This bachelor thesis describes why Investors should invest in environmentally certified buildings instead of non certified buildings. The report provides an overview of possible factors influencing an investor in the investment process of an environmentally certified building. The report explains why building companies find incentive to build green buildings and how a cash flow method can be adapted so it can be used in the valuation process of an environmentally certified building. Environmentally certified buildings are used as a strategy to reduce emissions that threaten the environment as well as a strategy to obtain market shares for the building companies. This report focuses on the economic advantages of an environmentally certified building.The construction- and real estate industry stands for approximately 40 percent of the energy consumption in the world.

AbstractMaster thesis in Business Administration, School of Business and Economics at Linneaus UniversityAuthors: Patrik Larsson and Pontus GislénSupervisor: Håkan LockingExaminer: Sven-Olof CollinTitle: The index effect- a study on Nasdaq OMXS30 and OMXH25Introduction: A significant part of the financial literature is based on the Efficient Market Hypothesis which assumes that prices in the market reflects all available information. Anomalies, such as the index effect, indicate weaknesses in this theory as it has been proved that it is possible to outperform the market using public information. Hence, the index effect can be linked to market efficiency which makes it interesting to study from a theoretical perspective. The mapping of the index effect is also interesting from a practical perspective, as it leads to a better understanding of whether Investors and firms should take this anomaly into account.Problem: Is there an index effect, how does it behave and what can explain this effect?Purpose: The aim of this study is to investigate the index effect.

AbstractA master thesis in business administration 30 hp, Jönköping International Business School, Spring semester 2012.Authors: Sarah Henningsson & Jim BörefeltSupervisor: Urban ÖsterlundTitle: Commercial real estate investment ? Factors from an investor perspectiveBackground and problem: In this study, we focused on the real estate investor and the factors and issues that may arise and affect real estate investment decisions. It has been put in relation to the other parties in the process of assessing and affecting real estate investment decision. The parties that we studied are real estate Investors, banks, brokers and appraisers.Purpose: This study aims to describe and explain the factors that affect commercial real estate investments for Investors, credit assessment conducted by the bank and valuation made by the broker and appraiser.Delimitations: We have chosen to limit the study to commercial real estates including residential, retail and office properties, industrial properties and combinations thereof. Agriculture buildings and forestry plots are not examined.

Investors have been shown to be driven by emotional and psychological factors. This contradicts classical financial theories, for example the Efficient Market hypothesis which states that all Investors act rationally. Behavioural Finance is an area of study which describes various psychological factors which may result in irrational investor behaviour.The primary question of the study is: which factors do operating people in the financial sector consider themselves to be influenced by? The purpose of this study is to investigate the factors which affect the process of creating forecasts or making financial decisions. The study examines in addition if there is a correlation between length of investor experience and overconfidence in forecasting accuracy and investment decision making.The study includes both quantitative and qualitative analysis.

The study aims to investigate the feasibility of small-scale electricity production with solar electricity systems, also known as PV (photovoltaic) systems, in Australia. Due to the global warming, sustainable energy has in recent years become an increasingly important issue, both internationally and in Australia. With one of the largest dependencies on fossil energy sources in the world, the country's abundant solar radiation is a possible solution to this issue.Both the technical and the economic feasibility of small-scale PV systems were investigated. On the technological side, the electricity generation, distribution and consumption systems were studied. On the economical side, the parameters that drive the profitability of a PV investment were investigated.

Den svenska marknaden för kommersiella fastigheter är het och har varit det under lång tid. Bland annat konstateras i en undersökning från revisionsbolaget Pricewaterhouse Coopers och Urban Land Institute att Stockholm, efter London och Paris, just nu rankas som Europas tredje mest attraktiva stad för utländska investerare att köpa och äga fastigheter i.Detta väckte vår nyfikenhet att konkretisera de faktorer som kan ha lett fram till att utländska fastighetsinvesterare attraheras av den svenska fastighetsmarknaden.Genom att vända oss till företag med stor inblick i de förhållanden som råder på den svenska fastighetsmarknaden fick vi intervjusvar från fem representanter.Arbetet med teorin gjorde att vi förväntade oss ett visst svar men intervjuerna gav oss ett helt annat resultat. Denna uppsats belyser många faktorer som gör Sveriges fastighetsmarknad lättillgänglig. Dock påvisar vår studie att framförallt transparensen och likviditeten på den svenska fastighetsmarknaden är det som gör den så intressant för utländska investerare.Transparensen på den svenska fastighetsmarknaden, som är en stor konkurrensfördel på den globala marknaden, hotas av skattetekniska konstruktioner. Att inte förlora denna fördel på den internationella investeringsmarknaden är ett problem som måste lösas.

The real estate industry is a sector where the companies generally have a capital structure which is high leveraged. The financing? with the related terms ? is therefore specifically of high importance for the companies in the sector. Traditionally, the way of obtain financing is by borrowing from the bank. Lately, due to new bank regulations, the banks have become more restrictive in their lending which have lead to a growth of other financing alternatives.

On Nasdaq OMX Nordic Stockholm there has been a large increase in issues of preferred stocks since the financial crisis 2008. Aiming to explain whether preferred stocks have most of their characteristics relating to debt or equity, we answer four sub questions. Do all preferred stocks share the same features, or do they differ from each other? Our population is similar in characteristics, except for the preferred stock of Swedbank which is convertible and deviates when it comes to participation in dividends - instead of convertible the others are limited and redeemable. Further, the second sub question treats preferred stock in relation to the common stock quantitatively, in market data.

Background: Investors use companies? credit ratings as a base in their buy and sell decisions. Companies? credit ratings are also used as indicators of safety in the legislation. This means that credit rating agencies have an important role in the society because they communicate the company?s credit rating to Investors and other actors in the society.

Title: Have IFRS made the accounting more efficient for Investors? ? A study of goodwill-relevance Level: Final assignment for Degree of Master (One Year)Author: Patrik Nygard and Andreas Pettersson       Supervisor: Markku Penttinen            Date: 2010 ? MayAim: The Swedish banks SEB and Swedbank are on the same market but their goodwill is amortized totally differently and its results will be different. We decided to examine the accounts in Sweden and see if they have been more efficient, from a user perspective, after the introduction of IFRS in year 2005Method:  This paper is made from a quantitative and a deductive approach. We have collected data from all companies listed on the Stockholm Stock Exchange between the years 2002-2008 using the computer program Financial Datastream and then made the regression and other analyses and comparisons with the program MinitabResult & Conclusions: We have in this paper demonstrated that how the accounting of goodwill designed is relevant to Investors and that this relevance has increased in Sweden after the transition to IFRS. We have also concluded that the goodwill has greater relevance in a rising market than in a downward.Suggestions for future research: In future researches can the aim be to compare other accounting standards changes that occurred in the year 2005 and see if the accounting, from that perspective been more efficient.Contribution of the thesis: We have shown how the account influences investor?s decisions during different accounting systems and in particular how they react on the changed account of goodwill.

Background: Investors have several options to choose from when the goal is to achieve the highest yield at the lowest cost and risk. Stocks are a common investment options, but is also associated with risks. Portfolios are usually constructed with several different assets to reduce the unsystematic risk of investment. Funds are similar to composite stock portfolios, the big difference is that they dealt with in their entirety and Investors may not affect the fund's content. The problem remains that whether you choose stocks or mutual funds there is still uncertainty as to how the future will unfold.

Ökning av bedrägerier i den finansiella rapporteringen anses ha skadat förtroendet för bolagsledningar och revisorer vilket i sin tur har lett till ett ökat krav på ansvarstagande för bolag. Svag bolagsstyrning anses vara en av de bakomliggande orsakerna till det förtroendeproblem som uppstått inom det svenska näringslivet. För att försöka återfå investerarnas förtroende har ett antal åtgärder vidtagits. Svensk Kod för bolagsstyrning uppkom delvis med syftet att stärka förtroendet för de svenska börsbolagen. Styrelsen är ansvarig för transparens och upprättandet av intern kontroll och i ett försök till att höja dess kvalitét skall styrelsen inrätta ett revisionsutskott.Som ett i led i att försöka stärka allmänhetens förtroende för bolagsledningar och revision skall revisionsutskotten säkerställa den interna och externa rapporteringen i bolagen.

Companies today are facing more and different kinds of demands from the society and their stakeholders. It is no longer enough to just deliver the products, and not just the quality of the products that matter. The consumers are getting more conscious about the many ways in which companies affect the society and the environment in which we live. The financial sector, that among others includes stakeholders such as insurance companies, banks and fund companies are starting to realise the importance of the non- financial issues that companies are encountering. Analysing the companies sustainability when it comes to social and environmental issues, has become an increasingly important factor when for example choosing companies to invest in.

Recently, the selections of ethical funds are increased; at the same time Investors with social and moral preferences have increased in the capital market. There are currently debates on whether ethical funds perform better or worse than funds without ethical criteria. This also involves a vivid discussion on whether Investors know about the consequences of investing in ethical funds. Therefore, this study involves theories about the rationality and decision theory, in addition to what mainly control the investment decisions. The study also discusses portfolio theory since this is one of the underlying theories behind fund management and its development.The purpose of this study is to explain if ethical limitations in the selection of securities affect risk and return in the fund portfolio.

Investment in hedge funds is a relatively new phenomenon for Investors compared with other forms of savings. In recent years, the interest has increased among Investors in investing their money in hedge funds, given the protection against declines in the market they are aiming for. Their main purpose is to generate a high return at a low risk regardless of market trends. This they can achieve by having fewer restrictions that offer more flexible investment strategies and freer investment opportunities.The purpose of this paper is to identify how the selected hedge fund strategies have performed during the recent economic downturn. We also want to clarify the claim that hedge funds exhibit a positive absolute return regardless of what the market is performing.In order to answer the purpose of the essay and its problems, we have used a quantitative method with a deductive approach in the processing of data.