Peer Group Benchmarks Research Articles

SHAPEv1.0 Scoring curves and peer group benchmarks for dynamic soil health indicators

AbstractThe soil health concept has evolved over the past several decades, recognizing that the response of dynamic soil properties to management is dependent on site‐specific factors. The Soil Health Assessment Protocol and Evaluation (SHAPE) tool provides scores and benchmark values by forming soil peer groups based on site‐specific, climate‐edaphic characteristics. Data for model development were compiled from the Cornell Soil Health Laboratory and the Kellogg Soil Survey Laboratory databases. The SHAPEv1.0 interpretation curves produce scores between 0% and 100% for measured laboratory values that reflect the quantile within a population conditional cumulative distribution function along with measures of uncertainty. The original SHAPE tool was developed for soil organic carbon and has been expanded to include two wet aggregate stability methods, permanganate oxidizable organic carbon, autoclaved citrate extractable protein, and 4‐day microbial respiration. In addition, SHAPE provides site‐specific benchmark values at user‐defined percentiles within a given soil peer group. The difference between the actual measured value and the selected benchmark value represents the soil health opportunity gap. Case studies in Missouri and Texas show that the SHAPE scoring curves are sensitive to land‐use and management practices across multiple soil types and provide a regionally relevant interpretation of key soil health indicators.

Private Benchmarking for Private Equity Funds

Private equity (PE) funds, or more broadly private capital funds, can be benchmarked against public or private alternatives. Academic literature usually focuses exclusively on the public side. In this article, the authors investigate more rigorous private peer group benchmarking methods beyond traditional “quartile ranking.” They focus mainly on both statistical and deterministic models for (1) peer group data enhancement, (2) handling very small peer groups, (3) simulation-based portfolio aggregation, and (4) the notion of maximum diversified private benchmarks. Ultimately, they discuss obtaining more meaningful private benchmarks for a private capital portfolio.

Peer influence and the value of cash holdings

We show that a company’s cash holding position relative to the peer group is important for the value of cash holdings. A dollar of cash is valued significantly higher in firms that have cash holdings below the peer group median than in those that do not. The subsample tests show that such peer group benchmarking effect is more pronounced in smaller firms, financially constrained firms, those in industries with higher cash flow volatility, and those facing a highly competitive product market environment. These results are consistent with both information-based and competition-based mechanisms. Furthermore, we find that firms holding below peers’ cash reserves will mimic cash-increasing behavior exhibited by their peers. Crucially, the increased cash holdings will be spent on investment in the subsequent period, and we find that this investment does not hinder firm performance. The main findings in this paper are helpful in understanding the value implications of peer influence. • The value of cash is significantly higher in firms with below peers’ cash holdings. • Peer benchmarking effect is driven by information and industry competition channels. • Firms holding relatively low cash will mimic their peers’ cash-increasing behavior. • The increased cash will be spent on investment which can lead to higher performance.

Death and the life hereafter: A study of the subsequent hedge funds

Identifying skilled managers is crucial for investors. In this paper, we present a sample of hedge fund managers who launched new funds after their previous funds were closed or stopped reporting. We investigate the characteristics and performance of such managers’ subsequent funds (‘new’ funds) in comparison to their prior funds (‘old’ funds). After controlling for various fund characteristics and a peer group benchmark, we conclude that subsequent funds run by the same manager perform better than their prior counterpart by 1.2% per month on average. We conjecture that the outperformance is due to improved manager skills.

Use of active peer benchmarks in assessing UK mutual fund performance and performance persistence

ABSTRACTThe majority of UK style-specific mutual funds either report a broad market index as their prospectus benchmark or give no benchmark at all – a practice that may be (a) strategic, or (b) cultural and attributable to the lack of UK style-specific indices (e.g. mid-cap-growth, small-cap-value). The choice of a broad market index as a benchmark can bias the inferences of a fund’s performance and performance persistence. This study is the first to provide an alternative to style-specific indices in the UK, and suggests the use style-specific peer group benchmarks, following [Hunter, D., E. Kandel, S. Kandel, and R. Wermers. 2014. “Mutual Fund Performance Evaluation with Active Peer Benchmarks.” Journal of Financial Economics 112 (1): 1–29]. Our sample comprises of 817 active UK long-only equity mutual funds allocated to nine Morningstar style categories (peer groups) during the period 1992–2016. We show that the funds with the most significant positive peer-group-adjusted alphas continue to perform well one year ahead, in terms of both parametric and non-parametric measures of persistence in performance. Moreover, persistence in performance is driven by both winner and loser funds. The results within each peer group are by and large consistent with these findings.

Warehousing performance improvement using Frazelle Model and per group benchmarking: A case study in retail warehouse in Yogyakarta and Central Java

Warehouse performance management has an important role in improving logistic's business activities. Good warehouse management could increase profit, time delivery, quality and customer service. This study is conducted to assess performance of retail warehouses in some supermarket located in Central Java and Yogyakarta. Performance improvement is proposed base on the warehouse measurement using Frazelle model (2002), that measure on five indicators, namely Financial, Productivity, Utility, Quality and Cycle time along five business process in warehousing, i.e. Receiving, Put Away, Storage, Order picking and shipping. In order to obtain more precise performance, the indicators are weighted using Analytic Hierarchy Analysis (AHP) method. Then, warehouse performance are measured and final score is determined using SNORM method. From this study, it is found the final score of each warehouse and opportunity to improve warehouse performance using peer group benchmarking

Peer group benchmarking in CEO compensation and firm innovation: evidence from patents and citations

This study provides empirical evidence on the relation between peer group benchmarking in CEO compensation and firm innovation measured by number of patents and citations. Results show that peer group benchmarking and firm innovation are positively related. However, this positive relation holds only for CEOs who receive higher than median peer group compensation. For CEOs who receive lower than median peer group compensation, benchmarking seems to have no statistically significant effect on firm innovation. The study also finds that CEO compensation benchmarked against median peer group compensation is positively related to one-year and five-year stock return volatility. Overall, results suggest that benchmarking in CEO compensation is an efficient response to competitive pressures in CEO talent market and is not driven by an intentional effort by the powerful CEOs to extract rents from their firms.

Peer group benchmarking in CEO compensation and firm innovation: evidence from patents and citations

Peer group benchmarking in CEO compensation and firm innovation: evidence from patents and citations

Evaluating the performance of hedge funds using two-stage peer group benchmarks

This article proposes a two-stage peer group benchmarking approach to evaluate the performance of hedge funds. We present different ways of orthogonalizing the peer group benchmarks and discuss their general properties. We then orthogonalize the relevant benchmarks against predetermined exogenous factors. For a broad dataset we show that this approach captures much more commonalities in hedge funds returns when compared with the standard methodology of using exogenous factors only. As a consequence, the empirical rankings of hedge funds, on the basis of alphas, change considerably. Therefore, the proposed two-stage peer group benchmark allows us to identify which hedge fund managers outperformed their cohorts.

Evaluating the Performance of Hedge Funds Using Two-Stage Peer Group Benchmarks

This paper is the first to present a two-stage peer group benchmarking approach to evaluate the performance of hedge funds. We present different ways of orthogonalizing the peer group benchmarks and discuss their general properties. We then orthogonalize the relevant benchmarks against predetermined exogenous factors. For a broad dataset we show that this approach captures much more commonalities in hedge funds returns when compared to the standard methodology of using exogenous factors only. As a consequence, the empirical rankings of hedge funds on the basis of alphas change considerably. Therefore, the proposed two-stage peer group benchmark allows us to better determine which hedge fund managers outperformed the others in the past.

Using benchmarking techniques and the 2011 maternity practices infant nutrition and care (mPINC) survey to improve performance among peer groups across the United States.

A substantial proportion of US maternity care facilities engage in practices that are not evidence-based and that interfere with breastfeeding. The CDC Survey of Maternity Practices in Infant Nutrition and Care (mPINC) showed significant variation in maternity practices among US states. The purpose of this article is to use benchmarking techniques to identify states within relevant peer groups that were top performers on mPINC survey indicators related to breastfeeding support. We used 11 indicators of breastfeeding-related maternity care from the 2011 mPINC survey and benchmarking techniques to organize and compare hospital-based maternity practices across the 50 states and Washington, DC. We created peer categories for benchmarking first by region (grouping states by West, Midwest, South, and Northeast) and then by size (grouping states by the number of maternity facilities and dividing each region into approximately equal halves based on the number of facilities). Thirty-four states had scores high enough to serve as benchmarks, and 32 states had scores low enough to reflect the lowest score gap from the benchmark on at least 1 indicator. No state served as the benchmark on more than 5 indicators and no state was furthest from the benchmark on more than 7 indicators. The small peer group benchmarks in the South, West, and Midwest were better than the large peer group benchmarks on 91%, 82%, and 36% of the indicators, respectively. In the West large, the Midwest large, the Midwest small, and the South large peer groups, 4-6 benchmarks showed that less than 50% of hospitals have ideal practice in all states. The evaluation presents benchmarks for peer group state comparisons that provide potential and feasible targets for improvement.

Abstracts for Canadian Stroke Conference

Specogna, AV; Patten, SB; Hill, MD; University of Calgary, Calgary, AB Background: Previous studies have examined predictors of treatment costs after Spontaneous Intracerebral Hemorrhage (ICH) in various countries and healthcare systems. Currently however, there is no clear understanding of which factors are associated with cost in any Canadian setting and thus no way of understanding how to plan ICH healthcare spending. Methods: We used a retrospective case series study design and adjusted linear regression to investigate if an association existed between the total cost of ICH hospital care in a Canadian health centre and age (years), gender (female vs. male), Charlson Comorbidity Index (0 vs. ≥1), in-hospital mortality (alive vs. dead), and having surgery (no vs. yes). Economic, treatment, and patient data were obtained from administrative sources. Total inflation-adjusted hospital cost per discharge was estimated in Canadian Dollars and log transformed for all analyses. Results: Analyses were performed using 987 consecutive ICH discharges from 1999 to 2008. The total cost of ICH hospital care was highly variable (mean cost per discharge=$25,613.96±$36,116.33; min $446.81 to max $326,275.10). Older age (β=–0.0057; 95% CI: –0.0103 to –0.0011) and death in hospital (β=–0.4859; 95% CI: –0.6357 to –0.3342) were significantly associated with lower total hospital cost per discharge. Whereas Charlson Comorbidity Index of ≥1 (β=0.6489; 95% CI: 0.5063 to 0.7916) and having surgery (β=1.3552; 95% CI: 1.1893 to 1.5210) were significantly associated with higher total hospital cost per discharge. Gender was not significantly associated with cost (β=0.0727; 95% CI: –0.0679 to 0.2134). Conclusions: To our knowledge this is the first study to examine predictors of ICH treatment costs in Canada. In a Canadian health centre, ICH treatment costs were significantly associated with patient age, level of comorbidity, in-hospital mortality, and surgical treatment. This study provides evidence that it may be reasonable to consider …

Basic Laparoscopic Training Using the Simbionix LAP Mentor: Setting the Standards in the Novice Group

Virtual reality devices are becoming the backbone for laparoscopic training in surgery. However, without knowledge of the achievable metrics of basic training within the trainee group, these simulators cannot be used effectively. Currently, no validated task metrics of the performance of larger trainee groups are available. From April 2004 to December 2009, we collated an extensive prospective database using the Simbionix LAP Mentor (Simbionix USA, Cleveland, Ohio) for basic laparoscopic training of novice surgeons. This database was used to determine benchmarks for basic skill exercises and procedural tasks that combine stimulus to improve and feasibility with acceptance of the training program and the goal to train for safe surgery. In all, 18,996 task performances of 286 novice trainees were analyzed. For the basic skill exercises, the total time for correct execution ranged between 45 seconds for basic skill 3 (eye-hand coordination) and 269 seconds for basic skill 9 (object placement). For the procedural tasks, the total time for correct execution ranged between 68 seconds for procedural task 1 (clipping and cutting) and 256 seconds for procedural task 3 (dissection). The total time to task completion depended mainly on right instrument path length with high correlation to left instrument path length. Learning curve analyses of the 4 procedural tasks demonstrated performance plateaus after 10-15 repetitions. Most complications occurred during the initial repetitions of the respective task. The best quartile of performances was chosen as peer group benchmark because it provides sufficient stimulus for improvement without discouraging trainees, thus enhancing adherence to the training program. The benchmark for safety and accuracy parameters was set at a predefined level of 95% correct execution. As experience with virtual reality (VR) training is growing, curricula must be based on benchmarks for efficient training derived from large trainee groups to optimize use of the still costly simulators. Safety parameters should be included in trainee assessment. We share a set of metrics that take into account both performance and feasibility for basic laparoscopic training of surgical novices using the Simbionix LAP Mentor.

Safer use of antimicrobials in hospitals: the value of antimicrobial usage data

The National Antimicrobial Utilisation Surveillance Program (NAUSP) collects aggregate data from hospitals in all Australian states and provides reports of monthly hospital inpatient antimicrobial usage to contributing hospitals. These data provide an Australian peer-group benchmark; hospitals can compare their usage with similar hospitals and identify areas of antimicrobial use that require more in-depth analysis. Overall high usage has been used by hospitals and area health services as a stimulus for initiation or expansion of antimicrobial stewardship programs. High use of particular classes of antimicrobials has triggered individual drug audits and been used to tailor interventions. Longitudinal antimicrobial usage data have been used by hospitals to measure the effects of antimicrobial stewardship strategies and provide feedback to prescribers.

Board Composition, Corporate Performance, and the Cadbury Committee Recommendation

AbstractDuring the 1990s and beyond, countries around the world witnessed calls and/or mandates for more outside directors on publicly traded companies' boards even though extant studies find no significant correlation between outside directors and corporate performance. We examine the connection between changes in board composition and corporate performance in the U.K. over the interval 1989–1996, a period that surrounds publication of the Cadbury Report, which calls for at least three outside directors for publicly traded corporations. We find that companies that add directors to conform with this standard exhibit a significant improvement in operating performance both in absolute terms and relative to various peer group benchmarks. We also find a statistically significant increase in stock prices around announcements that outside directors were added in conformance with this recommendation. We do not endorse mandated board structures, but the evidence appears to be that such a mandate is associated with an improvement in performance in U.K. companies.

Disclosure biases in proxy performance graphs

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate whether proxy statement performance graph disclosures are influenced by the firm's governance structure and management concerns about relative performance.Design/methodology/approachLogistic regression is used to test whether the level of performance graph disclosure decreases with lower relative performance and higher insider director membership on the compensation committee of the board. Also, Z and t‐statistics test whether bias in the selected peer group benchmark is related to insider membership on the committee.FindingsThe empirical results suggest that reporting discretion was exercised for management's benefit. The amount of explicit disclosure on cumulative returns in the performance graph decreases as relative performance declines and decreases when insider directors serve on the compensation committee. Moreover, the presence of insider directors on the compensation committee is associated with a biased choice of peer group benchmark return.Research limitations/implicationsThe sample for the study consists of 141 large firms. Future research could examine a larger group of firms that vary in size or other disclosures.Practical implicationsThese findings support recent actions taken to improve corporate governance. Further public policy steps could be taken. For example, the SEC could require firms to include an explanation for appointing insiders to the compensation committee.Originality/valueThe results are consistent with managers using discretion over information disclosures and suggest that compensation committees with insider members play a less active role in providing information that is helpful to shareholders.

Board Composition, Corporate Performance, and the Cadbury Committee Recommendation

During the 1990s and beyond, countries around the world have witnessed calls and/or mandates for more outside directors on publicly-traded companies' boards even though extant studies find no significant correlation between outside directors and corporate performance. We examine the connection between changes in board composition and corporate performance in the UK over the interval 1989-1996, a period that surrounds publication of the Cadbury Report calling for at least three outside directors for publicly-traded corporations. We find that companies that added directors to conform with this standard exhibited a significant improvement in operating performance both in absolute terms and relative to various peer-group benchmarks. We also find a statistically significant increase in stock prices around announcements that outside directors were added in conformance with this recommendation. We do not endorse mandated board structures, but the evidence appears to be that such a mandate was associated with an improvement in performance in UK companies.

One Man Two Hats - What's All the Commotion!

We examine performance in publicly listed U.K. companies over a period that encompasses issuance of the Cadbury Committee's Code of Best Practice calling for the abolition of the combined CEO and COB position. We find companies splitting the combined CEO and COB position to conform to the Code's requirement did not exhibit any absolute or relative improvement in performance to various peer-group benchmarks. We do not necessarily scoff at mandated board structures, but the evidence appears to be that such legislature coercing the abandonment of the combined CEO and COB position appears to be wide of the mark.

Comparing microfinance assessment methodologies

This paper compares five of the better-known MFI assessment methodologies: ACCION's CAMEL, WOCCU's PEARLS, PlaNet Ratings' GIRAFE, and the methodologies used by MicroRate and M-CRIL. The challenges facing such assessments are then outlined. Assessments of microfinance institutions (MFIs) are essentially performance reviews by independent specialized parties. They provide the basis for peer group benchmarking, and for performance standards: managers can compare their institution's results to the performance of others, or with agreed standards or requirements. Supervisors, funders and networks can use this information to monitor microfinance institutions. Assessments also provide information to potential investors and lenders.