over effect of bond defaults on the price of stocks, outstanding bonds and new bond issuances in China, shows a strong contagion effect in the bond market and a more limited reaction in equities.
This paper has been submitted to the 2019 Australasian Finance & Banking Conference organised by the Institute of Global Finance and the School of Banking and Finance, UNSW Business School. See all AFBC 2019 submissions.
10 November 2019 | Xiaolu Hu, Haoyi (Leslie) Luo, Zijin (Vivian) Xu, Jiang Li
Return Dispersion and Fund Performance: Australia – The Land of Opportunity?
A study of the relation between cross-sectional stock return dispersion and active fund performance in Australia shows that Australian active funds earn positive active returns when return dispersion is moderate-to-high, but not when it is low.
This paper has been submitted to the 2019 Australasian Finance & Banking Conference organised by the Institute of Global Finance and the School of Banking and Finance, UNSW Business School. See all AFBC 2019 submissions.
8 November 2019 | Ying Cao, Anna von Reibnitz, Geoffrey J. Warren
中国的ESG整合：实践指导和案例研究
CFA Institute和 Principle for Responsible Investment (PRI) 发布的最新研究显示，国际客户需求与监管要求的独特结合加速了ESG投资在中国的发展，并对投资价值链产生连锁反应。 此份指南在与中国人民银行、中国证券投资基金业协会（基金业协会）和中国投资管理公司等主要机构的一系列访谈以及在北京（由 基金业协会提供支持）、杭州、上海和深圳举办的研讨会的基础上形成。.
8 November 2019 | Matt Orsagh, CFA, James Allen, CFA, Luo Nan, Justin Sloggett, CFA, Anna Georgieva, Sofia Bartholdy
Improving Market Timing of Time Series Momentum in the Chinese Stock Market
A study examines the profitability of time-series momentum strategies on stocks in the Chinese stock market. It shows that such active technical strategies significantly outperform, on average, buy-and-hold strategies.
This paper has been submitted to the 2019 Australasian Finance & Banking Conference organised by the Institute of Global Finance and the School of Banking and Finance, UNSW Business School. See all AFBC 2019 submissions.
6 November 2019 | Yafeng Qin, Guoyao Pan, Min Bai
Tomorrow Never Dies: Bond. Renewable Bond
A study of the historical performance and characteristics of a basket of sovereign bonds weighted according to their issuing country’s renewable energy generation capacity shows that such strategy outperforms a market-weighted bond portfolio.
4 November 2019 | Solactive AG
The Future of Asset Management in China
The FleishmanHillard report examines investors' attitudes and behavior in China and offers an analysis of the liberation trends of the asset management industry.
1 November 2019 | Patrick Yu, Paolo Danese
Transforming an Advisor Practice from Mutual Funds to ETFs Using Factors
Sam G. Huszczo, CFP, CFA, owner of SGH Wealth Management, talks about transitioning his practice from using mutual funds to using ETFs and employing them in factor investing strategies.
29 October 2019 | S&P Dow Jones Indices | Video: 5 min.
Industry Classification Benchmark (ICB) Reclassification: Expanded and Improved
The ICB is a globally recognized standard for categorizing companies and securities, operated and managed by FTSE Russell. It has been updated to reflect the evolution of the global economy and to address the needs of today’s investment professionals.
28 October 2019 | FTSE Russell
Appraising Home Bias Exposure in Pension Funds: A Regional Review of the US, Japan, Canada, the UK, and Australia
Studies have shown that pension funds have inherent biases to their domestic markets within their equity allocations. In this paper, we examine the extent of the home biases in five pension fund markets and analyze their effects over a 12-year period.
28 October 2019 | FTSE Russell
Practitioner's Brief: A Digital Currency Valuation Framework is Born
Although many have dismissed Bitcoin as not having any intrinsic value, analysts and portfolio managers pioneering digital currency trading continue to wrestle with the task of assigning a fair market value to crypto-assets. In the paper “Tokenomics: Dynamic Adoption and Valuation,” Lin William Cong, Ye Li, and Neng Wang have taken a broad leap for the financial industry by providing the first dynamic asset-pricing model of digital coins on blockchain-based platforms.
21 October 2019 | Rich Blake
Practitioner's Brief: Drilling into Corporate Responsibility - Thai Researcher Finds Measurable Impact of Social Engagement
In the paper “Synergistic effects of CSR practices on firm value: Evidence from Asia Pacific emerging markets ”, Boonlert Jitmaneeroj, assistant professor of finance, University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce, introduces a structural equation modeling approach to investigate if corporate social responsibility (CSR) correlates with value creation. This new approach does not settle the debate, but it leads to some noteworthy findings. In particular, it sheds new light on the “S” in ESG.
21 October 2019 | Rich Blake
About the Author(s)
Director: Scott Lee
Content manager, Editor: Piotr Zembrowski, CFA
Coordinator: Natalie Yiu