It has become almost conventional wisdom that investors should avoid funds with high expense ratios. Like many nuggets of conventional wisdom, there is some truth, but many exceptions: some of the best funds come at the price of higher expense ratios. Financial planners need this type of...

The financial crisis of 2007-2008 was a liquidity crisis. Thus we must both study the source of the crisis and evaluate the regulatory measures to address it. How was this liquidity crisis and its associated risk related to other forms of risk? What was the nature of the vicious cycle that...

The purpose of this paper is to examine the integrated role of quality, innovation, and differentiation (QID) on the competitiveness of a financial organization in circumstances such as the current global financial crisis. It is a conceptual paper adopting a cross-disciplinary approach that...

This study assesses the degree of financial integration in the WAEMU (West African Economic and Monetary Union). The structure of the financial sector and its institutional arrangements indicate that financial integration is well advanced in some aspects. Common and foreign ownership of banks is...

The current financial services industry crisis is attributed in large part to the mortgage industry debacle. The mortgage industry initially saw a rise in home values and therefore a rise in mortgage originations. This occurred during a period that witnessed a decline in short-term interest...

To address the banking system’s non-performing loan (NPL) problem, the Chinese government set up four asset management corporations (AMCs). They were to buy bad debts from mainly the big four state-owned commercial banks and dispose of them over 10 years, taking a large step towards NPL...

Despite fleeing from risky activities and scrambling for cash, banks have maintained high levels of M&A activity throughout the latest financial crisis. Low prices may explain in part the appetite for acquisitions, but the outcome of these deals remains highly uncertain and success relies on an...

Banks and other financial services providers continuously claim to offer customer-oriented services, yet they still focus on delivering products instead of providing solutions to their customers’ needs. For instance, banks offer business customers only products and services that solve isolated...

Banks and other financial services providers continuously claim to offer customer-oriented services, yet they still focus on delivering products instead of providing solutions to their customers’ needs. For instance, banks offer business customers only products and services that solve isolated...

This paper provides an overview of the hedge fund industry and explains why hedge funds are gaining in popularity among institutional investors. I review the different styles used by hedge fund managers and analyze how they impact returns. Furthermore, I will address how the lack of transparency...