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Through its effect on the cost of capital, impact investing has the potential to improve the pricing of externalities, reducing the current overproduction and consumption of goods with negative social and environmental impacts and stimulating production and consumption of goods with positive social and environmental impacts. For this potential to be realised, the design of impact investing needs to be better aligned with portfolio management in two respects: (1) it needs to be possible to assess the impact of both asset classes and individual assets and (2) the analysis of the characteristics of assets needs to be separated from the use of mandate-related screens.

The Canadian mutual fund setting is unique in that two governance mechanisms – corporate and trust – coexist. This study empirically examines the impact of each mechanism on fund fees and performance. We find that corporate class funds charge higher fees but deliver superior fee-adjusted returns than trust funds. We then analyze the impact of various board characteristics on fees and performance for corporate class funds. We find that a board with smaller size, CEO duality, and a higher percentage of independent directors is more likely to charge lower fees. In addition, smaller boards are strongly associated with higher fee-adjusted performance. Our study supports agency theory over stewardship theory and provides valuable guidelines for Canadian investors and regulatory agencies.

The asset allocation decision for a pension portfolio needs to consider several, sometimes conflicting, aspects. Most pension managers use models and processes that are developed for the traditional asset classes for analyzing this problem. The purpose of this paper is to investigate how real estate is included in this process, for what purpose and how the real estate portfolio is constructed.

Seven individuals responsible for the asset allocation process were interviewed, and their responses were analyzed with regards to organizational options and their real estate strategy.

It was found that real estate is held for three different purposes, risk diversification, inflation hedging/liability matching and return enhancement and that the allocation has increased over time. The allocation strategy has evolved at least in part in conjuncture with the organizational structure set in place to overcome real estate market frictions.

The interviews were geographically limited to pension funds domiciled in Sweden and Finland.

It is concluded that the organizational capabilities of the pension fund of handling real estate is an important consideration for the ensuing real estate portfolio.

The originality of this paper lies in that it is based on interviews with individuals who are responsible for the asset allocation decision at large pension funds. The findings of the paper identify areas of interest for future research.

The purpose of the present study is to contribute to the existing literature by examining the nexus and the connectedness between classes S&P Green Bond Index, S&P GSCI Crude Oil Index, S&P GSCI Gold, MSCI Emerging Markets Index, MSCI World Index and Bitcoin, during the pre-and post-Covid period beginning from August 2011 to July 2021 (10 years).

The study employs time-varying parameter vector autoregression and Quantile regression methods to understand the impact of events on traditional and upcoming asset classes. To further understand the connectedness of assets under consideration, the study used Geo-Political Risk Index (GPR) and Global Economic Policy and Uncertainty index (GPEU).

Findings show that these markets are strongly linked, which will only expand in the post-pandemic future. Before the pandemic, the MSCI World and Emerging Markets indices contributed the most shocks to the remaining market variables. Green bond index shows a greater correlation and shock transmission with gold. Bitcoin can no longer be used as a good hedging instrument, validating the fact that the 21st-century technology assets. The results further opine that under extreme economic consequences with high GPR and GPEU, even gold cannot be considered a safe investment asset.

Financial markets and the players who administer and communicate their investment logics are heavily reliant on conventional asset classes such as oil, gas, coal, nuclear and allied groupings, but these emerging asset classes are attempting to diversify.

As the prolonged effect of the COVID-19 pandemic has materially impacted investment returns significantly, it is more crucial than ever for institutional investors to redefine their property portfolios using assets with better investment management potential and meaningful diversification benefits. The “alternative asset revolution” is gaining traction in the property investment space internationally among institutional investors due to the shifting investment attitudes towards the alternative property sectors. Australia's $205bn healthcare property sector is at the forefront of this revolution due to its societal significance, as well as its attractive investment qualities. This paper investigates the institutional investor management of the Australian healthcare property sector via both the direct and listed channels and empirically analyses its investment attributes.

Using the unique Morgan Stanley Capital International/Property Council of Australia quarterly data set for Australian direct healthcare property over 2006–2020, the risk-adjusted performance and portfolio diversification potential direct healthcare property and listed healthcare were assessed. A constrained mean-variance portfolio optimisation framework was used to develop a six-asset portfolio scenario to analyse the portfolio added-value benefits of both direct healthcare property and listed healthcare in a mixed-asset investment strategy. A similar set of analysis was performed using the post-global financial crisis (GFC) quarterly time series of 2009–2020 to investigate the healthcare asset class' performance dynamics in the post-GFC investment timeframe.

The results indicate that direct healthcare property and listed healthcare offer two key advantages for institutional investors in managing their property portfolios: (1) a stable yet superior risk-adjusted performance and (2) significant portfolio diversification potential in managing their property portfolios. Importantly, both direct healthcare property and listed healthcare provided valuable contributions in strengthening an investment portfolio's performance. The post-GFC sub-period analysis revealed a consistent conclusion regarding the healthcare asset class's performance attributes.

This is the first research that provides an independent empirical examination of the strategic importance of Australian healthcare property as a maturing alternative property sector that can serve both investment and environmental, social and governance goals of investors. This research presents a positive investment prognosis for the Australian healthcare property sector to achieve its institutionalised status as a mainstream asset class of the future.

The purpose of this paper is to examine how the filing of a securities class action, and associated corrective actions taken by management, impact the operating performance of sued firms.

A matched sample is formed three years prior to the filing of a class action, as opposed to the traditional one year used in the literature. Match adjusted performance is analyzed from three years prior to the filing to five years after. Further the authors analyze the impact corrective actions have on operating performance.

The results show that operating underperformance happens considerably earlier than had hitherto been believed. Further, there is no evidence that the filing adversely affects performance, rather securities class actions appear to act as a turning point. The findings also indicate that firms that increase leverage post filing, experience subsequent increases in their operating performance.

The results show that rather than leading to a deterioration in performance, as is currently understood, the filing of a securities class actions results in improved operating performance. This improvement is, in part, associated with more optimal use of leverage by management. Overall, class actions appear to be an effective disciplinary mechanism.

The purpose of the paper is to investigate the nature of variations among established and emerging middle class consumers in South Africa in response to the institution context factors associated with emerging markets that are established in international business studies.

An exploratory research approach using semi-structured expert interviews was used to collect data.

Key findings indicate distinct approaches in dealing with factors such as different fallback positions, asset ownership, education, language, family responsibility, career aspirations and risk protection in the middle class process of attaining and sustaining middle class status.

The focus on one country has the potential to minimize the generalizability of findings from the study, however, South Africa has a significantly high proportion of sub-Saharan middle class consumers. This provides a basis for further a basis for further research into other sub-Saharan African countries.

Findings from the study provide practical insights on risk profiling of middle-class consumers for marketing practitioners.

The study provides insights into the distinct variations between emerging and established middle class consumers in areas such as language and education. These insights have potential implications on the implementation of government policies such as the Empowerment Policy and consumer protection.

The paper expands the research agenda in the area of middle class consumer behavior in emerging markets. By concentrating on South Africa, the research expands existing knowledge beyond emerging giants like China and India, which are often a focus in literature.

The EU prudential regime for investment firms comprising the Directive (EU) 2019/2034 (IFD) and Regulation (EU) 2019/2033 (IFR) introduces a fit-for-purpose capital framework for investment firms. The capital impact on the practice of investment management can be material depending on firms’ specific business models and risk profiles, which may require them to take strategic decisions with respect to the services they provide. Despite the importance of this issue for the practice of investment management, there exists no study among the existing studies that focuses on this issue. This study aims to fill this gap in the literature.

This paper reviews the calibration approaches the European Banking Authority (EBA) has used by exploring the deficiencies of the regime with respect to the calibration of categorization thresholds and coefficients that are used by the EBA to calculate regulatory capital requirements.

This paper sets out that the choice of the relevant percentile for setting the firm categorization thresholds was not based on any theoretical rule. It also discusses that the calibration of the K-factors was subjective and lacked consistency. In addition, it criticizes the sample that the EBA used for business model coverage on the grounds that it was unbalanced, resulting in certain K-factors driving the overall capital impact.

Further research is needed on the calibration of thresholds as this will remain a crucial factor for the effectiveness of the new regime. In particular, a more data-driven and transparent approach would be necessary to ensure the accuracy and consistency of the thresholds.

This paper leads to the policy implication that, despite its merits that overweigh its shortcomings, potential market competition and financial stability issues that may stem from inconsistencies and a general lack of objectivity in certain aspects of the regime should not be underestimated by the EU policy makers.

The present paper contributes to the existing knowledge primarily by reviewing the EBA’s calibration approaches with respect to the K-factor coefficients and firm categorization thresholds, concluding that lack of objectivity and precision in the relevant methodologies could distort capital allocation decisions in the practice of investment management.

In 2009, the Third Circuit decided Hydrogen Peroxide, which announced a more rigorous standard under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(b)(3) for assessing whether a putative class could establish antitrust injury. Earlier this year, the Supreme Court decided Comcast v. Behrend, a case that carries potentially broad implications for both antitrust cases and Rule 23(b)(3) class actions generally. A review of the case law starting with Hydrogen Peroxide and continuing through Comcast and its progeny reveals the new rigor in antitrust class action decisions and suggests what the future may hold, including the type of arguments that may provide defendants the most likely chance of defeating class certification. After Comcast, rigor under 23(b)(3) can no longer be avoided in assessing all class actions questions, and courts should now apply Daubert fully in the class setting concerning both impact and damages. Courts should also closely evaluate plaintiffs’ proposed methodologies for proving impact to determine if they apply to each class member. Finally, courts will inevitably have to determine how rigorously to scrutinize experts’ damages methodologies and whether Comcast requires or suggests more scrutiny in assessing common evidence for measuring damages.