Specialist Funding Research Articles

The role of financial markets in the energy transition: an analysis of investment trends and opportunities in renewable energy and clean technology.

The crucial role that financial markets have played in accelerating the shift to clean energy and renewable sources of energy is examined in this article. Thus, we built global essential mineral trade networks from 1999 to 2020 using a complex network technique to analyze their topological properties quantitatively. The impact of crucial mineral trade patterns on the growth of renewable energy is then examined using the dynamic econometric model, along with the mediating function of technological advancement in renewable energy. It analyzes investment patterns and possibilities in various industries while underlining the critical role that financial systems play in determining the speed and scope of the change. The research uses data from reliable sources and thoroughly analyzes the body of current literature. The data shows that investments in clean technologies and renewable energy have significantly increased recently. This increase may be ascribed to several causes, including favorable governmental regulations, falling renewable energy technology prices, and rising environmental consciousness among the general people. Venture capital, private equity, public markets, and specialist funds are just a few examples of financial markets that have been instrumental in directing funding to these industries. The report also reveals a change in how money is invested in the energy industry, with conventional investments in fossil fuels declining and investments in renewable energy growing significantly. The profitability and appeal of renewable energy projects, which are now competitive with traditional energy sources, are driving this transformation. The report also identifies new investment possibilities in clean technology, including smart infrastructure, grid modernization, and energy storage. Due to their potential to improve the effectiveness, dependability, and sustainability of energy systems, these areas are expanding. The results highlight the need to establish long-term stability and incentives for investment in the clean technology and renewable energy industries. Government assistance has considerably aided investor confidence, including carbon pricing systems, tax incentives, and subsidies for renewable energy sources. This analysis emphasizes how critical financial markets are to accelerating the energy transition. Financial markets may hasten the transition to a sustainable energy system by directing investments into clean technologies and renewable energy industries. To take advantage of the investment possibilities given by the energy transition, policymakers, investors, and industry stakeholders must work together.

Do specialist funds outperform? Evidence from European non-listed real estate funds

This study aims to determine if specialization led to higher financial performance for European non-listed real estate funds. Funds may either specialize in a particular country and/or property type or manage a broadly diversified portfolio. The findings suggest that after adjusting for relevant performance drivers, both country specialization and country-sector specialization are associated with superior returns while sector specialization is not. The outperformance of country and country-sector specialist funds was particularly pronounced during the recovery and growth period of European real estate markets from 2010 to 2019.

Are specialist funds “special”?

AbstractIn this paper, I explore the relation between portfolio overlap and performance diversity. Using data on actively managed U.S. equity mutual funds, I find that the pairwise portfolio overlap between individual funds has increased over time and is significant compared to various randomized benchmarks. These findings motivate the main question of this paper, namely whether specialist funds (those with low levels of portfolio overlap with other funds) differ significantly from funds with high levels of overlap. Here, I find that these specialists differ with regard to certain portfolio‐ and fund‐specific characteristics, but they do not appear to outperform other funds.

Möglichkeiten der Forschungsförderung - die Ophthalmologie in der DFG

Since 2004 applications for research funding in ophthalmology have been evaluated together with those from neurosurgery, neuropathology, psychiatry, psychotherapy, psychosomatics, otolaryngology and neurology by a joint review board of the German Research Council (DFG). Facing a decreasing number of applications--in contrast to the need and importance of widespread ocular diseases--the working group "young academics" of the Deutsche Ophthalmologische Gesellschaft (DOG) assessed the perception of funding programmes and grants available. Young ophthalmologists think that they have poor prospects to receive funding by a DFG proposal. In comparison, specialist funding quotas show a stable development within the neurosciences over the last years. The sum of requested funding has a strong correlation with the total amount actually paid. By clarifying the number of funded proposals, the better transparency and communication for the existing programmes should improve the cooperativeness, the funding rate and number of applications in future. This inventory explicitly includes a motivational guidance for young researchers to take the initiative to do more proposals.

RS05 CRAFT GROUP AUDIT FOR RURAL SURGEONS

Aims To establish a prospective audit of surgical outcomes in regional and rural surgical practice and a strategy for recognising and managing outliers identified through audit.Methods Support Scheme for Rural Specialist Funding (SSRS – Round 6) was obtained. Five major centres: Geelong, Ballarat, Bendigo, Wagga Wagga and Lismore agreed to participate in a prospective audit from September 06 to March 07. Various individual surgeons and smaller centres also offered to provide audits of their individual practice (Broome, Bathurst, Wangaratta, Kalgoorlie, Alice Springs). Five operations were audited: colorectal cancer surgery, breast cancer surgery, thyroidectomy, inguinal hernia repair and laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Indicators included mortality, unplanned re‐operation, anastomotic leak, recurrent laryngeal nerve damage, bile leak, postoperative pain for >2 months requiring analgesia or referral to a pain clinic after hernia repair, and the same indicators as the breast cancer audit. Anonymity of surgeons and patients was maintained.Results At the time of abstract submission all five major sites had appointed project officers. Each centre is contributing about 40+ cases per month. By early December Geelong had collected thyroids (21), laparoscopic cholecystectomy (78 − 2 conversions), breast cancer (17 − 8 mastectomies), adult inguinal hernia repair (38), colorectal surgery (50 − 13 right hemi, 14 anterior resections).Conclusion It is hoped that the existence of rural surgery craft group audit will provide indicators to assess the outcomes of any individual surgeon who chooses to contribute and compare their performance.

Do Specialist Fund Managers Possess Superior Project (Stock) Picking Ability?

This paper finds that industry specialization within a fund is associated with superior project picking ability in the venture capital market. We find that ex-ante judgments of superior project quality are associated with positive abnormal performance for specialist funds, while they are associated with negative abnormal performance for the average fund. During cold IPO markets, abnormal performance associated with project-picking ability is greater than abnormal performance associated with specialization (portfolio risk) independent of project picking ability. During hot IPO markets, however, project picking ability is not rewarded, while specialization is associated with positive abnormal performance independent of project picking ability. Our findings indicate that the ability to shift investments into sectors that are 'hot' is associated with superior performance independent of project picking ability. Consistent with this conclusion, ex-ante judgments of low quality are associated with positive abnormal performance for the average fund during hot IPO markets but not during cold IPO markets.

Enrolment Rates into Parenting Programs using a Clinically Viable Recruitment Strategy

Studies of parenting programs often have enrolment rates of 20% or more of the targeted parents. These rates are usually from funded research projects, and may not equate to enrolment rates in programs using clinically viable recruitment strategies without large specialist funding. Two studies were conducted to explore the enrolment rates of parents in group parenting programs. The first investigated the enrolment rate of parents of 5—12-yearold children in a community parenting program, using a clinically viable recruitment strategy. Flyers were twice sent home with the children advertising the program, which was offered both during the day and evening. Parents from nine Australian schools, with a total of 5,275 students from 3,740 families, were offered the program. Only 0.48% enrolled (N = 18 parents). In the second study, the variables of program cost (free vs $20), pre-enrolment requirements (completion of three questionnaires vs no questionnaires), and program duration/type (four-session general par...

Early-stage venture capital funds, scale economies and public support

This paper looks at the contemporary financing situation facing New Technology Based Firms in the UK. The specific role of venture capital as a source of third party equity to these frequently capital rationed start-ups is explored. Evidence is presented which indicates that, despite a significant increase in finance to venture funds, the share allocated to seed capital and to investment in the earliest stages of a new enterprise remain stubbornly small. A 'Catch 22' situation conundrum exists whereby it is the smallest specialist funds which are prepared to invest small tranches of equity at the earliest and most speculative stages of the investment cycle. Yet, using a spreadsheet model and industry sourced input and output parameters, it can also be demonstrated that small venture funds bear a major cost penalty which imperils their viability. The model is used to illustrate scale effects on an early-stage VC fund and the consequences of guarantee and leverage based, support mechanisms on the returns to the fund's managing and limited partners.

Have UK venture capitalists a bias against investment in new technology-based firms?

This paper addresses the important question for innovation policy of whether or not UK venture capital firms show a bias against investing in technology-based, new and young enterprises. The evidence from UK and US industry statistics indicates that, pro rate, American venture capital invest nearly three times as much finance into technology-based, start-up and early-stage investments as their UK counterparts when later stage, MBO/LBO investments are removed from the data. US venture capital firms are also more likely to invest at the earlier stages of investment, while the UK industry has increasingly come to be dominated by management buy-outs/buy-ins and other later-stage, refinancing activities. In 1991, a postal survey was conducted of 40 investing firms from a population of 75 UK venture capitalists which currently invest, or are prepared to consider investing, in technology-based companies. The sample was segregated into ‘generalist funds’ and ‘technology specialists’ depending on the percentage (greater or less than 50%) of technology-based investee companies within the venture capitalists' current portfolios. The results confirmed that technology projects had to meet more rigorous selection criteria than non-technology projects. In undertaking technology-based project evaluations, investors imposed higher investment return ‘hurdle rates’ at each stage of investment other than seed capital. Technology-based projects were also more frequently required to address minimum markets greater than the UK alone when compared to other investment categories. No material bias was found between the actions of generalist and specialist funds towards technology-based projects. The ratio of technology-based projects offered to technology-based projects accepted was similar for both groups.