Fund Investment Research Articles

A novel Sigma-Mu multiple criteria decision aiding approach for mutual funds portfolio selection

A Sigma-Mu approach is proposed for mutual funds portfolio selection. The mean and variance of the overall performance of each asset are considered, according to an additive aggregation model, subject to weights’ preferences provided by the decision maker. These preferences concern two independent sets of weights, i.e., those pertaining to the investment indicators and those pertaining to the time periods associated with the estimation of the indicators. For the first time in the Sigma-Mu framework, a weighting matrix is exploited, assisting on the development of a method to appraise the sources of variance, due to the weighting scheme of either the indicators or the periods. The Mu's, Sigma's and covariances estimated according to the Sigma-Mu approach, enter as inputs to mixed-integer quadratic programming (MIQP) mean-variance portfolio optimization models, in order to implement an empirical testing procedure, for a period of 8 years. The underlying MIQP models are equipped to consider non-convex investment policy constraints, such as the number of securities to be included in the portfolio, specific binary buy-in thresholds, the desired exposure of the portfolio to each investment advisor etc. The dataset that has been chosen for the empirical testing includes European mutual funds, that offer a broad exposure to the whole span of investment strategies and styles. The results document that the suggested approach may effectively be utilized in mutual funds investment management, since the portfolios constructed by the suggested methodology are associated with superior absolute and risk-adjusted performance against benchmarks.

Proof Of Criminal Origin Related To Money Laundering In Mutual Fund Investment Activities In Supreme Court Decision Number 2937 K/Pid.Sus/2021

The crime of money laundering in the form of mutual fund investments is a serious crime that can threaten the stability of the financial system and economy. Perpetrators use mutual funds as a means to disguise the origin of illegal funds resulting from criminal acts, such as corruption, which are then invested as if they were legitimate funds. This not only harms the country financially, but can also reduce investor confidence in the mutual fund industry. Therefore, it is important to examine the criminal liability of perpetrators of money laundering in mutual fund investments in order to maintain the integrity of the financial system and provide a deterrent effect for perpetrators of similar crimes. This research is aimed at analyzing the legal regulation of criminal acts of money laundering in mutual fund investment activities in Indonesia, proof of predicate crimes related to criminal acts of money laundering in mutual fund investment activities in Supreme Court Decision Number 2937 K/Pid.Sus/2021, as well as criminal responsibility for perpetrators of these crimes. money laundering crime in mutual fund investment activities in Supreme Court Decision Number 2937 K/Pid.Sus/2021.The research method used is normative juridical research, which is supported by primary and secondary data sources. All legal materials were collected using library research techniques using document study data collection tools. Apart from that, field studies were also carried out using interview methods and analyzed qualitatively.The results of the research and discussion concluded that the legal regulations related to the crime of money laundering in mutual fund investment activities in Indonesia are as regulated in Law Number 8 of 2010. Based on Supreme Court Decision Number 2937 K/Pid.Sus/2021, it can be concluded that the defendant Benny Tjokrosaputro proven to have committed a criminal act of corruption together with other parties in managing investments at PT Asuransi Jiwasraya (Persero) which caused state losses amounting to IDR 16.807 trillion, as well as a money laundering crime of IDR 6.078 trillion, so he was sentenced to life imprisonment and payment of compensation to the state, based on valid evidence at trial and the fulfillment of the elements of the criminal act in accordance with the articles charged.

Policy approaches to increase external investment by US pension funds in African countries

AbstractLimited external investment has dampened the prospect for a prosperous African continent that capitalises on economic integration and its demographic dividend. This article explores US pension funds as a candidate for increased investment by framing it through an institutional lens and the scholarly understanding of the risk–return dynamics in private capital allocation. The original research is centered on interviews of senior‐level professionals who work in the US pension fund investment ecosystem as well as experts at multilateral organisations. It identifies the primary investment impediments articulated in interviews and offers approaches policymakers in OECD member countries could undertake to increase the scale of US pension fund investment in African countries. These include: (1) Transform guarantee programs in size, scope, and risk tolerance; (2) Establish large pass‐through investment vehicles; (3) Focus resources to improve capital markets in African countries; and (4) Mandate development organisations to coordinate and proactively collaborate with firms in the US investment ecosystem.

A Survey Study on the Current Status of Professionalism of Elementary School Science Teachers in Changsha County

As the main participants in the teaching of science curriculum, the professionalism of elementary school science teachers is very important to the teaching work of teachers, the scientific literacy of students as well as the reform and development of science education. Therefore, the professional literacy of elementary school science teachers in Changsha County was thoroughly researched and analyzed from three aspects: professional affective literacy, professional knowledge literacy and professional ability literacy. Through the questionnaire survey and interviews, it was found that some science teachers have the problems of lack of professional affective literacy, single knowledge structure and low professional ability literacy. These problems are mainly attributed to the teachers’ weak sense of professional development, the limitations of curriculum teaching and implementation ability, the schools’ insufficient attention to the science curriculum, and the insufficient investment in education funding. To address these problems, this paper proposes optimization paths such as clarifying development goals, strengthening practice reflection, deepening the learning and application of the new curriculum standards, raising the importance of science curriculum teaching, and increasing the investment in science education. Through these measures, we aim to enhance the professionalism of elementary school science teachers, improve the quality of teaching, cultivate students’ scientific literacy, and promote the sustainable development of science education.

Exploring the Impact of Employee Motivation on Investment Decisions: - A Study of Factors Influencing Mutual Fund Investment Among Corporate Employee

This study explores the impact of employee motivation on investment decisions, specifically focusing on the factors influencing mutual fund investments among corporate employees. As financial literacy and investment participation grow, understanding the underlying motivations that drive investment choices is crucial for both individuals and financial institutions. Utilizing a mixed-methods approach, we conducted surveys and in-depth interviews with corporate employees across various sectors. The findings reveal that intrinsic motivations, such as personal financial goals and career advancement, significantly influence mutual fund investment decisions. Additionally, extrinsic factors, including company-sponsored financial education programs and peer influence, play a critical role in shaping employees' investment behaviors. Our analysis indicates that motivated employees are more likely to engage in proactive financial planning and make informed investment choices. We also identified barriers such as risk aversion and lack of confidence in investment knowledge that hinder mutual fund participation. The implications of this study suggest that organizations should enhance employee motivation through targeted financial education initiatives and create a supportive investment culture. By doing so, companies can not only improve employee financial well-being but also foster a more engaged and motivated workforce. This research contributes to the existing literature on employee motivation and investment behavior, offering insights for corporate stakeholders and financial advisors aiming to enhance mutual fund investment strategies among employees.

The Value, Obstacle and Strategy of Digital Empowerment Physical Education in Primary School

With the title of "The Value, obstacle and Strategy of physical education teaching in primary school with digital empowerment", this paper discusses the value, obstacle and optimization strategy from three angles. Through the research, it is found that digital technology can bring great value in primary school physical education, including the advantages of improving teaching effect, enhancing student participation, personalized learning and all-round development. However, digital physical education also faces some obstacles, such as the problem of capital investment, the lack of teachers' digital literacy and professional ability, and the unequal investment in educational resources. In order to optimize the digital effect of primary school physical education, six optimization strategies are proposed: increasing funding investment and sponsorship, enhancing teachers' digital literacy and professional ability, optimizing the investment and distribution of educational resources, promoting students' and parents' participation and recognition, formulating privacy and security policies, and establishing a digital primary school physical education evaluation system in the digital era. Through the implementation of these strategies, the digital development of primary school physical education can be further promoted and the teaching quality and students' comprehensive literacy can be improved.

Cannabinoids-Multifunctional Compounds, Applications and Challenges-Mini Review.

Cannabinoids represent a highly researched group of plant-derived ingredients. The substantial investment of funds from state and commercial sources has facilitated a significant increase in knowledge about these ingredients. Cannabinoids can be classified into three principal categories: plant-derived phytocannabinoids, synthetic cannabinoids and endogenous cannabinoids, along with the enzymes responsible for their synthesis and degradation. All of these compounds interact biologically with type 1 (CB1) and/or type 2 (CB2) cannabinoid receptors. A substantial body of evidence from in vitro and in vivo studies has demonstrated that cannabinoids and inhibitors of endocannabinoid degradation possess anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antitumour and antifibrotic properties with beneficial effects. This review, which spans the period from 1940 to 2024, offers an overview of the potential therapeutic applications of natural and synthetic cannabinoids. The development of these substances is essential for the global market of do-it-yourself drugs to fully exploit the promising therapeutic properties of cannabinoids.

Strategic Financial Planning for Long-Term Sustainability in Madrasah Aliyah

This study investigates strategic financial planning for long-term sustainability in Madrasah Aliyah Siti Mariam Banjarmasin. The objective is to analyze the institution's financial challenges, explore strategies for enhancing financial sustainability, and propose recommendations for effective financial management. The research employs qualitative methods, including interviews and observations, to gather data on financial practices, challenges, and strategies within the institution. The findings reveal significant challenges in allocating financial resources effectively, including dependence on Government funding and limited investment in critical areas such as infrastructure and staff development. However, the study also identifies promising strategies for improving financial sustainability, such as diversifying revenue streams through fundraising events and partnerships, optimizing resource utilization, and implementing prudent financial management practices. Based on these findings, recommendations are proposed to prioritize investments in key areas, enhance revenue diversification efforts, and foster a culture of financial responsibility within the institution. Overall, the study contributes to understanding strategic financial planning in educational institutions and provides practical insights for enhancing long-term sustainability in Madrasah Aliyah Siti Mariam Banjarmasin.

The Effects of Past Behavioral Bias on Mutual Fund Investors Intention: Examining the Moderating Impact of Knowledge

This study aims to understand individual behavioral intentions toward mutual fund investors using the theory of planned behavior (TPB). Financial knowledge is used as a moderating variable to test the relationship between the antecedents of investment intention. Convenience sampling was used to obtain 236 samples. Statistical analyses were performed using the SPSS and AMOS software. The research discovered that subjective norms and perceived behavioral control had a substantial impact on individuals’ intention to invest. Financial knowledge is positively moderated by the antecedents of investment intentions. This study suggests that following the initial phases of decision-making, investors seek information from a variety of sources, including feedback from family and friends, podcasts, social media, and prior experiences. Marketers and financial advisors should educate investors of all ages and education groups on where and how to select and build portfolios of mutual funds in financial markets.

Optimizing estate planning through strategic mutual fund investments: Analysis on evaluating mutual fund performance models for long term investment objectives

Optimizing estate planning through strategic mutual fund investments: Analysis on evaluating mutual fund performance models for long term investment objectives

A Study on Perception of Mutual Fund Investment

This study explores the performance, risks, and opportunities associated with mutual fund investments, particularly in the Indian market. It evaluates different mutual fund types, analyzing their historical returns and risk metrics to provide investors with data-driven insights. The research examines the factors influencing mutual fund performance, including market volatility, asset management strategies, and economic conditions. Additionally, the study assesses investor behaviour in response to mutual fund performance, emphasizing the role of financial literacy and risk tolerance. The findings suggest that mutual funds offer a viable investment option for wealth creation, with equity-based funds outperforming others over a long-term horizon. However, market risks remain significant, requiring careful management and strategic investment planning

Relationship between the Human Development Index and public social spending: European experience for Ukraine

This study focuses on the relationship between the Human Development Index (HDI) and public social expenditures, analyzing socio-economic models using the examples of selected European countries and Ukraine. The study used the values of the HDI, GDP, and indicators of public expenditures for social purposes, namely, healthcare, education, leisure, culture and religion, and social protection for the period from 2010 to 2021. The analysis targeted 13 European countries using data sets from Eurostat, the Office for National Statistics of the United Kingdom, the State Statistics Service of Ukraine, and the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine. The input time series were checked for lagged values using the STATISTICA software.Empirical evidence suggests a relationship between HDI and public social spending. An increase in the share of public social expenditures in GDP leads to an increase in HDI and vice versa. European countries with a social-democratic model of development have the highest level of centralization of public expenditure in GDP (34.72%) and the highest HDI (0.930), while countries belonging to the Southern European model have the lowest share of socially oriented public expenditure (30.41%) and the lowest HDI (0.873). In addition, there is a time lag between the investment of public funds in healthcare, education, leisure, culture and religion, and social protection and their impact on HDI changes. Thus, ensuring a high level of HDI is achieved, among other things, through state financial support for the relevant components of the social sphere and social protection. AcknowledgmentThe study is funded by the EU NextGenerationEU through the Recovery and Resilience Plan for Slovakia under project No. 09I03-03-V01-00130.

Upscaling biodiversity monitoring: Metabarcoding estimates 31,846 insect species from Malaise traps across Germany.

Mitigating ongoing losses of insects and their key functions (e.g. pollination) requires tracking large-scale and long-term community changes. However, doing so has been hindered by the high diversity of insect species that requires prohibitively high investments of time, funding and taxonomic expertise when addressed with conventional tools. Here, we show that these concerns can be addressed through a comprehensive, scalable and cost-efficient DNA metabarcoding workflow. We use 1815 samples from 75 Malaise traps across Germany from 2019 and 2020 to demonstrate how metabarcoding can be incorporated into large-scale insect monitoring networks for less than 50€ per sample, including supplies, labour and maintenance. We validated the detected species using two publicly available databases (GBOL and GBIF) and the judgement of taxonomic experts. With an average of 1.4 M sequence reads per sample we uncovered 10,803 validated insect species, of which 83.9% were represented by a single Operational Taxonomic Unit (OTU). We estimated another 21,043 plausible species, which we argue either lack a reference barcode or are undescribed. The total of 31,846 species is similar to the number of insect species known for Germany (~35,500). Because Malaise traps capture only a subset of insects, our approach identified many species likely unknown from Germany or new to science. Our reproducible workflow (~80% OTU-similarity among years) provides a blueprint for large-scale biodiversity monitoring of insects and other biodiversity components in near real time.

Can government-guided funds promote corporate technology innovation? Evidence from the new energy automobile industry

A government-guided fund is a crucial policy instrument for fostering innovation in the new energy automotive industry. This article examines the stimulating impact and underlying mechanisms of government-guided funding on A-share new energy automotive listed firms from 2012 to 2022, using a difference-in-differences (DID) model. The finding suggests that government-guided funds can effectively stimulate corporate technology innovation activities. Mechanism tests reveal that government-guided funds can encourage corporate innovation by alleviating financial constraints and attracting research and development experts. Additionally, government-guided funds have varying effects on the technology innovation of different types of enterprises within the new energy automobile industry chain, including upstream, midstream, and downstream companies. The study's findings have specific policy implications for increasing government-guided fund assistance and optimizing fund investment direction.

The impact of big fund on the operational efficiency of semiconductor companies: Corporate social responsibility as a non-economic output

This study contributes to research on the total factor operational efficiency of the semiconductor company considering corporate social responsibility (CSR) by proposing a novel integer-valued nonparametric frontier method. This method adopts an endogenous directional distance function, which first selects the benchmark and then endogenously determines the directional vector. Avoiding the issue of non-integer slack adjustment increases the convenience of formulating incentive plans and calculating efficiency. We apply this method to the input–output data of 185 listed Chinese semiconductor companies from 2010 to 2022, considering integer-valued CSR as non-economic output. Global Malmquist productivity index analysis shows that the average total factor operational efficiency of companies that received investment from the National Integrated Circuit Industry Investment Fund (Big Fund) increased by 6.9%. Using the econometric technique, we verify that the total factor operational efficiency of semiconductor companies receiving Big Fund investment increased by 0.084 compared to those without Big Fund investment. Heterogeneity analysis showed that the effect of Big Fund was more significant in improving the total factor operational efficiency of state-owned, new, and non-integrated circuit semiconductor companies, implying the necessity of purposeful investment policies for the Big Fund.

The power of religion: Islamic investing in the lab

Faith-based mutual funds have recently become a growing corner of the mutual fund industry. Morality and ethics are thought to exert an influence on investors' decisions in this segment, though their role in driving such investments is not clear as these funds are also attractive due to their distinct risk-return profile. If non-pecuniary motives are predominant, investors in such funds may be less sensitive to financial performance, resulting in different fund flows patterns relative to conventional funds. This paper fills the gap in the literature, by providing an express linkage between religious preferences and investment in an Islamic fund. Using an incentivized lab experiment, we compare the extent to which investors with religious preferences are likely to accept inferior financial performances to pursue investments aligned with their religious preferences. We show that those with stronger religious preferences are more likely to stick with their investment in Islamic funds when these funds underperform. We do not find that social preferences play a similar role in socially responsible funds, and we find that investors prefer religious investments over socially responsible investments, providing strong evidence that religious investors do not view socially responsible funds as substitutes for Islamic funds.

Mediating ESG: Mapping individual responses to a changing field

Previous studies have called for more research into the human dimension of environmental, social and governance (ESG) investing. Drawing on formal interviews and informal conversations with 57 fund managers and investment analysts working in the city of Edinburgh, UK, this study explores how traditional investors have responded to the growth of ESG investing. We derive abductively six different positions which investors adopt: the Idealist, the Jaded Idealist, the Enthusiastic Mediator, the Tempered Mediator, the Moderniser and the Traditionalist. The paper contributes to the ESG investing literature by identifying and discussing these different positions; the main theoretical contribution is a new conceptualisation of the position and role of the mediator.

Green fund investors and ESG performance: Evidence from China

Using the ESG scores from the Bloomberg Database and the manually filtered green fund investor data, we study the influence of green fund investors on the Chinese A-shares' ESG performance. As we have found, the holding of fund investors who pay attention to sustainable development can improve the firm's ESG performance, and this improvement is more pronounced in state-owned enterprises, heavily polluting industries, and after the green policy announcement. Our findings are robust after considering the reverse causality endogeneity concern and sample selection bias. In addition, the holdings of green fund investors favor the company's status as a green index constituent and its long-term financial performance. Further, the mechanism test reveals the influencing channel of this improvement and supports that it is long-term green fund investors themselves improving the firms' ESG performance and can improve a firm's ESG performance by attracting other long-term investors and new mutual fund investors, and increasing the level of media scrutiny pressure. Our paper contributes to figuring out the impact of institutional holding on ESG development and further points out the source of this influence.

Like daughter, like father: Female socialization and green equity investment

Are parents' decisions to invest in green equity funds influenced by their daughters? According to the recent literature on female socialization, parenting a daughter is expected to have a positive impact on parents' investment in green equity funds. Based on an original survey among 2288 French investors, we validate the female socialization in a retail investment context. Raising a daughter increases the likelihood of investing in green equity funds by about 3.87 % on average. Consistent with the female socialization hypothesis, this effect only stands for male parent investors, when daughters are still in the household and is not significant for separated fathers. Moreover, the amount invested is also significantly influenced by being a parent of a daughter. Our results support the need to better consider the influence of family members in investment in household finance decision-making and the side effects of education on environmental issues.

Climate policy regime change and mutual fund flows: Insights from the 2020 US election

President Biden campaigned and was elected on a bold “clean energy revolution,” a pledge that drastically reshaped expectations surrounding US climate policy. We study how mutual fund investors respond to this significant shift in environmental priorities. We find that low-carbon funds attract (or retain) $15 billion more investments than high-carbon funds during the three months after the 2020 election compared with the three months before. We also find that low-carbon funds underperform high-carbon funds by between 0.47 % and 0.89 % a month during the same period. These results indicate that Biden's election heightens climate transition risk awareness, prompting investors to hedge this risk by investing more in low-carbon funds and receiving lower returns. The flow effect is more pronounced among retail investors, emphasizing their increased recognition of climate transition risk. We also uncover an interesting clientele effect: investors in low-carbon funds consider continuous carbon risk measures, whereas investors in high-carbon funds do not. Furthermore, our analysis of a US-only fund sample reveals that sensitivity to climate risk is insignificant in 2018 after Morningstar first published low-carbon metrics (unlike Ceccarelli, Ramelli, & Wagner, 2024) but becomes particularly significant following the 2020 election.