A new theoretical approach to pension fund economics, asset management and insurance. A new generation of sustainable pensions will be proposed, which can, in the long term, increase several times the level of pension payouts. The groundbreaking underlying theoretical approach suggests a paradigm shift and dramatic improvements in the performance of pensions and other long dated contracts in asset management and insurance.
Extreme Value Theory Approaches to Insurance in a Catastrophic Environment. Recent decades are marked by numerous significant natural (climate change) or man-made (financial crises) catastrophes, which have significantly altered the landscape of the insurance industry. These have potentially significant negative impacts on the availability and affordability of insurance, and hence on the capability and capacity of households and businesses to take risks and be competitive. This project endeavour ....Extreme Value Theory Approaches to Insurance in a Catastrophic Environment. Recent decades are marked by numerous significant natural (climate change) or man-made (financial crises) catastrophes, which have significantly altered the landscape of the insurance industry. These have potentially significant negative impacts on the availability and affordability of insurance, and hence on the capability and capacity of households and businesses to take risks and be competitive. This project endeavours to establish progressive approaches (using extreme value theory) to the challenges faced by insurance in such a catastrophic environment. They will enhance the financial stability and competitivity of the Australian economy, and further establish its global leadership in dealing with climate changes and catastrophes.Read moreRead less
Novel econometric techniques for dealing with point processes in high frequency financial data with applications to financial risk management. The recent global financial crisis highlighted the inherent risk involved in investing in financial assets. This project aims to develop novel statistical methods for forecasting the onset of instability in asset prices. The outcomes of this research will lead to improvements in the management of financial risk.
Understanding the Impact of Sovereign Wealth Funds on the Financial Markets. This project aims not only to reveal the impact of sovereign wealth fund (SWFs) on Australian international stock markets, but also to assess their investment behaviour. An SWF is an investment fund managed by a government or other organisation on behalf of a sovereign state. The impact of SWFs on international financial markets and their behaviour are of great importance to market participants as well as policy-makers. ....Understanding the Impact of Sovereign Wealth Funds on the Financial Markets. This project aims not only to reveal the impact of sovereign wealth fund (SWFs) on Australian international stock markets, but also to assess their investment behaviour. An SWF is an investment fund managed by a government or other organisation on behalf of a sovereign state. The impact of SWFs on international financial markets and their behaviour are of great importance to market participants as well as policy-makers. The project aims to measure the systemic risk contribution of SWFs and to analyse the anti-takeover provisions of SWFs’ target firms. In addition, the project aims to understand the relation between anti-takeover provisions and target firm value and will examine the role of SWFs as a socially responsible investor. The expected outcomes will improve our understanding of the impact of SWFs on the Australian financial markets in terms of social and economic wellbeing.Read moreRead less
Mathematical models for water management systems. The Australian community is currently talking about schemes to return water to the Murray-Darling river system to combat increased salinity and dramatically reduced river flow. Many believe that vastly improved water management policies are essential to maintain agricultural well-being in Australia. Salinity and water quality depend directly on flow rates and are also important in smaller catchments. In this study we will use statistical rainf ....Mathematical models for water management systems. The Australian community is currently talking about schemes to return water to the Murray-Darling river system to combat increased salinity and dramatically reduced river flow. Many believe that vastly improved water management policies are essential to maintain agricultural well-being in Australia. Salinity and water quality depend directly on flow rates and are also important in smaller catchments. In this study we will use statistical rainfall models and stochastic dynamic programming to find practical water management policies that minimise the risk to water supply. We will develop an interactive simulation and management tool using a modern computer graphics package.Read moreRead less
Systemic risk, hedge funds and modelling asymmetric dependence using a Copula approach. This project will assess whether hedge funds pose a significant systemic risk for Australia and the impact of asymmetric dependence on portfolio choice involving hedge funds. The project is timely and important as it is aimed at protecting Australia's financial system.
Financial tunnelling: shareholder protection and wealth changes during two decades of capital management activities in Australia. Companies raise capital and distribute capital and profits through various mechanisms, often structured to benefit important shareholders such as institutions. This study examines the extent to which minority shareholders have had wealth destroyed through company capital management activities, and offers corporate governance solutions.
Understanding and overcoming confusion in consumer financial decisions. This project aims to develop consumer-centred approaches to reducing the harmful effects of confusion in financial decisions by studying superannuation investment and home loan decisions where confused choices are individually and collectively costly. The project intends to develop comprehensive models to capture the full complexity of financial products and the diverse preferences and capability of consumers, then to use ad ....Understanding and overcoming confusion in consumer financial decisions. This project aims to develop consumer-centred approaches to reducing the harmful effects of confusion in financial decisions by studying superannuation investment and home loan decisions where confused choices are individually and collectively costly. The project intends to develop comprehensive models to capture the full complexity of financial products and the diverse preferences and capability of consumers, then to use advanced statistical methods to estimate the benefits of clearer decision-making. The outcomes of this project includes new models of complex financial decisions, and a better understanding of where confusion arises and the effects it may have. Decreased confusion will raise financial well-being and help communities become more resilient to financial shocks.Read moreRead less
Do wealth creating mergers and acquisitions really hurt acquirer shareholders? The purpose of this project is to investigate the benefit to the community of acquisitions, especially when the stock price of the acquirer falls on the announcement. This project is likely to show that acquiring shareholders still gain substantially in these circumstances. The outcome will be fewer failed bids with better regulatory outcomes.
Quantitative Analysis of Systemic Risk in Insurance. This project aims to achieve a contemporary and comprehensive quantitative analysis of systemic risk in insurance. The significance lies in narrowing the gap between the studies of systemic risk in banking and insurance. Expected outcomes include the construction of insurance/reinsurance networks to formalise systemic risk, the analysis of the role of network integration, and the development of pricing frameworks to entail a systemic risk prem ....Quantitative Analysis of Systemic Risk in Insurance. This project aims to achieve a contemporary and comprehensive quantitative analysis of systemic risk in insurance. The significance lies in narrowing the gap between the studies of systemic risk in banking and insurance. Expected outcomes include the construction of insurance/reinsurance networks to formalise systemic risk, the analysis of the role of network integration, and the development of pricing frameworks to entail a systemic risk premium. The project will benefit insurers and regulators by providing a forward-looking approach to monitoring and assessing insurance risk during a systemic crisis. These important original contributions to insurance risk management will help establish Australia’s global leadership in systemic risk.Read moreRead less