...EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This report analyse the case of Dimensional Fund Advisors (DFA) which is an investment firm in Santa Monica, California. In 2002, David Booth is in dilemma considering how should he lead DFA in the future considering current success condition DFA could achieved. The aim of this report is to assess the condition and situation of DFA and help David Booth in making decision as to what to do to excel DFA performance. This report is divided into 5 parts starting from the company background and its business strategy followed by Fama-French Three Factors Model that highly influence the strategy formulation and action taken by DFA. Third part will be DFA’s trading strategy and continued by brief analysis of its new product namely Tax-Managed Funds. Finally, it will be concluded by recommendation given to David Booth considering the content in main body of this report. Overall, it can be said that the main issue is whether DFA should continue its current operational strategy or it should develop new strategy in order to increase its performance among competitors. As in conclusion, it is suggested that DFA should follow current strategy since it has been proven to work well and it brought DFA to be among top 100 companies. COMPANY BACKGROUND AND BUSINESS STRATEGY Dimensional Fund Advisors (DFA), an investment firm founded in 1981 by David Booth and Rex Sinquefield, is strong believer of Efficient Market Hypothesis (EMH). DFA has adopted EMH In both its strategic operational...
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...Executive Summary The purpose of this report is to evaluate the relevance and accuracy of the theories used by DFA, especially the value premium and the size premium where almost all of their funds are based upon. The company used for this report is Dimensional Fund Advisors, which is an investment fund company. The source of information that is used is from websites and some journals. The main finding in this report is that DFA focusing their investment in small cap stock, as small stock tends to outperform large stock. To conclude, this report will provide evidence on the usefulness of these theories to increase return of DFA’s funds as well as recommendations about changes in strategy that will enhance the performance of DFA overall. Introduction Dimensional Fund Advisors is an investment company that uses its strategy based on academic research as well as related theories. It is based in Santa Monica, California and founded in 1981 by Booth and Rex Sinquefield. They work together with advocate of the efficient market hypothesis, indicating a relatively strong belief in this theory and thus in efficient markets. DFA believe that skilled traders have the capability to pitch in to the fund’s profits, although the investments are inherently passive. Additionally, they also adjust their strategy to new findings in the field. This report will discuss the next step that DFA should implement in order to perform better compared to the other managed funds. DFA’s Business Strategy ...
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...INVESTMENT STRATEGY AND PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT Executive Summary Kaplan is a charitable fund established in 2007 to provide an investment vehicle for investors seeking to finance some educational objectives. The aim of the fund is to grow members’ contributions through investment in securities. Investors in Kaplan are yet to start making withdrawals from the fund but are due to begin in June 2012. This report looks at current issues in the investment environment in the UK, Europe, and the rest of the world which have an impact on Kaplan’s operations. It also examines strategic asset allocation and investment strategies that Kaplan should employ to achieve its goals. In addition, the report recommends areas in which the fund’s management should actively manage investments and those areas in which passive management would be the better option. Overview of the Investment Environment In recent years, the global fund sector has continued to register robust growth in many countries with developed financial markets. Collective investment schemes are becoming the most preferred investment vehicles for investors because of their obvious advantages including diversification, professional management of investments, liquidity and investment advice for investors and superior returns (Roll, 2008). Indeed, as by the end of 2011, the global investment fund industry was worth US $11.7 trillion which translates to 17 percent of primary securities holdings around the world. However...
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...Executive Summary Analyst Name: Tommie Anthony Henderson Company: DeVry Education Group Inc. (DV) Price on report date: $35.73 on March 20, 2015 Forecast Horizon: 1 year Recommendations: BUY Target forecasted price: $42.19 Highlights: * DeVry provides services educational development worldwide. * DeVry Educational Group operates three segments: Medical and Healthcare; International and Professional Educational; and Business, Technology and Management. * DeVry saw strong growth during the worldwide recession. * Company has strategically reduced its operating cost in segments that have seen either small improvement or losses in enrollment. * Company has strategically transitioned to support its Medical and Healthcare segments which has seen strong growth potential. * Risk factors include enrollment and public relations as the company has endured numerous class action lawsuits resulting from student dissatisfaction with curriculum content. Summary of Analysis: * Market Capitalization: $2.2 Billion on March 20, 2015 * Cash: 369.98M * Free Cash: $187.53M based on 4th Quarter of 2014 reported data * Last 12 months revenue: $1.92B * Operating Cash Flow: 266.89M * Dividends: N/A Qualitative Analysis Company Profile: What services and products do they sell and/or manufacture? DeVry Education Group is a corporation based in Downers Grove, Illinois. It was founded in 1931and it presently operates a number of...
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...British Petroleum Individual Project Phillip Zaphiropoulos Friday, November 16, 2012 ADM1300 B Jean-François Aubert “In partial fulfillment of the requirement of ADM1300.” ADM1300 Fall 2012 Individual Project – British Petroleum 1. Executive Summary To: CEO Robert Dudley From: Phillip Zaphiropoulos Date: November 16, 2012 British Petroleum is a public limited company. They suffered a huge downfall from their 2010 Mexican Gulf oil spill, although have rebounded very positively since then with major improvements in the company, both ethically and environmentally. This company markets its products in over 100 countries and, as of December 2011, employs over 83,000 employees. British Petroleum has worked hard to honour their commitments to the people and communities of the Gulf Coast. This company produces the natural resources that the world depends on daily, and produces them in some of the most operative, proficient, and resourceful ways which are possible today. (BP, n.d.). This company proves to be constantly evolving in the world. They are always innovating and coming up with new ways to operate their business as to cause the most minimal effect or damage on the environment. BP has become one of the most environmentally aware companies of the modern age, especially from what they have gone through in the Gulf of Mexico, and the revolutionary technologies they have integrated in their business operations. The vertically integrated company uses three...
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...BUS383 Managing Global Business Essay 1 Executive Summary: Using Lenovo as an international business, discuss the impact & role of culture in its business activities in different economies such as the United States & China in terms of political, economic, social & ethical factors. 2 Table of Contents Executive Summary:..............................................................................................................................2 Introduction...........................................................................................................................................4 Conducting Business Internationally..................................................................................................5 Impact & Role of Culture...................................................................................................................7 Difference between Western & Eastern cultures...............................................................................8 Lenovo in China / Eastern Culture....................................................................................................10 Lenovo in USA / Western Culture....................................................................................................12 Current Affairs.................................................................................................................................13 Conclusion:............................................
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...Glossary of School Finance Terms Published by Wisconsin Association of School District Administrators (WASDA) And Wisconsin Association of School Business Officials (WASBO) January 2003 Acknowledgements We gratefully acknowledge the efforts of Nicholas C. A. Alioto and Roger J. Dickson of the Public Business Consulting Group, LLC for their efforts in compiling and authoring this document. The authors express their appreciation to the following individuals, who provided assistance with its development: Larry Krebs of the Neenah School District, Dennis Hanson of the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, Tom Griggs of Godfrey & Kahn, S.C. and Nelson Flynn of Michael Best & Friedrich, LLP. The definitions provided herein were compiled by the authors and rewritten using their own knowledge and definitions from the following sources: Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, Robert W. Baird and Company, and the glossaries from the departments of public instruction from Indiana and Michigan. This publication may be reprinted without permission courtesy of the Wisconsin Association of School District Administrators and the Wisconsin Association of School Business Officials. A limited supply of additional copies are available for a fee. Contact the WASDA office for more information or go to www.wasda.org or www.wasbo.com to view online. This publication was commissioned by the Wisconsin Association of School District Administrators and Wisconsin Association of School Business...
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...April 26, 2013 Dear Fellow Stockholder: At the request of the Board of Directors, you are cordially invited to attend the 2013 Annual Meeting of Stockholders of Newpark Resources, Inc., which will be held on Thursday, June 6, 2013, at 10:00 a.m., Central Daylight Time, at The Marriott Woodlands Waterway Hotel & Convention Center, 1601 Lake Robbins Drive, The Woodlands, Texas 77380. Both your Board of Directors and I hope you will be able to attend. There are five items on this year’s agenda: (1) the election of six directors to the Board of Directors; (2) an advisory vote to approve named executive officer compensation; (3) to consider and act upon a proposal for the approval of the amendment and restatement of the Newpark Resources, Inc. 2006 Equity Incentive Plan; (4) to consider and act upon a proposal for the approval of an amendment to the 2008 Employee Stock Purchase Plan to increase the employee discount from 5% to 15%; and (5) the ratification of the appointment of Deloitte & Touche LLP as our independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year 2013. These items are described fully in the Notice of Annual Meeting of Stockholders and the accompanying Proxy Statement. Whether or not you plan to attend the Annual Meeting, it is important that you study carefully the information provided in the Proxy Statement and vote. Please promptly vote your shares by telephone, by the internet or, if the Proxy Statement was mailed to you, by marking, signing, dating and...
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...UV0273 BEN & JERRY’S HOMEMADE Jerry: What’s interesting about me and my role in the company is I’m just this guy on the street. A person who’s fairly conventional, mainstream, accepting of life as it is. Ben: Salt of the earth. A man of the people. Jerry: But then I’ve got this friend, Ben, who challenges everything. It’s against his nature to do anything the same way anyone’s ever done it before. To which my response is always, “I don’t think that’ll work.” Ben: To which my response is always, “How do we know until we try?” Jerry: So I get to go through this leading-edge, risk-taking experience with Ben—even though I’m really just like everyone else. Ben: The perfect duo. Ice cream and chunks. Business and social change. Ben and Jerry. —Ben & Jerry’s Double-Dip As Henry Morgan’s plane passed over the snow-covered hills of Vermont’s dairy land, through his mind passed the events of the last few months. It was late January 2000. Morgan, the retired dean of Boston University’s business school, knew well the trip to Burlington. As a member of the board of directors of Ben & Jerry’s Homemade for the past 13 years, Morgan had seen the company grow both in financial and social stature. The company was now not only an industry leader in the super-premium ice cream market, but also commanded an important leadership position in a variety of social causes from the dairy farms of Vermont to the rainforests of South America. Increased competitive...
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...Learning Report To: The Students of BBA & LLB Programme From: Muhammad Fazlur Rabb Tanvir Assistant Professor, School of Business, Metropolitan University, Sylhet. 10 October 2012 Social Business (Source: Yunus Talks on Social Business with British Council team, The Daily Star, Wednesday, 10 October 2012) Introduction: Social business, as the term is commonly used, was first defined by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Prof. Muhammad Yunus and is described in his books Creating a world without poverty—Social Business and the future of capitalism and Building Social Business—The new kind of capitalism that serves humanity's most pressing needs. A number of organizations with which he is involved actively promote and incubate social businesses. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_business) In Yunus' definition, a social business is a non-loss, non-dividend company designed to address a social objective within the highly regulated marketplace of today. It is distinct from a non-profit because the business should seek to generate a modest profit but this will be used to expand the company’s reach, improve the product or service or in other ways to subsidise the social mission. In fact a wider definition of social business is possible, including any business which has a social rather than financial objective. Prototype: In Yunus’ book Creating a World without Poverty—Social Business and the Future of Capitalism, two different types of social businesses are proposed: ...
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...'Club of Economics in Miskolc' TMP Vol. 8., Nr. 2., pp. 23-30. 2012. Green Accounting for Corporate Sustainability BETTINA HÓDI HERNÁDI ASSISTANT LECTURER e-mail: vgtbetti@uni-miskolc.hu SUMMARY Today, corporate sustainability is one of the greatest challenges facing companies. Therefore, this study aims to show how accounting, as the language of business and the source of information, can meet the criteria of sustainability. This article starts out by analysing the different approaches to corporate sustainability, then it proposes the reinterpretation of the most important accounting principle, the ‘going concern’ principle. In the following section it outlines the characteristics of accounting from the point of view of sustainability. Finally, it proposes ways of transforming green accounting, both in name and content, into sustainability accounting. Keywords: corporate sustainability; the ‘going concern’ principle; green accounting (environmental accounting); sustainability accounting Journal of Economic Literature (JEL) code: M41 INTRODUCTION According to the Brundtland Commission (1987, p. 43), “Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of present generations without compromising the similar needs of future generations. The concept interprets sustainable economic, ecological and social development as a unity.” Today’s companies must also comply with the challenges stemming from this approach, and therefore they must also implement economic,...
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...In the United States, Public Relations dates back to the Revolutionary War. The strategies and tactics used to swell the ranks of patriots dedicated to the Revolutionary cause and staging of the Boston Tea Party are examples of early public relations. President Thomas Jefferson first used the term “public relations” in 1807. In his “Seventh Address to the Congress,” he replaced the words “state of thought” with “public relations.” Unfortunately, the perception of public relations has not always been positive. In the 1800s, P.T. Barnum became a master publicist by generating article after article for his traveling circus. His “public be damned” philosophy and the use of exploitative publicity methods, however; have contributed to criticism of the profession. Another significant component to the profession’s development came from the Creel Committee during World War I. A member of the committee, Edward L. Bernays, later considered by many to be the father of public relations, was part of a massive verbal and written communications effort to gain support of the war. According to Bernays, “this was the first time in our history that information was used as a weapon of war.” There were other key people and events, which were very influential in promoting the growth of the public relations industry such as: * “Public be informed era”, Ivy Lee – “father of PR” * WWII – the Office of War Information * “Counseling era” – Edward Bernays taught the first PR course at NYU in...
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...BUSINESS SCHOOL, NOIDA AMITY UNIVERSITY – UTTAR PRADESH TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter No. Subject Page No. Ch No.1 Executive Summary…………………. 6 Ch No.2 Research Methodology……………… 7 2.1 Primary Objective(s)…………. 2.2 Hypothesis…………………… 2.3 Research Design……………… 2.4 Sample Design……………….. 2.5 Scope of the Study……………. 2.6 Limitations……………………. Ch No.3 Critical Review of Literature……….. 9 Ch No.4 Company Profile ……………………. 18 Ch No.5 Industry Profile……………….. 21 Ch No.6 SWOT Analysis…………………. 45 Ch No.7 Data………………………………….. 46 7.1 Collection……………………… 7.2 Primary Data…………………… 7.3 Secondary Data….…………….. Ch No.8 Working Capital- Overall View……… 53 Ch No.9 Findings & Analysis…………………. 100 Ch No.10 Recommendations…………………… 112 Ch No.11 Bibliography…………………………. 114 Ch No.12 Annexure…………………………….. 115 12.1 Tables…………………………. 12.2 Graphs………………………… Ch No.13 Case Study...…..................................... 117 Ch No.14 Synopsis of the Project………………. 122 CH NO.1: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Indian Life Insurance Company has seen a remarkable shift since the time of establishment of the first company, Oriental Life Insurance Company...
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...specially the sympathetic attitude, which always inspired me for hard work. I am proud to say that I am very grateful to my family whose kind prayers and cooperation helped us at every step of my work. Special thanks go to my parents for their cooperation for the sake of my knowledge. I am really very thankful to Ch. Ikram Ullah Operational Manager National Bank Main Branch Mailsi for her cooperative attitude during the completion of my project work. He helped and supported me during gathering and analyzing information. I am really very thankful to one of my friend Mr. Mohsin Raza for his cooperative attitude during the completion of my project work. He helped and supported us during gathering and analyzing information. 3 Executive summary To interrupt my skills and...
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...Our vision is to enhance the quality of life of our citizens by bringing arts and culture from the margins to the mainstream of the economy and society through culturally sustainable policies and actions that will lead us to the status of the first Artistic & Cultural Island City in the World Table of contents Page Message of Prime Minister…………………………………………………………. 3 Message of Minister of Arts and Culture …………………………………………... 4 Introduction…………………………………………………………………………. 5 Executive summary…………………………………………………………………. 7 Chapter 1: Overview of the Arts and Culture set-up ………………………………. 19 Chapter 2: The Music industry……………………………………………………... 23 Chapter 3: The Arts sector …………………………………………………………. 30 Chapter 4: Publishing, Reading and Writing ………………………………………. 39 Chapter 5: The audio-visual sector ………………………………………………… 43 Chapter 6: Heritage Management and Promotion………………………………….. 47 Chapter 7: Mauritius, an Artistic and Cultural Island City- ACIC………………… 51 Chapter 8: Developing synergies…………………………………………………… 56 Chapter 9: Arts and Culture: the cement of our nation …………………………….. 61 Chapter 10: Conclusion - Arts and Culture make Mauritius a haven ……………...63 Message of the Prime Minister Culture is connecting with development and is poised to become a fundamental component of sustainable development. This White Paper sets the stage for...
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