NEWSLETTER of January 17, 2020

The following content has been added at finexpert:

J.P. Morgan

2020 LONG-TERM CAPITAL MARKET ASSUMPTIONS

The 2020 edition of our Long-Term Capital Market Assumptions (LTCMAs) was written against a backdrop of trade tension between the world’s economic superpowers and a reversal in the trajectory of global monetary policy. While these both have far-reaching and complex implications, they effectively boil down to two interconnected issues: the contour of future economic growth, which is influenced significantly by trade, and the rate at which we discount that growth in asset markets. These issues can amount to a trade-off; for instance, something that lowers forward growth might also serve to lower discount rates, muting the impact on asset prices today, and vice versa. >more

PwC

M&A IN THE TRANSPORT & LOGISTICS INDUSTRY

Mergers and acquisitions in the global transport and logistics industry experienced an increase in 2019 - despite the threat of a downturn, brexite confusion and trade disputes between the USA and China. A total of 254 mergers and acquisitions were announced in the industry worldwide, 12 percent more than the previous year and just above the average for the last five years. With 135 transactions, the first half of the year was stronger than the second half, in which 119 mergers and acquisitions were announced. >more

EY

TRENDBAROMETER IMMOBILIEN-INVESTMENTMARKT 2020

The total investment volume (commercial and residential real estate) on the German real estate market amounted to 89.5 billion euros in 2019. This represents a remarkable growth of 14 percent compared to the previous year, when a total volume of 78 billion euros was recorded. For 2020, 93 percent of investors also expect an attractive to very attractive market environment. >more

EY

START-UP BAROMETER: JANUAR 2020

The financing boom in the German start-up segment continues: Young companies were able to raise more fresh capital in 2019 than ever before. In total, they received 6.2 billion euros, 36 percent more than in the previous year. The number of financing rounds rose by 13 percent to 704. Once again, the lion's share of the invested capital flowed to Berlin: Start-ups from the capital received a total of 3.7 billion euros in 262 financing rounds last year - an increase of 41 percent over the previous year. >more

PUBLIC ATTENTION TO GENDER EQUALITY AND THE DEMAND FOR FEMALE DIRECTORS

Mariassunta Giannetti, and Tracy Yue Wang
2019
We show that public attention to gender equality has different effects on the implicit attitudes towards career women of individuals with different ex ante preferences and beliefs. On this basis, we conjecture that public attention to gender equality should differentially affect the demand for female directors of firms with different ex ante culture towards gender equality. We find that public attention is associated with an increase in female board representation, especially in firms whose ex ante culture is more sympathetic to gender equality. Public attention to gender equality changes the way female directors are recruited. First, the pool of female directors broadens without any obvious compromises on quality. Second, public attention to gender equality reduces the probability that connected men are appointed, leading to higher female board representation. >more

UNOBSERVED PERFORMANCE OF HEDGE FUNDS

Vikas Agarwal, Stefan Ruenzi, and Florian Weigert
2019
We investigate hedge funds’ unobserved performance (UP), measured as the risk-adjusted return difference between a fund firm’s reported return and the hypothetical portfolio return derived from its disclosed long equity holdings. We find that high UP is (i) positively associated with measures of managerial incentives, discretion, and skill, and (ii) driven by a fund firm’s frequent trading in equity positions, derivatives usage, short selling, and confidential holdings. Fund firms with high UP outperform fund firms with low UP by more than 6% p.a. after accounting for typical hedge fund risk factors and fund characteristics. >more