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HOW BEHAVIORAL FACTORS ARE BEING IMPLEMENTED INTO TODAY'S FINANCIAL EDUCATION PROGRAMS
Title
HOW BEHAVIORAL FACTORS ARE BEING IMPLEMENTED INTO TODAY'S FINANCIAL EDUCATION PROGRAMS.
Creator
Perez, Esperanza, Gilkeson, Jim, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description
This research examined 50 financial education programs within the state of Florida. The purpose of the research was to survey financial education program providers to see how they are evolving to meet the sociological, psychological and behavioral factors that affect individual's financial decision making. In constructing the survey I referenced articles, journals and publications regarding how certain factors can affect an individual and their ability to apply financial education to their...
Show moreThis research examined 50 financial education programs within the state of Florida. The purpose of the research was to survey financial education program providers to see how they are evolving to meet the sociological, psychological and behavioral factors that affect individual's financial decision making. In constructing the survey I referenced articles, journals and publications regarding how certain factors can affect an individual and their ability to apply financial education to their daily life. This review of previous research showed that tailored education, to determine a participant's means, ability and goals, is the best way to help participants achieve financial independence. In this literature review no specific details were found on how programs are evolving or how existing program offerings are filling the need for tailored financial education. This topic is important because financial decisions that people make will not only affect current generations but also future generations. I contacted 50 agencies with a 27 question survey regarding their basic organizational structure, funding, program details, success determinants, primary program goals and focus, and marketing strategies. 36% of those contacted, or 18 organizations, responded. All responses were compiled and compared to determine relationships among program structures, offerings, and goals. The primary findings were that most organizations opened after 2000, have budgets under $100,000 funded primarily by two main sources, and their main goals are to provide basic knowledge and education to help participants improve financial decisions. In addition, most programs conduct a pre-post survey or get participant feedback to evaluate programs and use the number of participants at meetings as their main success factor. The majority of programs do not collect financial information, however they provide one-on-one counseling to focus on tailoring education to 501+ participants per year. Recommendations for future research are to increase the number of respondents, look deeper into funding requirements, the program lifecycle, marketing strategies employed and their effectiveness, and what specific financial education topics programs are addressing. This will add to existing research by providing a broader view of the financial education landscape and help programs to evolve to meet the need for tailored education.
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Date Issued
2015
Identifier
CFH0004729, ucf:45374
Format
Document (PDF)
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH0004729
TRACKING ERROR OF LEVERAGED AND INVERSE ETFS
Title
TRACKING ERROR OF LEVERAGED AND INVERSE ETFS.
Creator
Romano, John, Gilkeson, Jim, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description
Tracking ability of leveraged and inverse exchange traded funds can be very important to investors looking for a dependable return. If the investor wants to put their money on a certain index they feel strongly about, they expect their investment vehicle to track that return appropriately. Over the years, we have seen tremendous growth in the exchange traded fund industry. In 2006, leveraged and inverse funds were introduced to the market, allowing investors to take leveraged and directional...
Show moreTracking ability of leveraged and inverse exchange traded funds can be very important to investors looking for a dependable return. If the investor wants to put their money on a certain index they feel strongly about, they expect their investment vehicle to track that return appropriately. Over the years, we have seen tremendous growth in the exchange traded fund industry. In 2006, leveraged and inverse funds were introduced to the market, allowing investors to take leveraged and directional trades on indices. These investment vehicles can be traded as easily as any stock, and therefore need some attention. Since any novice investor can access and trade these funds, they need to be aware of the risks they are taking. In this study, I test whether the ProShares S&P tracking leveraged and inverse exchange traded funds track their appropriate index multiple as promised. I did this by running regressions on each fund against the appropriate multiple of their underlying indices. I did this for funds of different market capitalization, for different holding periods, and with different amounts of leverage, to compare how these funds track in different conditions. I found that the large cap funds tend to track the best, with the small cap funds tracking the worst. I also find that tracking error tends to increase with longer holding periods. I find that the distribution of excess returns becomes less normal over longer holding periods, and begins to flatten out and widen. There does not seem to be a concrete conclusion as to whether or not the amount of leverage affects the tracking ability of the funds. I end up with mixed results when comparing amounts of leverage by model fit and by tracking error. Direction also does not seem to play any role in the tracking ability of these funds.
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Date Issued
2012
Identifier
CFH0004184, ucf:44893
Format
Document (PDF)
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH0004184
PREDICTING MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS
Title
PREDICTING MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS.
Creator
D'Angelo, John, Gilkeson, Jim, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description
Being able to predict a merger or acquisition before it takes place could lead to an investor earning a premium, if they owned shares of the targeted firm before the merger or acquisition attempt is announced. On average acquiring firms pay a premium when acquiring or merging with a targeted firm. This study uses publicly available financial information for 7,267 attempted takeover targets and 52,343 non-targeted firms for the period January 3, 2000 through December 31, 2007 to estimate ...
Show moreBeing able to predict a merger or acquisition before it takes place could lead to an investor earning a premium, if they owned shares of the targeted firm before the merger or acquisition attempt is announced. On average acquiring firms pay a premium when acquiring or merging with a targeted firm. This study uses publicly available financial information for 7,267 attempted takeover targets and 52,343 non-targeted firms for the period January 3, 2000 through December 31, 2007 to estimate (using logit) predictive models. Financial ratios are constructed based on six hypotheses found in the literature. Although statistical evidence supports a few of the hypotheses, the low predictive power of the models does not indicate the ability to accurately predict targeted firms ahead of time, let alone with any economic significance.
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Date Issued
2012
Identifier
CFH0004133, ucf:44892
Format
Document (PDF)
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH0004133