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Thesis Topics for MSc in Finance & Management 2014

1. Asset pricing

Determinants of equity risk premium

Macro-economy and stock market performance

Momentum and contrarian strategies in emerging markets

Predictability of stock returns using financial information

Empirical testing of asset pricing models in emerging markets and role of

liquidity

2. Foreign Exchange and Financial Markets

What are the determinants of exchange rates? How do these differ across

emerging and developed markets?

Is there a relationship between foreign exchange markets and stock

markets?

What is the impact of currency risk on corporate performance and how

exchange rate volatility affects corporate value?

Empirical tests of exchange rate theories like IRP, PPP, RPPP, and

International Fisher Effect.

Profitability of carry trades

Impact of sovereign ratings changes

Determinants of the fixed and floating rate debt

The effect of political influences on exchange rate volatility

Foreign exchange exposure of firms evidence from emerging markets

Profitability of technical analysis and trading strategies in currencies

Financial liberalisation and stock market integration

Stock market comovements in emerging markets

3. Alternative Investments

Does investing in alternative investment assets help diversification of risk

and portfolio performance?

Long and short run relationship amongst alternative investment vehicles

(such as commodities, REITs, etc.)

Determinants of Private Equity investments

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Precious metals and other commodities as a hedge or safe haven for stocks

Precious metals and other commodities as a hedge or safe haven for

specified currencies

4. Corporate Finance

Ownership structure and firm value

Initial Public Offerings (IPO) underpricing and firm performance

Corporate governance and employee participation in IPOs

Cross-listed stocks and IPO underpricing

Board size, characteristics, corporate governance and firm performance

The effect of venture capital on IPO performance.

Predicting corporate bankruptcy

Impact of corporate ratings changes

Predicting ratings changes from changes in CDS spreads

CDS, structural models and capital structure arbitrage

Market reaction to profit warnings

How and when do firms adjust their capital structures toward targets?

The effect of Islamic Finance on capital structure

Who benefits from earnings management?

Does corporate hedging increase the value of the firm?

How much cash should a firm hold?

The effect of Political connections on firm leverage

Executive compensation and Firm risk taking

Audit quality and firm risk

Ownership structure and dividend policy

The effect of national culture on dividend policy

The effect of national culture on capital structure

Determinants of dividend policy

Effect of capital structure on financial performance

Dividend payout in the banking sector and financial risk

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Determinants of capital structure

Corporate finance in Emerging Markets

Negotiated and cost based transfer pricing

Transfer pricing and taxation

Divisional performance measurements and transfer pricing

5. Portfolio Management

Determinants of stock-bond correlations

Does it still pay to diversify internationally?

Foreign portfolio flows, returns and volatility

Have the BRICS really delivered when it mattered?

Pricing of American Depositary Receipts (ADRs)

Hedging performance of stock index futures

Is it worth paying for Alpha?

6. International Investments

International portfolio investments and regulations in emerging markets

Investor protection regulations and international portfolio investments

Do international investors show herd behaviour?

Determinants of inward and outward FDI

Foreign Direct Investments and impact on economic growth

Country specific equity risk premium and the cross sectional variations in

international portfolio flows

7. Market Efficiency

Market microstructure and informational efficiency

Introduction of derivatives and its impact on market efficiency

Do noise traders cause excess volatility in the market?

Is timing the market all about technical analysis?

Do investors rely more on technical analysis for short term profits?

Do technical analysts influence stock prices?

Profitability of technical analysis in emerging economies stock markets

Fundamental v technical analysis: which is better?

Does private equity investment improve firm efficiency?

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Profitability of bond trading strategies

Performance of stock recommendations

Impact of index inclusion and exclusion on underlying stocks

Stock option listing and its impact on market efficiency

An analysis of trading costs in different stock markets

Identifying under/overvalued securities by deconstructing the

fundamentals:

Identifying under/overvalued securities using the residual income

framework

Importance and dynamics of AIM market

8. Mergers & Acquisitions

Predicting acquisition targets

Performance of acquirers where the target is distressed

What drives leverage in leveraged buyouts (LBOs)?Valuing intangible

liability

Valuation of financially strong takeover targets

Valuation of financially weak takeover targets

Is post-merger performance consistent with pre-merger forecasts?

Financial forecasts between consecutive takeover deals

Synergy forecasts and takeover premiums

Takeover premiums and post-deal restructuring charges

Takeover premiums and post-deal write-offs

What happens for survivors of corporate takeovers?

How do firms finance their acquisitions?

The determinants of takeover premium

The determinants of the probability of takeover success as a disciplinary

tool for bad acquirers/poor performance

Domestic vs. cross border mergers

9. Corporate Governance and Ethics

Does active Ethical Investing Pay?

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The association between firm financial decisions and corporate

governance

Managerial ownership and corporate diversification

Executive Compensation and the Hedging Premium

Business groups and capital structure

Business groups and dividend policy

The effect of corporate governance on the value of the firm

The effect of green business on firm value

The impact of corporate social responsibility activity on firm value: event

study methodology

Assessing market reaction to the adoption of the Equator Principles.

Assessing the performance of Islamic banks impact of board size,

corporate governance structure on the performance/efficiency of banks

Financial performance of family owned businesses

10. Mutual funds

Performance, governance and characteristics

Luck versus skill in open- and closed-end fund performance

Funds flow and fund performance

Short- and long-term persistence of fund performance

11. International Financial Reporting Standards

Impact of shared based payments on performance of named country

companies

The effects of IFRS on FDI: evidence from named developing/emerging

economies

Market reactions to IFRS enforcement

Executive compensation and mergers and acquisition: evidence from UK

mergers

Financial Reporting Quality and Implications of IFRS Adoption in

Emerging and Developing Countries

Real and accrual based earnings management

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in cross and domestics acquisitions

in pre/post IFRS adoption periods

in pre/post financial crisis periods in Europe

12. Derivatives and Firm Performance and Markets

Stock option listing and its impact on the companys cost of capital

Introduction of derivatives and its impact on market efficiency and/or

stock return volatility

13. Microfinance

The effect of legal status on the financial performance of microfinance

institutions

The effect of gender on repayment rates in the microfinance industry

Determinants of financial performance of microfinance institutions

What determines the trade credits of SMEs?

11. Financial Markets Regulations and Banking

Financial markets regulations and their impact on UK financial services

industry

Financial regulations and Transaction baking

Regulatory impact on baking efficiency and competitiveness